Notice is given of a vote on the proposed Arisia '05 budget included in this Mentor.

Notice is also given of a time change.  The November 14 Corporate meeting will be at 5 pm, following the Con Com meeting which has moved to 2 pm.

 

The October meeting was called to order at MIT at 14:40 on 17 October 2004.

 

In attendance were:

Rick Kovalcik, Persis Thorndike, Conor Walsh, Noel Rosenberg, Jack Dietz, Nicholas 'phi' Shectman, Walter Kahn, Patrick McCormack, Pat Vandenberg, Tom Coveney, Buzz Harris, Carsten Turner, Claudia Mastroianni, Cris Shuldiner, Dave Belfer-Shevett

 

Proxies: Sheila Oranch to Persis Thorndike, Dave Belfer-Shevett to Jack Dietz, Skip Morris to Nicholas Shectman, Craig McDonough to Noel Rosenberg, Allan Kent to Pat Vandenberg, Regis Donovan to Claudia Mastroianni, Alex Latzko to Claudia Mastroianni, Elka Davidoff to Buzz Harris, Ben Levy to Buzz Harris, Tom Murphy to Cris Shuldiner, Walter Kahn to Tom Coveney

 

Corrections to Previous Minutes:  In the October Mentor, Grants and Timeline committee were omitted.  Pat M.'s last name is properly spelled McCormack.  The November meeting was incorrectly listed as 2 pm rather than 1 pm (this correction has been superseded--the next corporate meeting is now at 5 pm, with a concom at 2 pm).

 

Reports:

President's report:  If you are interested in serving on corporate committees, please talk to Carsten, especially for the President's Honors Committee, for the purpose of honoring cool people who are part of Arisia or of fandom in general.

Vice president: No report.

 

Treasurer's report: Not present, no report.

 

Clerk: If anyone didn't get a Mentor 134 who should, please talk to Claudia or contact clerk@arisia.org.

 

Grant Committee: We need to figure out how bad the lack of money is and what to do about it.

 

Budget, Hotel Search, Timeline, Honors, Database, Long Range Planning, CIC: No reports.

 

Arisia '03: Not present, no report.

 

Arisia '04: Con chair, no report.

Treasurer:  Various nags have gotten no response from those who can do something about them.  Pat McCormack made a motion about Carsten's procrastinating friend that was withdrawn after Carsten said he would deal with getting the logistics truck reimbursement form in.

 

Arisia '05: Con chair: We're having a con.  The mass mailer is out, the art show and programming mailings soon will be. Online conversations happened about the budget, which was in mentor. A statement: Buzz "made the mistake of going on vacation" during the flurry of budget e-mail on which he has caught up.  People should feel free to talk to him or Cris about the subject directly or in meetings; The Vote is not the only place to give feedback about it.

Treasurer: Not present (arrived later).

 

Arisia '06: Con chair: Given recent discussion, the chair points out that he intends to invite a UK GoH, and a Canadian GoH, but no more than one UK guest and no guests from beyond North America + UK.

 

 

Old business:  No old business.

 

New business: 

Pat M: Proposes a document of general convention policies, for budget preparation and spending; we're bad at communicating knowledge dumps, and institutional memory... isn't.  We forget and make the same mistakes again.  Unless it's in writing, it doesn't have any force.  The corporation exists to be the fiscally responsible body for the convention, because each con doesn't care about the next.  Since we're the overarching body, we need to pass on information and present guidelines.  So we need documented guidelines.

The motion:  "The corporate budget committee will prepare a draft policy document that explains to the concom how to budget properly."

Pat V. seconds.

Rick objects to consideration.  9 in favor of the objection, six opposed; the objection fails (2/3 required).

Pat M. addressing the objection: This is not a motion to do anything but instruct the budget committee to start thinking about this.

After some discussion, Pat M. offers to split the motion, and Cris seconds:

1) The budget committee should draw up a standard form all our budgets should be written in.

2) The timeline committee should be instructed to include fiscal guidelines for how staff should run their departments.

