Evergreen Soaring
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Saturday, 09 August, 2008

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 AM in the ES Clubhouse by Treasurer Marty Gibbins.  Present were voting members:  Merel O'Rourke; Gary Paulin; Paul Sjoberg; and Ron Bellamy.  Non-voting board members: Howard Glover and Dan Teifke were present.  Several other members were also present, among them: Lynn Weller, Keith Turner, Jeff Wolff, Angus McKinnon, Chuck Flora, Mike Reid, Ryan Gingles, John Powers, Steve VanGorder, and Mike Lindsay. 

New Members:

• Ken Okimoto presented his application to the Board.  Accepted by acclamation.  Welcome Ken! 
• Kenneth Raymond Jaquith, also accepted by acclamation. 
• The earlier email acceptances of Jeff Wolff and Ryan Gingles were confirmed. 
• Steve Fribley had been mentioned for membership but we seem to lack any application.  Deferred until we do have. 
• Ron Clark asked to be placed on inactive status.  Merel moved to have Ron made a special member.  Massive dissent!  Not to Ron but to adding any more Special Members--the consensuss is that many such members need to be removed as soon as possible.  The Decisions was to make Ron inactive should he be called up into active service and to return him to active regular status the moment he returns.  Ron: we all want to see you flying as much as possible! 

OFFICERS' REPORTS:

Secretary (Merel O'Rourke)  Passed. 


Treasurer (Marty Gibbins, )

Marty handed out four (4) pages of information: a Balance Sheet; Check Detail; Income & Expenses; and A/R Aging Summary. 

Much discussion ensued regarding the DG-1000 club-within-a-club.  This has turned out to be an expense to the club when the intent was for it to be self-funding.  The Board will watch this carefully and adjust the arrangement for next year. 

Marty revisited the issue of fuel and tow costs.  The decision (in his absence) to raise tow fees to $1.25/100 feet of tow was confirmed as sound and warranted. 


Operations Director (Paul Sjoberg)

We're pretty much maxed out in our operations.  Current membership is not being supported at the present service level; there's certainly no hope of supporting expanded membership or demo rides.  The minimum is two of each, tow planes and instructors, for each Saturday and Sunday.

We will continue to try to expand service to two tow pilots and two instructors, or more, for each day of each weekend. 


President Elect (Fred Hermanspann)  Not present. 


President (Michael Moore)  Not present. 


Chief Flight Instructor (Ron Bellamy)

Ron presented the Safety Review Board Report regarding the unplanned short landing (landing on base leg), the unplanned landing out, and the crash of L-13 N48029.  Much discussion ensued. 

The consensus was that the club Green Card needs to be revived and aggressively enforced.  No sign-offs?  No tow.  Not current?  No tow.  This will require some training/re-training of FOO's, which process is already in effect thanks to the efforts of Paul Sjoberg.  Due to other preparations that must first be completed (e. g. review of the Green Card, FOO training, etc.) no specific action was proposed or taken. 

Members raised the questions about whether the site damage had been paid for and what was the resolution to the expense of the loss of 029.  Both issues are currently being addressed but are likely to take some time.  The site damage issue will be hurried along as much as possible. 

Decision: the Board accepted Ron's and the Review Board's report.  Copies, in one form or another, will be made available to the general membership as quickly as possible. 


Equipment Manager (Gary Paulin)

Gary reported that the question had been raised to him whether or not we needed to return the L-23 in Ephrata to KAWO in light of the loss of 029.  And, collaterally, what had been the use of the 1-34 in Ephrata ... enough to warrant leaving it there?  After much discussion, the decision was made to leave both ships in Ephrata until the end of September. 

Mike Delaney fixed the electric tow cart.  Thanks Mike! 

Gary also installed a locking mail box near the Airport Office.  Our official address is now:

Evergreen Soaring Inc.
17914 59th Drive NE
Hanger C, Unit 1
Arlington, WA 98223

For the sake of completeness, here are the addresses of the physical clubhouse and our hangers. 

17916 59th Drive NE
North Hanger, East Storage
Arlington, WA 98223

18820 59th Drive NE
Hanger 5/14/15 (as appropriate)
Arlington, WA 98223

Because the Constitution requires that the official address of the club will be the address of the current Secretary, Merel will prepare an amendment to the Constitution to reflect the change of address above and have that ready for Board approval at the next meeting.  The amendment will have to be voted in by mail ballot.  See New Business regarding a mailer already in the works. 



Scheduler (Dan Teifke)

Dan is waiting for the current schedule to run out before filling in a new one.  He asked, rhetorically, how to fill in and make changes in the existing schedule in the mean time?  So far, one has to contact him or Noel and have them make the changes.  Both are exploring interactive calendars that allow real-time modifications. 

Tow cards are looking good.  FOO's are doing a pretty good job of keeping them and the log sheet in agreement and in order.  We'll do better as the FOO's are trained/re-trained. 

Dan also noted in passing (possibly in response to a comment that I missed) that he looks at the tow plane tach time only in reference to tow pilot training or a retrieve. 


GlidePath Editor (Gary Thayer)  Not present. 


Chief Tow Pilot (Howard Glover)

Howard will arrange a meeting of the club's tow pilots and then a subsequent more-general meeting to address issues regarding towing. 

At the moment, we essentially have no rules regarding accepting new members as tow pilots only.  The insurance rules have also changed recently--we must now qualify and perhaps re-qualify tow pilots in a somewhat different manner than we had in the past.  All of this needs to be revisited and codified. 

