20-Nov-2007 minutes

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Minutes of GNCC General meeting – November 27, 2007

Attending: Tobi Ming, Chris Boldt, Dave Beer, Jim Kirby

1. Review of recent BC Cycling Coalition meeting held in Nanaimo Nov. 17. General discussion. It was interesting to hear the enthusiasm expressed by those attending from the BCCC. The members are obviously well informed and keenly interested in improving cycling conditions. Of interest too were the concerns shared by this and other cycling coalitions, namely the shortage of members in general, and the lack of resources to carry out advocacy issues. Action item: Dave is to draft a note to the BCCC chair thanking them for coming to Nanaimo for the meeting, and confirming our support for the "umbrella" reporting concept, where the BCCC will take more of a lead role in helping the smaller coalitions like Nanaimo.

2. John van Beek and Dave Beer met with the provincial Liberal MLA Ron Cantelon to discuss some local cycling issues. Discussion around the much needed re-allignment of the E&N trail near the Millstone River to follow a more level grade, which would allow an easier access to the downtown core. Funding may be available for this upgrade. Mr. Cantelon was to take this feedback to Victoria for further review. Action item: Dave to draft a note to Ron Cantelon thanking him for the opportunity to meet, and to confirm the GNCC's continuing support for these types of initiatives.

3. Tobi put on a short bicycle maintenance workshop at Malaspina for a small group of female students. Two of them bought GNCC memberships.

4. Discussion around several website issues. Should the events calendar include any known cycling related events here or elsewhere, including local "friends of the GNCC" rides? If so, what liability issues might this place on the GNCC? Does the website have a hit counter to help determine how many people access the site? Should the website link to other cycle related info, and if so, how far reaching should the link go? There were no conclusions reached, but interesting discussion. These and other web issues will be discussed at a future meeting when Keith Brown webmaster is in attendance.

5. There are currently 37 paid up GNCC members, with about five new members lately. There is about $350 in the bank.

6. The next general meeting will be held January 23/08. Tobi will contact Susan Dunn with the Malaspina group to see if she would attend as speaker. Susan will be organizing the next critical mass ride.

7. Discussion around the need for and affordability of insurance for the GNCC board and/or the members. Currently, with the coalition's small operating budget, it doesn't appear to be affordable. Possibly in the future each ride participant could be asked to pay a couple of dollars at each ride to cover the costs. A closer relationship with the BCCC might also produce some funding for insurance. Should each ride participant be asked to sign a waiver prior to riding on a "friends of the GNCC" ride? No conclusion to this discussion was reached.

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.

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Last updated: April 24, 2008.