Vancouver Regional Freenet Minutes of Board Meeting October 24, 1995 Present: Margaret Coates, Nicholas Fong, Vic Vaivads, Ross Penner, Neil Guy, Stephanie Fletcher, George Lindholm, Jennifer Higgins-Ingham Staff: Kathryn Fournier Regrets: Penny Goldsmith, Mark Moran, Larry Kuehn, Godwin Chan Secretary in Larry's absence was Stephanie Additions: email volume to board UBC contract Corrections: Larry was in attendance for the last board meeting. Adoption of minutes: Moved: Ross. Seconded Neil. Passed 3. A) Equipment purchases: 8 megs memory for office equipment, UPS boxes, copies of DOS @ $8. each Cable for advanced training courses. Total $500. Approved by operations committee. Vic requested that any equipment purchase be approved by either Vic or George in future. Vic will supply schematic drawing of computer system for Board members reference. B) Tim Guay, System Administrators probation period extended. Resolution-hiring committee, president and administration will discuss further. 4) A, B, C will be discussed at retreat for input from all board members. Ross will forward archived policy issues for reference at retreat. D) Concern was expressed by Neil that the student union of Langara College was looking for inexpensive Internet access without an awareness of impacts to FreeNet's system. See notes. Concerns: Increased user volume, strain on equipment, time and resources of supplying technical help. Payment of $6,400 may not cover FreeNet's costs. Because students feel that they are paying for the service from .75 cents of their students fees expectations would be high and FreeNet held accountable. Nothing would stop Langara for signing up students without FreeNet's consent, but then we would not be responsible for high end service. Jennifer suggested a request for a proposal detailing number of students etc. FreeNet's negotiating committee could then respond with an actual cost analysis leading to possible negotiate for more funds. This will also extend start up time from Langara's stated Nov. 20. Kathy, Margaret, Vic and Jennifer agreed to negotiate with Langara. Request was made for actual costs per user of FreeNet. This figure will also help in other fundraising efforts. Vic will supply hardware costs for per user. 5. Board retreat: Moved to Nov 18th and will be held at BCIT in the boardroom of the NW1 building. Send criteria and agenda requests to Margaret. Board will decide on measurable goals for the year. 6.0 - 6.3 announcements 6.4 defer to Nov. 18 6.5 Vic confirmed that there were no technical issues for donor recognition at time of log-on. Motion: To have sponsor recognition on-line. Moved: Stephanie. Seconded Vic. Passed 7. Motion: To hire a bookkeeper with an annual expense of $2400. Moved Neil, Second Ross. Passed 8. It was decided to review proposal from VanCity before further discussion. Vic will try to be available for next discussion with VanCity representative. Attachment is for reference. 9.0 Announcement 9.1 Announcement. Correction: Bill Andrews. 10. Motion: funds for a display-maximum $200 Moved Stephanie. Seconded Jennifer. Passed 11. Committee reports Community Content needs volunteers because of effectiveness of Phil to interest IP's. Meetings are every second Tuesday of the month. Expressed need for IP Kit and introductory brochure. System Design: Request for discussion of web site pointers to other non-profit organizations and commercial sites to create the a centralized reference point for retreat. FreeNet is listed with Yahoo and other commercial sites. Valerie Westfall commended for her efforts. 12. Establish at retreat a system for dealing with members concerns, issues and complaints. Jennifer recommended one voice from the board for consistency and professionalism. Vic requested discussion and decision of appropriate use of the FreeNet at the retreat. Stephanie agreed to take position of Ombudsman and to follow established procedure for hearing appeals from individuals removed from system. Additions Email: Concern was expressed about volume received. Discussion of having two separate directors email addresses. One administration the other general. Decision: either way board members are going to receive a high volume so establish individual process for dealing with it. Some members highlighted their interest of being aware of issues and needing to receive them. UBC contract on hold. Confirmation of the Library as next site to house computer will be in the first week of November. If not confirmed then a temporary UBC contract will have to be drawn. No copies of original contract could be found. If you have a copy please forward to Kathy. Next Board meeting November 21, 1995 Adjournment 9:15pm