17-Jan-2007 minutes

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Minutes of GNCC General meeting – January 17, 2007

Present: Nancy McInnes, Toby Ming, Keith Brown, John vanBeek, Dave Beer
Regrets: Michael Bean

1. Minutes of Special Board Meeting November 15, 2006

These minutes were circulated previously to members and are now posted on the GNCC website. Adopted as posted, (Beer, Ming, Approved)

2. Correspondence:

- JvB: This is a reprint of a document that was previously submitted by the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition (VACC) to the Standing Committee for Finance and Government Services of the BC government. It made the case for the many personal and economic benefits that flow from using fewer vehicles and more bicycles and suggested a number of infrastructure projects the government may choose to support. GNCC members felt that we should be communicating with BC Ferries about their upgrade to their facility at Departure Bay. We need to request more and better secure areas for bicycle parking at the terminal and while at it we should ask for improved storage on board the ferries. Dave will start a letter and circulate for GNCC Board input.

- Dr. K. Phillips: Dr Phillips communication about design plans for The comox / Front Street redesign of the roadway and sidewalks. He suggested that the design didn't appear to accommodate the needs of cyclists. Richard Harding, says his department did have some input and that the roadway would be 4.3M wide and should have a marked cycle lane.

- Good Old Book Exchange: Invoice for mailbox #130

- Verbal: From Richard Harding:
A. Local Motion Grants are being submitted for two projects this year, roadway crossings by Terminal Mall and at Mostar to connect the E&N and the Parkway Trails. GNCC will have an opportunity to vet these proposals and has been asked to write a letter supporting the projects.
B. GNCC representatives have been invited to meet with Parks and Transit departments to offer suggestions on a proposed cycling map of the Nanaimo region.
C. Richard is willing to sit down with GNCC representatives to discuss proposed road projects for the 2007 year. John, Keith and Dave will meet with him if we can find a convenient time for all. Dave will contact Richard to arrange a time.

3. Financial Report:

- Current financial status. Bank balance is $374. 69 to meeting time. Several new memberships were received at he meeting and our quarterly bill for our mailbox was received, leaving our net similar to that at the start of the meeting.
- Tobi has all the financial records, cheque and deposit books. Once Barbara or Jim attend the bank to sign she will also have cheque signing authority.

4 . Membership:

- Malaspina Connection. (Thank you Nancy!) Some possibilities are: Involvement in the Transportation Fair (Sept.), Contact Chair of Transport and Safety Management Chair (TASMI), Student Union Contact, Wellness Centre Initiative (Carol Joerin), Phys. Ed. Dept (Brent Dunlop), Student Projects for Recreation and Tourism (Mike Mann), Bike Locker Info contact (Gary Brey). There are lots of bicycle commuters on staff, Maybe brochures and postings can get to them somehow. Cycling Movie night, speaker, or some other event to create a buzz. Mal U. spaces can be booked for a meeting there if we wish. The best chance of the above are likely the TASMI and wellness groups!
- Other Outreach Activities: GNCC Participation in an article on Bicycle Commuting to come out in the Bulletin. Three GNCC members were photographed and interviewed for a feature in the April Seniors Living magazine. GNCC members have volunteered to organize and lead rides for the Parks and Rec. Department (5 different rides) These will be listed in the Spring Perks & Rec. Leisure guide.
- Letters for new and renewals: Two new friendly welcome letters have been written to welcome new and returning members of the GNCC. They will be sent out with membership cards.

5. Other:

- Possible sources of finances (other than memberships) We need to find an alternate source of funding to cover our fixed expenses (website, mailbox, postage, incidental meeting costs and to support any events we organize.) We will continue to seek such funding sources throughout the year.

- 2007 Ride calendar (so far): We have a current list of 7 cycling activities for the year, some for Parks and Rec. some sponsored by bike shops and others like the Parksville Bike for Life. We started talking about adding these events to our calendar ( which has only been used to list Chain Gang Rides to date and is frequently empty). It was decided that we could open the calendar up to all activities that would be of interest to cyclists, not just Chain Gang rides. We will explore how best to do this ( all have read access, but who has read and write access to it). We may wish to post meetings there as well, a one stop info source for the broader cycling community and for GNCC members. We may consider other calendar providers as well as our existing one. The hope is that this will increase traffic to the calendar site and to the GNCC website.

- Membership list: Many organizations have a contact lists that are circulated among members to facilitate contact and communication. We would like to be able to circulate a limited list (name, email, phone only) among members. Such information is to be used respectfully and not distributed to others. We will ask members approval to use their name , e-mail, phone on such a list and then distribute it among our membership. It will be updated during the year when significant changes occur.

- Leadership: We are still in need of several Board members and we also need a Co-chair for the GNCC. We must actively seek individuals for both positions if we are to grow and be come more effective.

Adjourned at: 8:50 PM

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Last updated: May 15, 2007.