Board Meeting
March 16, 2014
Fusion Factory Denver
It was a mass of forty-three (43) dedicated Apogaeans at the March Board Meeting! Spring is here and everyone’s starting to really get their hands dirty in planning. Gate Hours were announced! Board members Kelly Nedrow and Eric Moutz were not in attendance, though a quorum was present for voting.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Registration
Puck, the Registration Lead, now has his [email protected] email up and running.
Storage Trailers
Quartermaster Dave announced that he will be conducting an inventory on March 23rd for DPW and a few other Ignition Leads have asked about joining. If the Leads need to see what is in the trailers, please go to Build Works at 11am on March 23rd.
Also, the new trailer still hasn’t been painted, but plans are in place for when the weather improves.
Insurance Update
There are no new insurance announcements as Eric M. is still working on the details. The trusty Telemetry team will let you know as soon as it can be posted to the website.
OFFICER REPORTS
President, ‘Koda’ quickly discussed our timeline progress. There are 80 days until the gates open to the public. Important dates:
March 22nd – ticket sales and he is aiming to have the volunteer database go live
March 29th – Art Fair
April 26th & 27th – Ignition Retreat (Not all will attend. Announcements will be sent soon)
May 18 – Placement registration closes for Theme and Sound Camps, Art Installations etc.
May 30 – Registration closes for RV, oversized vehicles, and camping
Koda presented the gate hours and Friday night was extended by 1 hour based on discussion raised.
GATE HOURS
EARLY ENTRY*, Tuesday, 6/3: 12:00pm – 7:59pm
Wednesday, 6/4: 9:00am – 7:59pm
Thursday, 6/5: 9:00am – 7:59pm
Friday, 6/6: 9:00am – 6:59pm
Saturday, 6/7: 9:00am- 6:00pm
Sunday, 6/8: 9:00am-6:00pm | Exit only
Monday, 6/9: 9:00am – no later than 3:00pm | Exit only; pre-registration required
Volunteer Database
Koda had hoped to complete the database by March 22nd. When he mentioned the database, it was announced that there seems to be some confusion about volunteers receiving a guaranteed tickets. It was clarified that signing up for volunteer shifts on the database WILL NOT GUARANTEE a ticket. He will add something about that in the database registration section.
You may have noticed from the recent volunteer database announcement, that it should go live the first part of April!
Vice President, Sean “Sherpa” Sidelko, announced that the first round of tickets sold out in 25 minutes.
The subject of tickets had been broached, and Sherpa made the following motions – one of which was approved – and a few that were either approved then amended or not passed at all:
- Release 50 of the 100 previously approved reserved tickets into the second chance sale.
Discussion: “Jigsaw” Jen questioned whether we need additional emergency reserve and moved to reduce the number to zero so that there would be more tickets for the general sale. Jen felt this could be seen as hoarding and an opportunity for nepotism, though it is intended to ensure we are properly staffed for the event. She argued that the BOD should trust the Leads to have stated the needs correctly.
However, it became evident that the number of tickets being held had actually been less than the leads had requested. For example, Gate reqested 25 and the BOD had only approved 15. This difference was a bit of a surprise, as the Leads had not been notified by the Board. It then made sense to hold the extra tickets just in case. The good thing is that there were more tickets available for the second round of the general ticket sale.
Though the motion to reduce to zero did not pass, the BOD voted afterwards online to reduce to zero after all. This means that additional tickets went into the general sale on March 22nd. Keep your eyes peeled for a separate communication coming soon that will clarify the total count of reserved tickets.
- $50.00 ticket for all the 45 positions listed on the Red Shirt roster.
During the Board Meeting, the Board members were unable to verify the Red Shirt list, but after the meeting they approved an online vote to approve the creation of 131 Red Shirt Positions.
- Reserve 100 tickets for the granted artists. “Sherpa” confirmed this number with James Whiddon and Rachel So Cain. Rachel assured the group that any unused would be put back into the Last Chance / OMG Sale in May.
Secretary, Caroline “Caroshine” Kert:
The February BOD Minutes were approved and then Caroline presented the online votes made since the last BOD meeting. These were shared with Ignition via email as well.
