Oct 27, 2005 phone


Minutes of the phone conference held October 27, 2005, 9AM-11AM Phone conference, ND committee and ACC Attendees: Craig Krueger, Jen Stielow, Fritz Wood, Jeff Pickering, Rick Jacobs, Susan Krueger, Alick Hale, Lance Kidder, Jeremy Henrichon later 1) Transportation Alrick Hale: Two Attorneys informally consulted; firms: (corporate) Earl Hanson and Dan Johns from the Crowley Law firm in Kalispell. End result of conversations: Northern Divisions should not be using vans should not be in the transportation business, not our job suggest we put together trip sheets, let individual clubs and individual families arrange transportation Jeff Pickering: Some teams will not have a coach attending certain races Alrick Hale: We should not be in the charter transportation business since we do not have professional drivers. Fritz Wood: Chartering bus services front- and rear-end, let coaches drive at the event in a private rental. Craig Krueger: This is viable for large groups, what about small groups? Alrick Hale: What about split venues? Logistical nightmare. Craig Krueger: Jeff, clarify Big Mountain's restrictions? Jeff Pickering: Staff is not allowed to utilize 12- or 15-passenger vans. There are numerous difficulties that we will encounter: at smaller events, split race venues, transportation to team captains' meetings, one extra athlete, etc. Fritz Wood: Personal recommendation to him from a friend/attorney was that Fritz should not be driving these vans as he could be held liable for injuries to passengers. Craig Krueger: We, as a Division, recommend that Northern Divisions clubs with 15-passenger vans proceed with replacing these vehicles, and that they not transport athletes from other teams on their vans. (Motion is made) ND will not use 15 passenger vans for divisional projects. Rick Jacobs: 2nds the motion. Passes on voice vote. Jen Stielow: Jen moves that the current ND reimbursement policy of $1/mile be removed from the ND handbook. We will not go over the government rate for reimbursement. Alrick Hale: Seconds the motion. Passes on a voice vote. Jeff Pickering: These trips are including older kids, we want to be aware of the tendency of athletes to take over their own transportation. Jen Stielow: There is a standing rule in WR that no athlete will drive while at the event. Vehicle's keys are turned in. This policy is routinely enforced. Discussion follows concerning how athletes will get to team meetings if they reside locally. Each event will have to be managed individually. Fritz Wood, Jen Stielow: Policy reminder: Under-18 athletes cannot ride in the vehicles driven by other athletes. Athlete drivers turn in their car keys to the head coach when they arrive at an event. Only written parental consent may override this policy. This policy will be on the front of the ND website and in the new handbook. Susan Krueger: Which vehicle should we use to replace these vans? Lance Kidder, Alrick Hale: This is a moving target, driven by the litigation proceedings. Jeff Pickering: USSA will be using Suburbans and pickup trucks. Lance Kidder: Smaller clubs will not have access to ride along with bigger clubs. Each event will have to be managed on a case-by-case basis. 2) Financial: Craig Krueger: Summary of conference with Walt Evans and Chris Hansen (CFO) of USSA: No past debt will be forgiven, as all paychecks were approved by our treasurer. All past payments need to be paid up first, then we will continue with payments towards Jenn Stielow's salary. Current debt is $17,240. Due March 1, 2006. Interest will then accrue. We can set up any payment plan that we like. Craig has requested a quarterly report from USSA from now on. Alrick Hale: What is the current bookkeeping situation? Jen Stielow: Devara is no longer helping. We currently have $5,000 in our checking account, $3,200 of which has been recently collected. We may have to waive approximately $5,000 due to poor documentation. We are expecting approximately $22-25,000 to come in after the statements are mailed out. Jen Stielow: Will request a summary from Devara. Jeremy Henrichon: Caryn Jones may be receiving some Northern Division payments, forwarded to her in Minnesota. Craig Krueger: Payments are still being sent to the Big Sky PO box. Jen Stielow: When the box of records is shipped to me, I will continue with the billing. Jen Stielow: Credit Card issues: Company needs personal guarantees before allowing us to process our credit card charges. They need marketing materials, etc. to re-establish our legitimacy and corporate status. Our corporate filing was just finalized in September. They need personal guarantees from the President, Vice President, and Treasurer prior to issuing a credit card. Jen will ask if this can be secured with our Certificate of Deposit at Three Rivers. This is to cover challenges to credit card payments. Wells Fargo has issued a check card in lieu of a credit card. The 3 Rivers credit card is still valid, but Jen has not received the billing information yet. Jen Stielow : Clarification: Bills have been sent to all clubs; only BSF and ??? (name of club not caught) have paid. Treasurer is still Tim Ibey. We need a bookkeeper to help Jen with the past due accounts. Jeff Pickering, Lance Kidder: We need to approach the families within each of our clubs to expedite this collection process, and to allow Jen to tend to her other tasks. Jeff Pickering: We need to collect before we commit to any other ND expenses. Jen Stielow: Need a motion to give Jen the authority to waive billing discrepancies. Susan Krueger: I move to give Jen Stielow the authority to waive outstanding balances after they have been reviewed with individuals by their club coaches or other club representative. Jeremy Henrichon: 2^nd. Motion passes by voice vote. Jeremy Henrichon: Payments would not have been forwarded to Caryn Jones after August. He will ask the club administrator to forward any remaining mail to Jen. Payments should be sent to: Jen Stielow 707 S 15^th St. Laramie WY 82070 Susan Krueger: Let's finalize for Craig the amount that we will send to USSA each month. Group opinion: Jen is not being paid enough. Lance Kidder: What are Jen Stielow's monthly expenses? Jen Stielow: Approximately $250/mo currently. Should budget $350-$400/month x 8 months = $2800, sum of $12,160. $13,000 Projected liability. What should our income be? Club dues, head tax, administrative fees from races . Alrick Hale: Karl Tyler Chevy offered to sponsor ND two years ago. They are looking for a proposal and want a solicitation request from us in writing. New Year's Eve fund raising party at Big Sky? Craig Krueger: Move to start monthly payments to USSA on 12/1/05 @ 1500/month. We will pay off balance on 3/1/06, or arrange an alternative payment plan. Lance Kidder: 2^nds. Motion passes on voice vote. Lance Kidder: What is their licensing fee? What did we collect for head taxes last year? Rick Jacobs: Should we raise the club fees? We will discuss this at the winter meeting.