Howard has implemented a cross-country tow and retrieve checklist, typed it up, had it laminated, and has placed copies in all three tow planes.  Tow pilots are expected to use them. 

Tow plane 17Z is due for a new engine--we're past TBO by some margin.  Howard suggests we schedule the operation for December of this year.  Marty will get this formally into the budget as an event (savings toward it have been in the budget for several years).  Pierre L. handed Marty a quote from Paul N.  The estimate, for about $30K, will need to be renewed. 

Angus M. jumped in to report that the airport had received a noise complaint just the past weekend.  A tow pilot overflew someone's house at less than 1,000 feet.  Howard will review this issue with all tow pilots at their upcoming meeting. 

17Z suffered a stab. issue, its second instance.  It is (again) repaired. 

One of the plexi side windows on 30Y is cracked, and has been patched up with what looks like silicone cement.  Will need replacing. 



COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Glider Committee (Gary Paulin, Chair)

Sale of the 1-26, the 1-36 (pending) and the insurance settlement on 029 should net us about $40K. 

Gary continues to watch for glass two-place ships on the market. 

Lynn W. jumped in to observe that anything over $38K for such a ship is desperately close to robbery.  Beware! 

The Board needs to begin building a glider-purchase process.  Gary will work off-line with Board members toward such a process, to be adopted formally later. 

Airport Committee (Mike Reid, Chair)  Passed. 

Constitution and By-Laws Committee (Merel O'Rourke, Chair)  Passed. 

New Membership (Glenn Chouinard, Chair)

Glenn raised a number of probable issues with the present membership forms. 

First, we may need to remove the hold-harmless portion.  Lynn W. confirmed that a few years ago, waivers of liability and hold-harmless agreements were ruled as void in Washington State.  We do, however, want people to enter into their flight(s) fully cognizant of the risks involved.  Toward these separate but related ends, Glenn will seek informal direction concerning the legality and/or acceptable wording of the waiver.  If necessary, following Glenn's efforts, the Board will solicit formal legal help. 

Asking for marital status should be removed.  Emergency-contact information will do in its stead. 

The two questions regarding medical problems and being under medical care should also be removed.  It is prudent and legal to substitute wording from the FAR's such as: Do you know or have reason to know of any medical condition(s) that would make you unable to operate an aircraft in a safe manner? (paraphrased from FAR 61.23(c)(2)(iv).  Asking if they have been refused an aviation medical is similarly allowed. 

The Board reaffirmed that there is no longer any reimbursement of the demo-ride fees. 

Several members had wondered if tow pilots, like the pilots of the gliders flying demonstration rides, needed to have a commercial rating.  Glenn will contact Costello for their take on these related issues. 

As it stands, Glenn has provisional approval for the changes-to-date in the membership application forms.  He will make a few more tweaks and submit for final approval. 


OLD BUSINESS:

The Minutes, Decisions & Action Items of July's Board Meeting were approved by acclamation. 

No further action on the G-103 Twin Astir has been taken so far as we know. 

Michael Moore has information about the status of our premise insurance but is not present to report it.  Next time ... . 

Pending Action Items from the May Board Meeting:

• Ron B. briefly reminded members that the Waton Outer ILS Marker for approach to runway 34 is five miles south of the end of that runway and the airspace above/near it is to be avoided.  Please learn to identify this from the air. 
• Michael M. and Ron B. spoke with Keith Turner about his exclusive and for-fee instruction.  None of them were able to identify how this was in violation of any club rules or even intent.  The Board accepted Ron's and Michael's informal report by acclamation.  We will proceed, steady as we go, and continue to monitor the situation. 
• Still pending:  Noel will an interactive Web page for equipment squawks. 
• Canceled: the Student Encampment. 

Pending Action Items from the June Board Meeting:

• All executed.  (See earlier minutes for listing.) 

Pending Action Items from the July Board Meeting

• Michael M., Gary P..  Marty G., and others will review the proffered lease of the Twin Astir from Tony Wiederkehr and will report back to the Board in due course. 
• Dan T. will explore a dynamic calendar system which allows constant updating--Google and Yahoo will top the list to explore. 
• Noel W. will correct the Web site to reflect the By-Laws in that Special Members pay no initiation fee. 

  
NEW BUSINESS:

Process for away operations (Mike Reid)  This was deferred due to process already underway with the Tow Pilots and CFI-G's (who will take Mike's document very much into consideration).  For the time being, anyone wanting to have an away operation will continue to do as before: contact the Board by email. 

The Board agreed in principle to a mailer to the membership.  The mailer would deliver the most recent news (tow rate increase, individual responsibility for SSA membership, etc.), deliver the ballot and return envelope for the Constitutional amendment mentioned above (official address change) as well as survey the membership for current contact information, certificates held, currency, and so on.  The actual text is yet to be determined.  Once the text is adopted by the Board, funds for the mailer will be allocated. 

   
NEWS:

Merel O reported on the ultralight crash on 03 August.  The aircraft was totaled but the pilot walked away.  The police and other emergency units are so experienced these days that they now carry a printed card with the NTSB and FAA numbers on them!  Very useful! 

The September Board meeting will be held Saturday 06 September, 9:30 AM, in the ES clubhouse. 

Marty gaveled the meeting closed at about 12:30PM. 

Respectfully submitted,

Merel R O'Rourke, ES Secretary
merelo@merelo.cnc.net
503-320-7059