Discussion on part 1, which is reworded to:

1) The budget committee should draw up standard budgeting practices and guidelines all our budgets should adhere to.

The question is called on the first part of this proposal.

17 in favor, 1 opposed, 3 abstensions. Motion passes.

Part 2: Rick asks to call the question, phi seconds.

No commentary.

16 in favor, 0 opposed. Motion passes.

 

Pat M. begins to offer a second motion. Carsten asks how many motions. 4 remain. Carsten calls a brief adjournment.

Meeting returns to order.

 

Pat M.: Moved: To set as corporate policy that the con shall not set single-event memberships.

Cris seconds.

Pat's explanation: Masq-only memberships, Dresden Dolls-only, art show-only. This question always comes up, and we should make an official policy.

Dave Belfer-Shevett suggests changing "event" to "function" for clarity. Done.

The question is called:

8 in favor, 8 opposed.

Presiden'ts vote: in favor, but asks Pat M. to write a line about the intent of it to be included in Mentor.

 

Pat M.: Moved: To set as Corporation policy that, starting with Arisia '05, the Art Show use the following procedure to deal with art that was succesfully bid for but not collected, even if a member of the Art Show staff knows the bidder:

1. Immediately contact the artist to explain the situation. The artist may choose to have the art immediately returned or have us try to complete the sale.

2. If requested, we will try to complete the sale for a period not to exceed 6 weeks.

3. After 6 weeks, or as soon as it is clear that the sale cannot be completed with available information, the art be immediately returned to the artist.

4. The Art Show will keep a log of any bidder who does not complete a sale at the end of the Art Show. If the sale is never completed, that person will be barred from bidding for 1 year. Any bidder who fails to complete sales by the close of the con, even if the sales are completed after the con, at 2 consecutive cons will be barred for bidding for 1 year.

Pat M: We have a policy, we should stick with it.

After further discussion, Rick moves to table the motion to timeline committee, to report back after Arisia '05. phi seconds.

Passes on a voice vote.

 

Pat M.: Moved: To set as corporate policy that Reg shall not spontaneously refund money to preregistrants who send too mucn money. Refunds shall be given to those who discover their own mistakes and ask us to refund their money.

Dave: Was this a problem?

Pat M.: Yes, this was a problem in December, when people send in extra money in case it arrives late. Bryt decided to have me mail them refunds.

After brief discussion, the question is called:

In favor, 4; opposed, 16. Motion fails.

 

Skip's modified motion, which went to the corporate list the morning of the meeting:

Moved to modify Arisia Fiscal Policy by adding:

IX. The convention budget shall contain expense line items for funds disbursed by the corporate whose primary purpose is support of the convention (ie, Storage, etc.)

X. The convention budget shall include the expected value of hotel comp rooms nights received, as well as the value of hotel rooms used by the convention. Funds received from sale of unneeded hotel comp rooms shall be reported as income; unused and unsold comps shall be reported as an offsetting expense.

XI. The convention shall sell unneeded hotel comp rooms to Arisia Staff at a five percent discount. Individuals renting such rooms, or where any person's room is billed to the Hotel Master Account must first pay for their rooms at Arisia Sales before being given a room key.

a. This does not apply to Guests-of-Honor or other persons whose rooming expenses are included in the convention budget. nor does it apply to individuals using rooms designated for convention functions where the space is temporarily not being used for it's primary purpose (ie, crash space). Any use of convention function rooms for crash space must not interfere with the primary purpose of such rooms.

phi seconds.

Rick: point of personal privilege: "5 percent of what?" 5 percnet off the rate posted on our website? or something.

phi channels Skip. His intent, imagining that hotel tax is 10 percent and the hotel room is 100, the intent is to pay 104.90.

Rick suggests "the amount listed in the hotel contract not including any tax", in other words.

phi seconds the amendment.

Carsten wants to table it. Moved and seconded.

16 in favor of tabling, 4 opposed. The motion is tabled.

 

There was a brief adjournment in preparation for budget discussion.  Meeting called to order.

 

Cris put forward the proposed '05 budget that appeared in Mentor 134.  Noel seconded it.

