July 2020 Board Meeting Minutes

 

• Meeting Attendance
  • Ernie Rodriguez - President
  • Peggy Flaxman - Executive Director
  • Tom Howe - VA Advocacy Director
  • Rob Lowe - Membership Director
  • Sharon Maloid - Activities Director
  • David Beugelmans - Vice President
  • Dave Magill - MD Advocacy Director
  • Neil Blake - Treasurer
  • Mauricio Carvalho - Trail Boss
  • Elaine Hess – Family Ride Program Coordinator

 

• Financial Updates (Neil)
  • General
    • $21.6k revenues including $19.6k for Q2 2020 memberships. A $6k increase over the same period in the prior year $13.6k
    • $8.9 of expenses, $4.5K of ED costs and $2.3k of marketing costs (socks, bike tags)
  • Restricted
    • $62k of revenues ($10k Patuxent and $51.3k Locust Shade)
    • $3.2k of expenses ($1.1k Locust Shade, $1.2 MoCo reinvestment, various others)
  • Cash balances
    • $211.5k restricted
    • $195.2k general funds
  • Directors and Officers Liability Insurance
    • Ernie
      • Believes MORE is mature enough and well behaved enough to forego D&O insurance
      • What it covers doesn’t apply to us
    • Neil
      • Very limited insurance policy
      • Not an employee practices policy
    • Dave M.
      • It could be prudent to have protection against rouge volunteers
    • Ernie
      • Indicated he will see if there is an insurance product MORE can purchase with respect to volunteers
    • Payroll Protection Program (Loan Forgiveness)
      • Expanding to 24 weeks
      • Ernie: Received email from Sandy Spring Bank that they are working on electronic processing.

 

• Membership Updates (Rob)
  • Our 2nd month of Membership Drive has now completed as of last night and I wanted to share the final numbers and actually got the final stuff done today.
  • June 2020 was HUGE relative to typical June's.  And June is when we typically start doing pre-reg for MoCo normally, it is only 10-15 in June but still we didn't have that contributing at all.  We DOUBLED our June 2019 numbers, plus a bit extra.
    • 2020 June - 156@$6851
    • 2019 June - 73@$3092.
  • So for the Quarter of April thru June:
    • 2020 - $23,920 - I had guessed we would hit near $21-22k.  
    • 2019 - $17,029 - So almost $7K more than last year - 1 Month (May) Membership Drive
    • 2018 - $11,957 - IMBA did no spring membership drive in 2018, so we doubled since then.
  • Should be in the $20-21K range post IMBA slice.  Hard to say with all the monthlies, we are now at 48 monthly members currently.  
  • YTD - Thru June 
    • 2020  - $34,440
    • 2019  - $26,099  (+8.4K YTD)
    • 2018  - $20,567  (+14K YTD)
  • Upcoming
    • Fall camping trip and MoCo are big drivers in the fall, we did $20K in those 2 months in 2019 and $16K in 2018.  
    • Rob believes we may lose some membership due to issues with MoCo and COVID-19
  • Trails
    • Maryland (Dave M)
      • Not a lot of recorded volunteer activities and many communities are still closed
      • Good bit being done, but through professional trail builders (Greenstone Trailcraft)
        • Patapsco is done or nearly done with two additional miles
        • Then doing Greenbrier and Patuxent
      • Still waiting on approval from SHA to expand contract for Patuxent
      • Shafer and Seneca Creek trails have been mowed and trimmed
    • Virginia (Tom H)
      • Meadowood
        • Trail workday scheduled for July 12^th
        • Working on "trail etiquette" signage
      • Wakefield
        • Mastenbrook Grant Application submitted to FCPA (~$20,000) for rehabilitation
        • Trail workday scheduled for July 18^th
        • Youth Advisory Council Trail Work learning day scheduled for July 22^nd
        • Working on “unauthorized trail - do not use" signage
      • Locust Shade
        • Grant awarded (~$50,000)
        • Locust Shade Phase II
      • Corridor cleared
      • Walkthrough completed with PWC
      • Work has begun
        • Vernon
          • Trail work day scheduled for July 25^th. Involving neighborhood kids. Lots of volunteers.
          • Recruiting new potential liaisons
          • Discussing with FCPA the possibility of developing a Skills Area within the park
        • Fountainhead
          • Trail work will consist of targeted maintenance only
          • Skills Park
            • Looking into permitting application
            • Desire to involve MTB community for input and to help build to reinvigorate community involvement
          • Laurel Hill
            • Working with FCPA and other trail partners on the design, build, and installation of kiosks at the Apple Orchard, Giles Run, and the Equestrian Center
          • Lake Accotink
            • Liaison had a meet and greet with the new park manager and the area manager from FCPA
          • MoCo Epic Alternatives
            • Peggy
              • Had July meeting to discuss alternatives
              • Discussed what we could do and did a survey
              • Goal is to do something that most people are comfortable with. We still need to do something for our membership
              • Question is how much we should expand outside of MoCo to bring in new members
            • Dave B.
              • Discussed idea of virtual event expanded outside of MoCo for 2020 only
            • Dave M.
              • Discussed idea of group rides and unmanned water aid station
              • There has been significant concern about aid station and COVID
              • Indicated BOD can query liaisons and see if they would support in their parks. Ask to see if it’s appropriate.
              • Some on the MoCo team said they do not want group rides at all. We need to figure out with virtual event whether we should be promoting group rides or not.
            • Ernie
              • None of us want to prohibit group rides, but we want to follow guidance
              • This is a perfect opportunity to cancel the MoCo Epic and transition to a new methodology focused on new riders
            • General consensus to do a “virtual” event that includes other trail systems
            • Tom
              • As incentive to join event, participants can take picture of key things on routes to enter into drawing to win prizes
            • Dave B
              • Make t-shirt with people’s names
            • Neil
              • We need to make a predefined route to help people
            • Dave M
              • We want to get people to make $30-$40 donations.
              • Charging for GPS tracks isn’t a huge draw.
              • Supports idea of getting t-shirt.
            • David B.
              • Idea to do tiers so everyone gets a t-shirt and you can win prizes for showing completion of rides and certain other metrics
            • Andrew
              • Concerned that people won’t see a reason to participate for altruistic reasons
            • Dave M
              • We should expect about 300 people will pay to participate
              • We are going to lose people, but it’s still a real amount of people.
            • Peggy
              • Need to be careful about not concentrating people at one place
              • Will put together list of next steps
            • Dave M
              • We need to see a budget for approval by BOD
            • Ernie
              • Motion to approve $5000 budget for MoCo Epic alternative, to be spent by Executive Director as appropriate
                • Motion passed, none opposed.