Online Votes
- Adopt art committee’s recommendation to fund Big Money Round creative grants (the first four from the Big Money Round)
- Approve the 2014 budget, as amended 3/4/14
- Apogaea will reserve 700 tickets and sell 1400 tickets in the first 2 general sales
- Ratify Jeremy DePinto as Temple Lead
- Ratify Damien Budd as System Admin
- Motion to approve six additional creative grants from the Big Money round
The March Ignition Mixer would be hosted graciously by Matt Stringer and Deb Pika after the Community Art fair on March 29th.
Treasurer, Steve Merager, gave the financial report and mentioned that he mailed more checks to winning artists for $19,000 in grant funds! He said we have approximately another $11,000 that should be in the mail on the Monday after the BOD meeting.
Also, the finalized budgets were released to the leads.
Kristin Abel, our business lead, has been working on setting up contracts for rental vehicles, porta potties and equipment with United, as well as seeking an ice vendor. She is also setting up gas cards to ensure a better system than ever for fueling vehicles used during the event. She and Kiki are collaborating on volunteer swag purchasing. It is the first year this position has been in action, and I think it’ll be much appreciated at event time!
RATIFICATIONS
Check out the previous month’s ratifications:
February | January | December | November | October | September
BAMF XXXO – TR
Center Camp Daily Lead – Lesley VanDersarl
Center Camp Daily Lead – Blaise Turner
Center Camp Cafe XXXO – Erik Williams
Center Camp Performance & Art Facilitator – Guy Mason
DPW Road Dog – Manave Bagga
DPW MOD – Nathan Daniel
Ember Reports / Census – Nate Lappegaard
Greeter Daily Lead – Kyra Hurlock
Fire Safety/Assistant Shin – Patrick Walsh (voluntary switch from Fire Shin)
Fire Shin – Melissa Camara (voluntary switch from Fire Safety/Assistant Shin)
Info Booth Lead – Jason Sherry
Info booth XXXO – Mark Earhart
Secretary, Caroline “Caroshine” requested from the BOD that they send accurate contact info and email to her of all new Ignition members
DPW WORK WEEKEND PLAN
Damien Budd reported that he would send the BOD and Ignition the DPW work weekend timeline.
DMV – MUTANT VEHICLES
Tammy Norton has developed policies and a pre-registration form for Mutant Vehicles, which she worked out in conjunction with Black Rock City DMV. These need to get out to the public as soon as possible and asked that the board review them. She will be forwarding this information to the Art Grant Committee as well as the Rangers for use in their education.
Check out the Mutant Vehicle page for more info.
BYLAW CHANGES
The board was finally able to address an issue that has come up at several board meetings in the past regarding the voting process. The board voted to remove the clause and make an additional edit in order to remove cumulative voting. In the past, cumulative voting allowed an Ignition member to cast all 3 of their votes for the same potential board candidate. In the future, Ignition members will only be able to cast 1 of their 3 votes for any individual candidate.
1. Remove cumulative voting
CURRENT: Cumulative voting shall be allowed.
NEW: Cumulative voting shall not be allowed. Voting members may not vote for the same candidate more than once in each election.
(This is not necessary to include, as we can always disallow cumulative voting under the present language through procedures. However, we may wish to send a strong signal to future Boards, as the removal process becomes further muddied with cumulative voting.)
2. Article VII Section 7
CURRENT: A Director may not be removed if the number of votes cast against such removal, or not consenting in writing to such removal, would be sufficient to elect such director if voted cumulatively at an election for such Director.
NEW: A director may be removed only if the number of votes cast to remove the director would be sufficient to elect the director at a meeting to elect directors.
DEFINITION OF “GROUND CONTROL”
“Koda” felt it very important to further clarify the meaning of “Ground Control” since it is still evolving. Ground Control was introduced last year as the group of Ignition members that have other leads reporting to them. Koda pointed out that he would like to be able to email [email protected] and know that he is reaching all the event leads. These leads would be expected to disseminate information to anybody who reports to them, thereby ensuring that important information sent to [email protected] reaches the entire organization. The current definition of Ground Control excludes orphan departments that consist of a single member (for example, Quartermaster, Historian, and Land Search Lead).