Carsten: Any discussion before we table it in accordance with the bylaws? (For lack of 12 days' notice.)

Much discussion ensued, touching on the one-time hotel rebates we got because of the date change; parties at other cons; paid security details; insurance; tech budget; Sunday Sundae; large print and Braille pocket programs; Ops cell phones; Fast Track; GoH travel; logistics labor budget; tips; con chair contingency fund; fireproof drape; art show payments and commissions; treasury credit card fees; the price of comped memberships; Internet Room; Massage Den.

Pat M.: Moved: To amend the budget by striking massage den.

Dies for lack of second.

Further discussion on art show reception; estimates of future membership sales; budgeting philosophy.

Noel moves to cut off debate on the budget.  (So the November debate is a mere yea/nay.) Seconded.

An objection to consideration is seconded.

In favor of objection to consideration: 10, opposed: 2. Objection succeeds, motion is dropped.

Rick moves to table the budget to the next corporate meeting, November 14 at 1 pm.

Noel says that it's tabled by the bylaws.

Conor: Can we move the concom meeting later?

Cris: Is there any way to swap the meetings so I can attend the Corporate meeting in November?

Buzz is cool with that, but hopes this doesn't mean 2 more hours of discussion.

Rick suggests 5 pm on the 14th for the corporate meeting and the concom at 2 pm on the 14th.

Cris: Moved: To move the corp meeeting on Nov. 14 to 5 pm.

Passed by acclamation.

Pat V: Let's discuss ahead of time on the mailing list rather than inch-by-inch scrutiny at the meeting.

Rick: I really feel the concom meeting is the place for the close scrutiny. I agreed with the intent of Noel's motion and hope it's quick, but didn't want to block any emergency considerations.

Phi: Please talk with the con treasurer before taking your area's budget questions to a wider audience.

Buzz:  Feel free to talk to me about this stuff.

 

Before adjournment, there was a bit of discussion about the benefits of hashing things out in e-mail and of debating things at corporate meetings.  Some people favor each, both, and neither (leave it to con com).

 

Future meetings:

Rick moved to set the January meeting on the Sunday of Arisia, subject to con scheduling concerns. Passed by acclamation.

November Corporate Meeting:

14 November 2004, 17:00, MIT building 66. TIME CHANGE.

December Corporate Meeting:

14 December 2004, 19:00, at the home of Rick Kovalcik.

19 Chesley Road, Newton Centre, MA   02459-1903                    1-617-244-4560 (home)                                                              1-508-259-6819 (cell)

rk@mit.edu et. al.                                                                         

By car, take the Mass Pike to exit 17 (Newton Corner).  Follow signs to Newton Centre which will put you on Centre St.  (When coming off the Mass Pike heading east from route 128, stay to the right.  Centre St. will be the first street on the right.  When coming off the Pike heading west from Boston, go 3/4 of the way around the "circle" around the hotel over the Pike.)  Continue on Centre St. for 2 miles to Newton Centre.  Immediately after the large parking lot on left, turn left onto Beacon St.

*Go 2 blocks and turn left onto Chesley Rd. just after Murray's                             Liquors and Motophoto on the left.  If you pass a Gulf Station, US Post Office, and West Coast Video on the right, you have gone too far.  Our house, a gray colonial with white and red trim, is the fourth house on the left.  You must park on the right hand side of the street facing in the direction of travel OR YOU MAY BE TICKETED.  Alternatively, you may park in the driveway to the right of the house as you are facing it.

Or, take Route 9 to Centre St.  Take Centre St. 1 mile to Newton                            Centre.  Immediately after yield / merge and before the large parking lot, turn right onto Beacon St.  Continue from "*" above.

By MBTA, take the Riverside (D) Branch of the Green Line to the Newton Centre stop.  Go upstairs and turn right onto Union St.  Go 3 blocks crossing Langley Rd. and Beacon St.  Union St. turns into Chesley Rd.

Our house, a gray colonial with white and red trim, is the fourth house on the left after crossing Beacon St.