 

• Fall Camp-Out Options (Sharon)
  • Sharon’s Proposal
  • The campout this year will strictly be camping, no organized anything. MORE will have the campground all to ourselves (as usual), so if you want to camp, you know your neighbor will be a MORE person. Register on BikeReg and enter the cabin lottery as usual. The weekend would be "self-sufficient" and just like any other campground you'd go to on a weekend. We will need to designate a MORE coordinator that will be on site, and as someone the Big Bear POC, can contact on site.  But we will not provide beer, potluck, breakfast, organized rides, or firewood - which is what we normally do.  But it's still a great place to ride and I guess there will be a medium size contingency that still will go.  
  • To guarantee the campground (tent, RV, cabin sites) for MORE, we need to do the following 2 things: 
  • At a minimum, we will pay for at least 50 adult participants, at a rate of $10/pp (kids are free).  And we would pay for each person if we go over the 50 adults.
  • COST with 6% tax: $530.
  • We agree to rent the 3 cabins at 25% off the listed price (cost = small $99.12, medium $115.92, large $124.32). 
  • COST  $339.36
  • TOTAL: $869.36
  • So, for a gamble of ~$870, we can offer MORE members a guaranteed place to camp, in a great location, for a minimal cost and likely you'll know your neighbor, vs a random stranger.  If all the cabins go, and we have at least 50 folks to tent/RV camp, and the cabins are full, then we break even.
  • We would need to establish a price/pp, which we suggest is to be $10/pp. Big Bear charges $10/pp/tent/RV, no charge for kids.  If you enter and win the cabin lottery, you pay the cabin fee, but you and anyone who stays with you in that cabin doesn't pay the $10/pp. Usually the cabins are a hot seller, but usually the cost for the weekend is higher at $40-$60/pp, depending on when you sign up.  Should the cabins not get sold, then MORE would still have to pay for them. Sign up would be on BikeReg, the BigBear Waiver would be emailed to each attendee for signature and to bring to the campground for collection that weekend.
  • Ernie: thinks we should stress that the event is “on your own” and we are just offering a heavy discount.
  • Dave M.: Motion to approve Sharon’s proposal
    • Motion passed, none opposed.

 

• Addressing Diversity and Inclusion at MORE (Peggy)
  • What type of actions MORE can take to be more inclusive and diverse overall (so looking at BoD, membership, programming, etc.) ? I do not want to simply issue some sort of statement that says “look what we’re already doing” followed by “we know we need to do more”. While we could do those things (because they’re true) we need to show that we can listen and react with some sort of plan to reach identified, measurable goals regarding D & I.  My question is how do we do this?
  • Is this something we want to do at the BOD level, or should we reach out to membership?
  • Ernie: There are other organizations we partner with that do better jobs at this than we do.
  • Dave M: We should convene key partners to see if there’s any way we can help.
  • Peggy: Will go to partners and see how we can help

 

• Communications Update (Andrew)
  • Finished annual report

 

