Vancouver CommunityNet Board Minutes February 18, 1997 Present: Penny Goldsmith, Larry Kuehn, Margaret Coates, Greg Sturk, Carolyn Saunders, Jack Vickery, Susan Bryant, Katharine Shipley, Lily Fu, Neil K. Guy The meeting was called to order at 6:40 by Penny Goldsmith. 1. Agenda. M/S/C. That the agenda be adopted. 2. Minutes. M/S/C. That the minutes of the January 21, 1997, be approved with the correction of the spelling of Lily Fu. 3. Membership issues. M/S/C. That the motion on member valued-added services from the January board meeting be amended to add "in accordance with federal tax requirements." The policy now says: "That the VCN may charge for value-added services and no charitable tax receipts will be offered for the fees levied for these services, in accordance with federal tax requirements." It was agreed that the president, treasurer and Katharine Shipley will research further issues related to tax receipts and membership and will report to the next meeting. 4. Financial report/fundraising. Maintaining community networks in major urban areas has been a problem, with the recent loss of community networks in Montreal and Toronto. Cash reserves for the VCN have declined to about a six week level at the current rate of expenditures. Several fundraising projects and approaches are under way to maintain the VCN. M/S/C. That Margaret Coates and Peter Royce continue to investigate a partnership proposal with the Burnaby Chamber of Commerce to provide email service to their members. M/S/C. That Jack Vickery continue to investigate a partnership with the Labour Market Career Information Association to provide access for their staff and clients. M/S/C. That as soon as possible personal Web pages be instituted for members on the basis of a minimum $25 value-added (non-tax receiptable) charge. M/S/C. That a sub-committee work out a policy proposal for access times as a value-added service, with the board to approve the policy by an email vote as soon as possible. It was agreed that Neil would write a message for the front screen informing users about the precarious position of urban community networks, including the VCN. 5. Other reports. The VCN will have a table at the "Making the Links" conference. The volunteer committee is working on getting volunteers to offer training on an ongoing basis, as well as new volunteers for the office. The treasurer reported that for the first four months of the budget year to December 31, 1996, the revenue is over the amount anticipated in the budget and the expenditures are less than those in the budget. A written staff report provided details on activities being carried out by the three staff. 6. Enquiry B.C. M/S/C. That the VCN send a letter to the provincial government asking that it reconsider its proposal to cut toll-free access to government services through Enquiry B.C. The next meeting of the VCN board will be March 18, 1997, at 411 Dunsmuir.