The collective held its second ever meeting on October 29th at Point Breeze:
Attendees (15): Linda Candela, Bob Patrick, Kevin Kudzal, Peg Daley, Nick Cioffi, Carrie Wolfe, Gloria Ricker, Ron Kokernak, Tim Bell, Joe Zmetra, Ryan DesRoches, Leonardo Topa, Joan Kokernak, David Kokernak
Known Absences (4): Susan Tritell, Bill Michalson, Karen Michalson, Heather Jackman
Meeting opened at 7pm, with Ryan serving as moderator.
Item 1) Incorporation:
Ryan gave the floor to Linda and Tim to convey their research into incorporate. Its was both their recommendation to try to incorporate as a tax-exempt organization, which would require us to fill out a form 1023EZ with IRS. To complete this form, there is a checklist that we first have to complete. Among those items to complete:
- Mission Statement
- Articles of Incorporation
- Election of Officers/Designated consignees.
- Obtaining of EIN number
On the Mission Statement/Articles of Incorporation – it was determined that we need to explicitly have language in these have a mission to be charitable, educational and/or environmental in order to meet the requirements for Tex-exempt status.
It was found that the filing fees for the 1023EZ form was about $275 and would take 2-4 weeks to process once the paperwork was sent in.
Leonardo and Joan both asked if all the paperwork was worth the hassle, and it was discussed that the tax-exempt status would protect the club from any tax burden, the hassle of filing full tax reports, and also allows us to collect donations down the road.
A Vote was then taken to pursue Tax Exempt status for the Webster Water Ski Collective. The vote passed.
An Action was added for Linda to obtain an EIN number for the Club.
An Action was added for Ryan to distribute the proposed Mission Statement for feedback for the club. Feedback will be submitted via comments online (via Google Docs) with the commenting period being closed on Thanksgiving.
It was requested that Ryan handle the collection of comments on the Mission Statements and Proposed bylaws (see below), and we ask that members commenting do so online via the Google Docs link below that should allow everyone to comment and see each others comments. This was deemed a better way than doing it via email .
We Will continue this discussion at the next meeting. Goal is to have paperwork ready for early 2020. <
Item 2) Bylaws
Ryan, Carrie and Karen spent time constructing a draft set of bylaws and a draft mission statement for the club. Since the final edits to the bylaws were done less than 24 hours before the meeting, we did not go into much detail about the specifics, other that it was the bylaw committees intent to create a set of bylaws that meet our mission statement and preserve transparency within the collective. The bylaw committee is now seeking feedback from the membership on bylaws before next steps are taken in a ratification vote. ( Note, some items regarding memberships and voting rights was discussed later in the night under “new items”, some of these items may be rolled into the bylaws )
Tim made a comment that they bylaws need to fit in with the mission statement and articles of incorporation, and that it might be tough to rectify the bylaws until the final mission statement is completed. However, since the Mission Statement is incorporated into the Bylaws, Ryan felt that both could be done at the same time, noting that they Bylaws should be considered a somewhat “living document” that would continue to go through revisions on a yearly basis as the collective needs.
A Vote was taken to allow the bylaws to be put up on a accessible Google Docs link so that all could read and give feedback on the bylaws. The vote also stated that feedback on the bylaws should completed by Thanksgiving and that the Bylaw committee would then review the comments and provide edits and/or schedule a specific bylaw meeting with the general membership to review any major changes. The vote passed.
Action: Ryan would place the bylaws in google docs. The Bylaws are now accessible for review at: https://docs.google.com/
Item 3: Our 2020 Home Base
Discussions began about our home base for 2020, and a location was announced and the club voted to pursue it. Due to the ongoing nature of the negotiations with the property owner, we will not publicly announce the location at this time. An official announcement will be announced as soon as a formal signed agreement is in place. Its really GREAT news though!
Item 4: Docks/Barge for 2019
Topic changed to buying a pontoon boat being sold by member Tim for $1500. The idea would be to convert the pontoon boat over to a floating and mobile “dock”. The pontoon does have a motor on it.
It was noted by Ryan that at the end of the last meeting, the Collective received $1500 in anonymous donations with $500 specifically earmarked for the barge/floating dock.
