June 2024 Board of Directors Meeting Minutes and Activity Reports

 

 Virtually present at meeting

Casey Anderson – President

Jali Fernando – Executive Secretary

David Beugelmans - Secretary

Kathy Mihm – Ride Programs Director

Dave Magill - MD Advocacy Director

Rob Lowe – Membership Director

Neil Blake – Treasurer

Michael Ullmann – VA Advocacy Director

 

Guest: Chris Hunter (Assistant Treasurer)

 

• Executive Director Report – Jali
  • We had adaptive ambassadors training, the first of hopefully many. Went well and well attended. About 12 people who got trained. They will be able to take adaptive riders out on the trails on their own. Adaptive liaisons will be with them for the first few rides. The next step is to get more people out there with an adaptive buddy.
  • Working with Montgomery Parks on MoCo Epic adaptive route.
  • We have a member that reached out that is very interested in advocacy and story telling. We have some needs that are unmet. This person has some background and is doing a training with Outdoor Alliance. Going to do some storytelling for the Frederick Watershed team, so reached out to them. Hoping he can fill some of those needs.
  • MoCo Epic is full steam ahead. Have opened registration for Sunday rides. Still looking for station sponsors. Found one that is very enthusiastic and wants to sponsor a rock band.
• MICL – Jali
  • Wanted to circle back on this. Had some discussion over email.
  • Met with Jon Posner a few days ago. Said it was being discussed on the board and would let him know.
  • Had the following asks:
    • If MORE can continue doing the MORE friends and family rides during race weekends?
    • Financial support – they wanted help funding the salary for the new race lead director. Ask was $10,000 over 3 years.
  • Jali – our initial thought is we should support MICL but we shouldn’t support a salary.
  • Casey – Don’t want to subsidize position without it being more connected to MORE’s mission of building trails and riding bikes
  • Dave M – Did you float the idea of profit sharing on news members?
  •  General idea of trying revenue share or some kind of a membership arrangement
  • Dave M: Board wants to know what they are going to pay them and what their financial situation is. Need some additional information.
  • Casey: If we wanted to make this simple, we could say say we will give you $25 for every family remember where a kid does NICA. And we will just presume you drove them to us. There are only a few hundred kids, so it’s not that open ended.
  • Dave M: The message is the board wants to figure something out, but we want to try to do something that is a win – win and is around joint membership. Suggest that Jali engage with MICL again.
• Financial Update – Neil
  • This was a fairly normal month.
  • $1.3k Net general increase
    • $11k general revenues
    • $5k memberships (rough estimate)
    • $3k MoCo Epic sponsorships
    • $1.8 interest
    • $1.2 other
  • $9.6k general expenses
    • $6.5k ED cost
    • $1.5k IT costs (most of this was the Adobe purchase per an email exchange)
    • $0.5k ride program
    • $1.1k other
  • $11.5k net restricted increase
    • $14.8k restricted revenues
    • $5.5k James Long (from one donor)
    • $4.5k SHA for Rivers Edge (the brings the Grants Working Capital back to $50k)
    • $1.2 Lake Fairfax
    • $1.1 Locust Shade
    • $1k Hill Street Pump Track
    • $1.6k other
  • $3.3k restricted expenses
    • $1.8k Wakefield (lumber purchased by Cathy Riedel from a couple months ago)
    • $0.8k Kent Island
    • $0.7k Other
• Requests for Approval – Dave M
  • Background:
    • The GTF was expanded in spring 2021 to allow parks/liaisons to receive up to $10k from the GTF so long as the type of expenditures and the matching requirements were met. The program has been popular with about 18 parks having received GTF funds. 
    • Some of the earlier parks have new projects and want to be able to receive more GTF money. 
    • The Trails Committee recently approved recommending the two items above for approval by the full board. 
    • In January, the board reviewed a request to add $50k to the GTF, and decided to transfer $25k in January and another $25k when needed.  With this change in policy, we would like to top up the GTF. 
    • When we inform the various liaisons about the change, we expect several more funding requests.
  • Item 1: Modify the MORE Trail Funds and GTF policies to allow any park to receive up to $20k from the GTF. Currently any one park is limited to $10k from the GTF.  Set the matching requirement for $10-20k at $1 for $1.
  • Item 2: Transfer another $25k of unrestricted funds into the GTF.
    • This will all be communicated promptly to liaisons.
    •  Motion to adopt both items above from Dave M. Seconded. Passed unanimously.
• Maryland Charity Annual Update Form/MD Mailbox Options – David B./Jali
• MD Mailbox Options
  • When file applications, if you don’t have a physical address, they won’t accept a PO Box. UPS has a service where they receive mail and you can put a physical address. Also forwards mail to someone so you don’t need to physically go there.
  • Jali: Looked into cost. It is $30/month for the smallest box. Goes up to $40/month for medium box.
  • Neil: Would need to use this for a few years.
  •  Agreement for Jali to sign up for a mailbox in Virginia at UPS Store.
• Charity Form
  • David will submit in the last week of June.
• Membership Update – Rob
  • We fell short of May 2023 by about 28 Membership Transactions and $1,638.   But we did exceed May 2022 which is still good by near 60 Membership Transactions and almost $2k. 
  • I sent out renewal reminders to near 2K members back thru all of 2020.  I didn't get to send out stuff to 2019 and back further.  We also had an excellent month for large donors with 47 @ $6350.   
  • We had a strong response also in memberships lapsed longer than 6 months and I saw a number of folks who had been expired 5+ years or more and I think at least 2 near 10 years (2015/2014).   
  • 303 Transactions at $15,000 - Post IMBA Fee we should be around $12,350'ish. 
  • Membership wise we were around 1922 at the end of the month, but we're still slowly slipping.  At this point last year we had 2063 total members.   
  • Casey: Would like to focus more attention on membership at board meeting or a separate meeting. This is complicated and difficult.
  • Michael: On board of daughter’s PTA, done it for two years. The first year we got a certain amount of membership. Then we added some verbiage in the membership type and said you can join for $20, and for $50 a year we will bother you less, and for $100 we won’t bother you at all.
  • Michael: For MoCo Epic you give a discount for members. Is there way for when people sign up, rather than giving a code, you can give them the option at sign up to pay less.
  • Casey: In order to make this a better discussion, we should do this by email and solicit questions from the board.
    •  Casey will send reminder email.
• Trails
  • Virginia – Michael
    • MORE had a tent at Rails to River. Got lots of attention. Will do the same for next race – Cranky Monkey.
    • Attended CCT event for Fairfax Parks.
      • Right after the event the parks manager reached out and talked about plans from years ago about looping in Brookfield.
    • One of our trails in very bad shape at Mt. Vernon in Alexandria. There is an ongoing Wednesday night women’s ride, and the trail is in bad shape. There is a community center right next to the trail, and it has been closed for the last 2 years. Since the community center closed, they took away resources that managed the trail. There is a ton overgrowth and group of teenagers building illegal jumps. Working on getting some additional coverage to fix up the trail.
  • Maryland – Dave
    • In Frederick, the Albatross line has been completed. The team is happy with it and they have been authorized to pay the bill. Machine built trails need some time to bed in.
    • Emmitsburg approved funding and submitted for a grant to build easier intermediate trails, which would be a 3-mile loop that can be used by NICA.
    • Had an opening event at Windy Ridge and had good turnout for the first day.
    • Todd Bauer has been hired as the Montgomery Parks Trails Program Coordinator.
    • Flow trails at Wheaton Regional are just about done. The green trail is done, the blue trail should be open in a week or two.
    • Confirmed with Montgomery Parks that a mile and quarter trail that connects the Town of Clarksburg that connects main trails to Little Bennet will be done is September and will be part of the MoCo Epic routes.
• Follow up on Gears and Beers Discussion – Kathy
  •  Agreement that MORE should support.

