ECAT Board Meeting of March 5, 2008

ECAT Board Meeting of March 5, 2008

Present: Nancy, Glyfy, Bob, Greg, Brian
Welcome to S. Do-Han Allen, new ECAT board member.

Agenda

* contract with city
* employee contracts update
* rules & procedures revision
* cori update
* real estate/rental possibilities
* Alliant insurance quote
* purchase requests
* van update
* irs $


Contract with the city: reviewed Art. 5.12 Disqualifications & 5.13 Compensation and Conflicts of Interest
Ask lawyer for definition or rewording of "close family". Clauses otherwise ok, standard contract language to
protect the nonprofit, the board and members from graft/nepotism. Each board member should receive a copy of language and insurance is being looked into.
Glyfy makes motion to approve. Nancy 2nds. Motion Passes.

Employee contracts update: the board has met and will meet again to finalize contract language. Exec. Director position will become salaried. Production Coordinator's title to be changed to Operations Manager [just don't call me late for dinner.] and will start working 32 hours/week as of this week, 3/5/08.
City considers full time to be 35 hours, five seven hour days plus the 1hr unpaid lunch. Our lunch has always been paid, and so that would be a 40hr week. Our benefits have been 'full time' (3 weeks paid sick & personal time, 3 weeks paid vacation) at 25 hours and the contract proposal keeps them the same.
Board will meet again in exec. session to discuss contracts when Rebecca returns.

Insurance options include Insurance Partnership and Mass Health Connector but it appears the Greg won't be income-eligible, so Glyfy is exploring other options.

Rules & Procedures revision: Local origination clause in 1998 (most current) rules & procedures requires 60% local origination. Greg motions to amend or remove this clause. Discussion re: ECAT Mission Statement, which stresses the importance of locally produced programming.
Do-Han motions to eliminate language. Bob 2nds. Motion passes.

Purchase Request: (see it here ) the station needs an iMac with a dvd burner to keep older macs viable and improve workflow. Networked 1tb hard drive will allow for more storage of digital video and editing files. Memory upgrade for pc. Wireless ethernet adapter to use WBMS broadband pending password from John Schott.
Approved by Board.

CORI Update: CORI form and letter were sent to active volunteers. So far we've CORI'd three volunteers and 1 staff. No response from school so far, Nancy notes it may take 2 weeks to 3 months. Unclear what we do with volunteers in the meantime. Other access stations in schools reported not having to comply with this, though some have separate entrances. Question of whether it is a violation of protected free speech rights. Board agreed that new workshop participants should not be cori'd, just as people using the gym or attending events are not cori'd. CORI will continue to be required for volunteers to work around kids/ in the schools. Some of our volunteers are also minors, so that raises another question.

Real Estate/Rental Update: current options include the machine shop behind Eastworks, the old town hall space, Paragon Arts & Industry?, Franklin Ave bakery house. We will be looking at the Franklin Ave house on Friday 3/7/08 at 2pm. Asking price is $225k, new heating system being installed. May need major upgrades. Great view for potential outdoor set. House is across from iLoop. No answer from Charter re: how much it will cost to connect.

Alliant Insurance: http://www.alliantinsurance.com/ Estimate of $5-6,000 for equipment insurance, also looking into director & officers insurance.

The Van: Greg motions to insure the van and get it fixed. Discussion over need for insurance before it being fixed, mechanic may be able to provide dealer plates so insurance not needed. Nancy suggests fire & theft insurance. Motion is ammended to repair van and purchase fire and theft insurance, but to wait on full auto insurance until it is driveable and we need it. Glyfy motions, Bob 2nds. Motion passes.

IRS: The IRS requires an application fee of $750 followed by 3-6 months of processing our 501(c)3 application. Nancy motions to approve, Bob 2nds. Motion carries.

Discussion of ECAT funding mechanisms, possibilities for in-kind services from local vendors, underwriting.

Next Meeting: Thursday, April 3, 2008.