PENDING APPROVAL at the PVS Board Meeting – September 11, 2007
Official Minutes
POTOMAC VALLEY SWIMMING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
MEETING NOTES
7:30 PM – TUESDAY, JULY 24, 2007
MCLEAN COMMUNITY CENTER
MCLEAN, VA
Attendance: Board Members: Jim Garner, Chair; Art Davis, Mark Faherty, John Hirschmann, Dan Jacobs, Bill Marlin, Bill Stephens, Ron Whalen. Non-voting Board members: Janet Auger, John Ertter, Jim Van Erden. Guests: Mark Eldridge, Ward Foley, Paris Jacobs, Brian Pawlowicz, Greg York
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at approximately 8:02 pm by Jim Garner, General Chair.
Agenda: Jim provided the Board with a proposed Agenda.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the June 12, 2007 meeting were unanimously approved.
General Chair Items: Jim Garner reported that he anticipated receiving a ruling this evening from USA-S’ regarding whether a new club should register in PVS or VSI. He indicated he expected the decision would be that the Patriot Swim Club should register in VSI. Others indicated their informal contacts were suggesting the same thing. Jim indicated he would forward same to all Board members upon receipt.
2007 Swimposium: Paris Jacobs confirmed that she had finalized arrangements with John Rogers of Georgetown Prep for the Swimposium. Brochures are currently at the printer and will be mailed to all PVS registered households next week as well as posted to the website. The Swimposium will be held on Saturday, October 6.
Results of Elections for Athlete/Coach/Official Representatives: Garner announced the results of the Board of Directors elections held on the prior two weekends as follows: Athlete Representatives – Virginia Ratcliff and Cassidy Wolfe, Coaches Representative – Dan Jacobs, and Officials Representative – Marie-Beth (Boots) Hall. A motion to destroy the ballots passed unanimously.
2007 United States Aquatic Convention: Prior to the meeting, Garner had provided all Board members a list of 23 recommended attendees to the Convention. Included on the list were: Greg York, Art Davis, Riley Eaton, Bill Stephens, Ron Whalen, Bill Marlin Dan Jacobs, Mark Faherty, Jim Thompson, Boots Hall, Austin Auger, Virginia Ratcliff, Cassidy Wolfe, Janet Auger, John Hirschmann, Ward Foley, Arvydas Barzdukas, Linda Klopfenstein, Sumie Emory, John Ertter, Paris Jacobs, Jim Van Erden, and Art Lopez. Of those present at the meeting, only Jim Thompson indicated that he would be unable to attend. Garner volunteered to contact those not in attendance and from whom he had yet to receive confirmation of attendance.
Hirschmann reminded the Board that currently PVS policy is that all PVS attendees are to be reimbursed for actual expenses and that PVS budget for the convention is $13,000. Given the current apparent attendance of 20 to 22 individuals, likely travel costs to California, lodging and convention registration costs, it was unlikely that PVS would be able to support this many attendees within its budget.
Conflict of Interest Statements: The Administrative Assistant reported that she had now received all currently required executed statements.
Treasurer’s Report / Finance Division: Financial results for the period ending June 30, 2007 had been provided to the Board prior to the meeting. PVS’s current assets on hand as of June 30, 2007, were $757,990. Discussion on the purchase of a new Certificate of Deposit was postponed until later in the meeting awaiting the return of John Ertter.
Age Group Division
2007 PVS Eastern Zone LC Coaches: Bill Marlin reported to the Board that Bob Brofft (PM) had volunteered to serve as a 2007 PVS LC Eastern Zone Assistant Coach, filling the vacancy created by Yuri Suguiyama’s resignation. The Board voted unanimously to approve this replacement.