The BOD voted to redefine the definition of Ground Control to be:
“Members of Ignition that report directly to the Board, plus any other Ignition members that the Board wishes to add to improve communications flow.”
<3 REPORTS
Houston Hurlock, Greeters Lead
- Moving tent location at the event. Greeters will be at the top of the hill with placement
- Added a daily lead
Dave Robson, Quartermaster
- Inventory next weekend as mentioned in the Public Comments
Kim “Kimistry” Clinton, Ranger Lead
- Working on securing venues for upcoming Ranger training. 28 Rangers have been trained so far.
Julie “Kiosk” Murphy, Gate Lead
- Volunteers will do four-hour shifts, instead of the standard three.
Bastion Ridley, Medical Lead BAMF
- Using two XXXO’s per day this year
- They are in good shape to meet numbers this year
- Every department should contact other Regionals (220 globally) if you need volunteers
Gretchen W., Communications Lead
- Art Fair will be at the Fusion Factory on March 29th
- She asked Leads to email [email protected] if they have open Ignition positions so they can be posted on the website
- Waiting on a few departments to be able to announce pre-registration info
Julie Stenger, Center Camp
- The Ice XXXO is still open
- Café XXXO position has been filled, and is a coffee roaster and is an expert in making Toddies!
John Collins, Land Search and Parking Lead
- Working on educating volunteers how to efficiently park cars
Michael Yancy, Board Member
- Positions are being filled and will need to have the positions ratified via email
- He has all the Red Shirt contact list
Dana , A-Con
- Shin and Co-Shin switched roles to better fit what they’ve been doing anyway.
- Daily leads will have required safety training before getting ticket codes.
- Will be moving some gathering points at the event.
- 20 minute performances this year plus Chaos.
So Rachel Cain, Art Grant Committee
- Art grant committee is awesome and has been renamed “CATS” (Creative Art Team Support)
- Closed the Seed Money round – collecting 16 contracts from artists to be approved by BOD. Art Committee and Finance now have a great process
- Cross pollination round closes at the end of March
- They have been advertising to other Regionals for that round. Gretchen recommended Burning Man’s JackRabbit Speaks Newsletter
Meg Woodhouse, Acculturation
- She’s working on a project to show Burning Man Documentaries at Apo, and has written several of the documentary makers to get permission.
Matt “Mith” Worden, Sound Lead
- There would be a sound policy meeting after the Board Meeting. They will be making some policy changes. Check back at the Sound Policy page for updates!
Kiki, Volunteer Appreciation Gift Lead
- Sticker art has been awarded to Julie Stenger and Yana Nightingale
Claire “Eclair” Lay, Volunteer Lead
- Will be filling daily lead positions soon
- They will have a volunteer booth with reminder cards, laminates and other items near Greeters / Placement at the top of the hill
- Please review the template and use the format she sent out for departmental shift requirements
Jen “Jigsaw” Whitesell, Board Member
- Papa Bear, our Parent/Family Liaison, is collaborating with other departments to create volunteer shifts for kids. If your department can think of a good volunteer opportunity for kids, email [email protected].
- This year there will be more kid friendly activities and opportunity for all ages of kids.
Scott “Koda” Dudley, Board Member and Volunteer Database
- He’s nearly finished rewriting the volunteer database software that includes reporting and other features. He wrote the software to be flexible enough to be expanded and allow features to be added in later years. It’ll be similar in function to what Bug had already started in the previous database.
Discussion about shift duration followed. Some suggested standardizing to four hour shifts as fewer volunteers are needed each day. Many disagreed about demanding a minimum across the departments. Scott “Koda” wants to empower the Leads to decide and work the Volunteer Lead to coordinate. A motion to require 4 hour minimum shifts died.
UPCOMING BOARD MEETING
April 13th instead of April 21st
This does affect the “Freeze date” for Ignition Members, as it is always the April Board Meeting when no additional Ignition members can be ratified.