 June 2020 Activity Reports

• President – Ernest (Ernie) Rodriguez
  • Working with Andrew and team on annual report
  • Working with Peggy on new sponsor - CognitiveMTB
  • Discussions with Rolling Ridge Conservancy regarding trail maintenance
  • Youth Advisory Council meeting - ongoing work
  • Establish new partnership with FreeBikes4KidsMaryland
  • Working with Martin Fernandez at Locust Shade for a virtual "Grand Opening" video of new advanced loop
  • Working with Tom and Chris Morin at Laurel Hill to build kiosks through partnerships with Fairfax4hourses and Fairfax County Park Authority (Shared Cost)
  • Posting to social media to promote MORE brand and partnership activities
  • Helping with MoCo Epic planning meetings
  • Working with Dave and Peggy on Discover Montgomery County virtual ride series
  • Ordered and received new Club Ride shirt/jerseys for major donors
  • Working with Smartetailing though Mike Klasmeier to develop (MORE) membership product for retail bike shops (Shops would sell MORE memberships)
  • Send welcome messages to new Meetup members for MORE

 

• Executive Director – Peggy Flaxman
  • MoCo Epic Alternative Event Planning
  • Youth Advisory Council: Monthly meeting, discussed your needs. Setting up learning day at Wakefield 7/22.  Plans for MD event, date TBD
  • Locust Shade: Walk through and meeting with PWC
  • Discover Montgomery Event: 8 parks set with 3 rides each
  • Website Updates: Group rides page, women’s rides, sMOREs
  • Submitted Mastenbrook Grant Application
  • Beginner’s Skills Clinic/Ride: Assisted Kathy
  • Loch Raven Meeting: No changes
  • Meeting with Arlington Board Candidates
  • Fulfillment: Took over for Ernie on mailings
  • Trail Webpages: Beginning updates to all MD/VA/DC trails pages
  • Social Media: Posts & responses to FB messaging

 

• Vice President – David Beugelmans
  • Addressed social media blackout day with Peggy and Ernie
  • Compiled mailing list of ride leaders and sent mass emails re: guidelines for restarting group rides
  • Waterworks
    • Mowed solar park loop
    • Installed 100-foot boardwalk

 

• MD Advocacy Director – Dave Magill
  • Continued approval efforts to amend the Patuxent contract with Greenstone to add another 2 miles of trail build
  • Email-based organizing of mowing and trimming volunteers in West MoCo
  • Pursuing agreement with MoCo Parks to allow MORE to use powered hedge trimmers on county trails
  • 3 Patuxent trail clearing workdays with small groups, 3 days trimming SCSP trails
  • Working with Kathy Mihm on updated maps of Schaeffer and West MoCo, to be funded through the $25k RTP grant
  • Supported Ernie and Tom Newton in setting up the Patuxent Dig-in fundraiser
  • Call regarding Loch Raven strategy
  • MoCo Epic alternatives planning
  • Trying to get more MORE volunteers certified to chainsaw in SCSP, but park not holding training sessions at this time
  • Provided edits to annual report
  • Working to resolve parking issue at SGBP
  • Mapping for Discover Montgomery virtual rides w Peggy

 

• VA Advocacy Director – Tom Howe

• Finalized Mastenbrook Grant Application (FCPA) for Wakefield Park
• Helped Martin to clear the power line corridors for Phase II of Locust Shade
• Met with Joshua from City MTB via Zoom to discuss trail advocacy strategies and approaches
• Ad hoc trail work at both Lake Accotink Park and Wakefield Park
• Met with candidates for the Arlington County Board of Supervisors via Zoom
• Met with Wakefield crew via Zoom to discuss plans and activities for trail work and maintenance
• Delivered MORE Yard Sale Signs to Laurel Hill
• Provided content for the MORE Annual Report - VA and DC Trails in Review section
• Held the first recurring Monthly VA/DC Liaisons Meeting 
• Zoom Call scheduled for the first Monday of the month
• Forum to discuss 

• Club Updates
• Local advocacy issues
• Major trail construction or repair plans for the year
• Upcoming maintenance days
• Reports on recent maintenance work
• Areas where MORE can provide help

• Liaisons from Mt Vernon District Park, Fountainhead Regional Park, Wakefield Park, Meadowood and Loudon County attended

• Trail Boss – Mauricio Carvalho
  • Ad hoc Schaeffer farm and SCSP
  • MoCo Planning Epic meeting

 

• Membership Director – Rob Lowe
  • June Membership Processing
  • May Membership Summary
  • Discussions around Shop Based Memberships
  • Wakefield/Accotink Trail Work Meetings
  • Wakefield Trail Work

 

• Communications Director – Andrew Melito
  • Continued producing annual report

 

• Treasurer – Neil Blake
  • Assisted with the finalization of the Annual Report
  • Attended informational session with the newly elected Arlington county board member
  • Prepared books and records

 

• Activities Director – Sharon Maloid
  • Been in contact with the Big Bear Camplands venue coordinator, they are open to host the event. Will consider their minimum requirements to continue to hold campground for just MORE campers (likely 50 persons).
  • Contact with breakfast provider for minimum commitment needed; response pending. 
  • Discussions with Phili vanWerkhoven (event co-planner) on options for doing some level of the fall event; likely "camping only".