January Corporate Meeting:

23 January 2005; see Arisia program for place and time.

Announcements:

The President wishes to remind everyone that there are many open committee positions. Talk to him if you want a committee appointment.

Meeting adjourned.

Notice:

Notice is given of a vote on the proposed Arisia '05 budget included in this Mentor.

EBoard met 14 October 2004, 19:00, at Wainwright Bank, Central Square, Cambridge, MA.

Attending:  Carsten Turner, Rick Kovalcik, Alex Latzko, Claudia Mastroianni, Nicholas Shectman, Buzz Harris, Noel Rosenberg, Aileen Boyle Latzko

Patrick McCormack asked whether he was ever properly appointed. The consensus is yes, around the end-of-summer '03 meeting. The Clerk is seeking records of this.

 

Subscription to Mentor of Arisia is included with Corporate Membership to Arisia, Incorporated.  Membership runs from September 1^st to August 31^st and costs $24.  Dues are prorated on a monthly basis for members joining during the year.

 

 

President Carsten Turner Building 600, PMB 322 1 Kendall Square Cambridge, MA 02139 president@arisia.org	Arisia 2004 Conchair Carsten Turner conchair@arisia.org
Vice President Rick Kovalcik (RKOV) 19 Chesley Road Newton Centre, MA  02459 vicepresident@arisia.org	Arisia 2004 Treasurer Patrick McCormick treasury@arisia.org
Treasurer Alex Latzko 82 Cliff Road Milton, MA 02186-1750 treasurer@arisia.org	Arisia 2005 Conchair Buzz Harris Building 600, PMB 322 1 Kendall Square Cambridge, MA 02139 conchair@arisia.org
Clerk Claudia Mastroianni 17 Creighton Street Cambridge, MA 02140 clerk@arisia.org	Arisia 2005 Treasurer Cris Shuldiner treasury@arisia.org
Arisia 2003 Conchair Skip Morris PO Box 542 Merrymack, NH  03054-0542 morris@skip.net	Arisia 2006 Conchair Nicholas Shectman 75 Lexington Avenue Somerville, MA 02144 arisia06@arisia.org
Arisia 2003 Treasurer Alex Latzko 82 Cliff Rd Milton MA 02186 treasury@arisia.org

 

 

 

 

 

Budget Committee Alex Latzko (chair) Cris Shuldiner Pat McCormack Rick Kovalcik	Technical Equipment Committee Joel Herda (chair) Liz Orenstein Alan Walker (Hobbit)
Corporate Inventory Control Skip Morris Rick Kovalcik	Survey Committee Pat Vandenberg
Corporate Systems Administrator Cris Shuldiner	Corporate Sales Officer Lisa Hertel
Long Range Planning Committee Bridget Boyle (chair) Rick Kovalcik	President's Honors Committee Carsten Turner Noel Rosenberg Joel Herda
Grants Committee Rick Kovalcik (chair) Noel Rosenberg Walter Kahn	Hotel Search Committee Tom Coveney Ben Levy
Timeline Committee Noel Rosenberg

Rob Bazemore	Dave Belfer-Shevett
Bridget Boyle	Brian Cooper
Tom Coveney	Elka Davidoff
Jack Dietz	Regis Donovan
Thomas Fish	Colette Fozard
Buzz Harris	Joel Herda
Brendan Hertel	Lisa Hertel
Jeanne Kahn	Walter Kahn
Allan Kent	Rick Kovalcik
Alex Latzko	Ben Levy
Claudia Mastroianni	Pat McCormack
Skip Morris	Tom "Merv" Murphy
Pam Ochs	Sheila Oranch
Mary Robison	Noel Rosenberg
Matthew Saroff	Melina Schlotthauer
Paul Selkirk	Nicholas "phi" Shectman
Cris Shuldiner	Rachel Silber
Pete Thomas	Persis Thorndike
Carsten Turner	Pat Vandenberg
Al Walker (*Hobbit*)	Conor Walsh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARISIA, Incorporated

Building 600, PMB 322

1 Kendall Square

Cambridge, MA 02139