 

Activity Reports

• President – Casey Anderson
  • [*]

 

• Jali Fernando – Executive Director

• MoCo Epic: permits, sponsors, aid stations, registration
• Represented MORE in Bike Maryland's Prince George's County Bike Summit
• Spoke at the Reels for Wheels event in Frederick
• Helped organize the Adaptive Ambassador Training in Patapsco
• Helped organize Women's MTB Day (moved to June 22)
• Applied to become a nonprofit partner with Fairfax, Prince William, and Anne Arundel county public schools for student service hours. Working on additional counties.
• Coordinating with Scouts to have MORE trail work approved for volunteer hours

• Secretary – David Beugelmans
  • Coordinated board meeting and finalized minutes
  • Attend Anne Arundel County Crownsville Memorial Park Recreation and Trails Committee meetings
  • Coordinated edits to 2023 Annual Report

 

• MD Advocacy Director – Dave Magill
  • Continued paperwork on the $100k LBI’s for Patuxent and Seneca Greenway
  • Continued paperwork on the NEPA approval for the NWB $40k RTP grant
  • Working with Andrew Levine and others to create a trimming status spreadsheet shared by multiple volunteers for all MoCo trails.  It can be used in other places if needed
  • Trailwork to get Schaeffer ready for last Saturday’s race
  • Support Jali on route selection for the 2024 Epic

 

• VA Advocacy Director – Michael Ullman
• Trail work Day at Andrew Leitch Park
• Attended two S’more’s rides 
• Set up the MORE Tent and manned the tent at Rails to River at Lake Fairfax 
• Worked with Kathy to set up a group ride at Laurel Hill on National Trails Day. Was very well attended, great visibility with Fairfax Parks as well as county supervisors and Congressman Connolly. 
• Working with Fairfax Parks and the Liaison at Brookfield to extend the CCT
• Visited Mt. Vernon trails and working on a plan to get the bike trails back in order.  Trail is in disrepair and unauthorized jumps features are being added. 

 

• Membership Director – Rob Lowe
  • Membership Processing
  • Membership Drive Support - Additional Reminders for Q1 2024 back thru 2020.  - APPX 2K extra reminders sent.
  • Mail Processing for Club

 

• Ride Program Director – Kathy Mihm
  • Women's MTB Day Plan and Replan and Cancel
  • Review Annual Report
  • Set up Skills Clinic for MORE members with Hillary M.
  • ride set ups and communications
  • Bike box management and communications
  • Held 1 skills clinic and several group rides

 

• Communications Director – N/A

 

• Treasurer – Neil Blake
  • $1.3k Net general increase
    • $11k general revenues
    • $5k memberships (rough estimate)
    • $3k MoCo Epic sponsorships
    • $1.8 interest
    • $1.2 other
  • $9.6k general expenses
    • $6.5k ED cost
    • $1.5k IT costs (most of this was the Adobe purchase per an email exchange)
    • $0.5k ride program
    • $1.1k other
  • $11.5k net restricted increase
    • $14.8k restricted revenues
    • $5.5k James Long (from one donor)
    • $4.5k SHA for Rivers Edge (the brings the Grants Working Capital back to $50k)
    • $1.2 Lake Fairfax
    • $1.1 Locust Shade
    • $1k Hill Street Pump Track
    • $1.6k other
  • $3.3k restricted expenses
    • $1.8k Wakefield (lumber purchased by Cathy Riedel from a couple months ago)
    • $0.8k Kent Island
    • $0.7k Other

 

• Activities Director – Clay Deming
  • [*]