Linda asked if with the news of using Point Breeze if this was still needed, and if it was ‘worth it’ due to the cost to convert over to a barge and the fact that the height of the pontoon might be too high to easily get on/off via ski boat. After a discussion, it was determined that a floating dock would still be needed due to the small dock sizes at Point Breeze and having a mobile option at this price would be much more cost efficient that potentially buying new docks ourselves and then having to find homes for them in the winter.
Nick and Bob pointed out about another pontoon that they know of that had been sitting idle for many years and may be available for purchase, but thus far no one has been able to contact the owner. Kevin brought up that he had been looking himself for Pontoons and had said they are very hard to come by in our price range and go very quick when they do come up. He also felt that a pontoon would be cost-efficient, easy to move, and at worst – could be sold at a later date for roughly the same price as what we bought it for. Joe also mentioned that he has access to carpet to redo the boat when it comes time to do it.
A vote was then taken to make a verbal commitment to by Tim’s boat, with payment coming once accounts are set up. Vote passed and Tim would be notified of our intent to purchase the boat.
Item 5) Website and Logo update.
A new gmail account – WebsterWaterSki@Gmail.com was set up and will be used for communications and for the other benefits of the Google Suite (Google Docs, etc). The idea is that the board would share in access to the account and be able to use it for “official” club communications and respond to membership requests. Currently, Ryan and Nick have access to the account. On election of the board, the other board members would have access to the account and the password changed at that point. The account password should be changed yearly (at minimum) to prevent unauthorized access.
Ryan mentioned that the domain for the website (http://websterwaterski.com and websterwaterski.org) were purchased and would soon be set up on a hosting account being donated to the collective. Ryan said that now that another client of his is now done and off the server, he would begin on the site design this month, with the hopes that the site would be up by the end of the month.
For the logo – Nick showed everyone the current design being done by a friend of his. The logo was also being donated to the collective free of charge (Thanks Nick!). Nick will be uploading the images of the log for feedback soon so members can give their constructive criticism.
Kevin Kudzal also had started to make a vinyl banner for the collective that we might be able to hand on the Marina shed or on the new boat.
Action: Ryan to complete the website
Action: Nick to upload the logo to the Google Docs area for review.
Link to the Logo can be found here: https://docs.google.com/
Item 6) Nomination of Officers for 2020
Per our last meeting, we agreed to have a board of five members, consisting of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Director. The floor was then opened for members to nominate or volunteer for positions with elections to be held at the next general meeting. The nominations are as follows:
- President: Ryan DesRoches
- Vice President: Nick Cioffi
- Secretary: Heather Jackman
- Treasurer: Linda Candela
- Director: Carrie Wolfe
Any member can be added to the docket for ANY position, please contact Ryan to get your name on the official ballet. The goal is to have elections next meeting!
Item 7) New items
Non-Skiing Memberships:
Joan asked if there would be a “non-skiing”: membership available with voting rights. After some discussion the fee of $30 was discussed for a non-skiing member with voting rights, provided that they also carry USA Water Ski insurance.
VOTE on $30 a voting but non-skiing membership was Approved.
Family Memberships:
Joan also discussed the option of family discounts. After some discussion, the group settled on a family membership plan of the following:
First member: $125
Each additional member: $100
CAP of $400 per family (i.e. once $400 is reached, additional kids/family members are not charged).
A vote was taken to approve this plan for family memberships and passed.
Kids Voting/Age Requirement to vote
A discussion was then had on if kids would have the same voting rights as adult members. Many felt that kids younger than a certain age may not fully understand the issues of the collective and could also be easily persuaded to vote a certain way. Ryan dissented from the group and thought that kids for the most part should have a voice, but did agree that the majority of kids would either not vote or not fully understand all the details of the vote.
After some further discussion, a conciseness was reached to allow anyone over 14 the right to vote. Kids under 14 will not be allowed to vote, but a junior board of directors may be formed down the road to give younger kids a voice in collective policies once we get a quorum of kids.
Parents of children in the collective will also have voting rights provided that they obtain the $30 non skiing membership or are full/active members themselves.
A vote was taken on this matter and passed.
Slalom Course
Kevin spoke next and mention that he and his son bought a portable slalom course that the collective could utilize next spring. The logistics of setting up the course would have to be worked out, but it is being offered. Since it is portable and EZ setup, the idea is to designate certain times when the course would be accessible and where it would be placed.
Next Meeting
The next meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, December 17th at 7pm at Point Breeze
The meeting was adjourned at 9pm.
Thank you all,
Ryan
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