2008 Summer Zones: Prior to the meeting, the Board members had been informed of three options for venues for the PVS / VSI jointly bid hosting of the 2008 EZ Long Course Meet. Additional supplemental information about the three options was also provided at that time These alternative options were identified for the zone’s consideration since GMU-Fairfax had advised last month that its facility would not be available on the originally bid dates of August 6-9, 2008. Briefly, the three options are as follows:
Option 1 – Swim the meet as originally bid at GMU-Fairfax (primary pool) and the Freedom Center (12/U prelim only) but one week earlier (i.e., July 30-August 2, 2008).
Option 2 – Swim the meet just at Freedom Center on the original dates – August 6-9, 2008.
Option 3 – Swim the meet on August 6-9, 2008, at the Montgomery Aquatic Center (MAC) (primary pool) and the Rockville Municipal Center (12/U prelims only)
Acknowledging that the final decision lies with the Eastern Zone, the Board voted unanimously to endorse Option 3 as its recommended option to the zone.
Following the vote, it was confirmed that the Open Water Meet was still slated to be held at Pohick Bay on the Sunday following the conclusion of the meet. Additionally, Mark Eldridge expressed his preference for interacting with PVS should Option 3 be chosen by the Eastern Zone.
Additional Bids for 2007-2008 SC PVS Sponsored Meets: Hirschmann informed the Board that bids were still needed for 1 to 2 sites of the November Open at Takoma and for both the January and February Distance meets. Bill Marlin indicated that he could potentially host both sites of the November Open, but would require assistance. PVS will continue to encourage other clubs to bid to host the two distance meets.
Operations Division: Whalen informed the Board that he had authorized the reimbursement of lodging expenses incurred by Boots Hall while she served as a National Certification Observer at the 2007 LC Senior and 2007 LC Junior Championship meets. Funding for these expenses will be charged to the line item entitled, “Official’s Educ/Travel & Evaluation.” This was in lieu of modifying current PVS policy pertaining to reimbursing key officials who could be reimbursed for lodging costs when officiating a PVS championship meet.
Hospitality Funding for PVS Sponsored Meets: Hirschmann complimented the two clubs that hosted PVS’s LC Championship meets for the improvement and quality of hospitality they offered. At the request of John Hirschmann, the Board considered modifying the policy of hospitality funding for PVS sponsored long course championship meets so the clubs could cover the actual expenses they incurred. A motion was made and seconded that, effective July 1, 2007, for the purposes of calculating hospitality funding for long course championship meets, each preliminary session be counted as two sessions. The motion was discussed and how it would be applied in varying circumstances. It was recognized that under some circumstances, unintended outcomes might result. Accordingly, the motion was withdrawn and a new motion was offered. To permit this summer’s meet hosts to be properly compensated, the Board unanimously agreed to authorize reimbursement up to $2,000 (to be supported by receipts) for hospitality expenses to both Machine and CUBU for the recently completed 2007 long course championship meets.
Venues for 2008 SC Championship Meets: Hirschmann updated the Board on his progress in securing pools for PVS sponsored championship meets during the 2007-08 season. PGS&LC has agreed to swap weekends allowing the PVS Senior Championships to be held on the originally scheduled dates of March 6-9, 2008 at their facility. PVS 14 & Under JO Championships will now be moved to Fairland on its originally scheduled dates of February 29-March 2, 2008. This change was necessitated since GMU chose not to make its facilities available for any PVS SC Championship meet.
As to the 2007-08 LC championship meets, University of Maryland reconsidered its previous decision and has now agreed to rent for the Senior and Junior LC Championship Meets on July 10-13, 2008. Separately, Fairland has been obtained for the PVS Age Group LC Championship on July 17-20, 2008 Again, this change was necessitated since GMU chose not to make its facilities available for any PVS LC Championship meet.
Referring to last month’s discussion regarding the consideration of purchasing a semi-portable multiple lane score board to enhance championship meets, it was suggested that this equipment be investigated at Convention. This is being considered since both (SC and LC) 14/U Age Group Championships will be held next year at Fairland which does not own its own scoreboard.
Administrative Division
Fees for Athlete Transfers from Another LSC: The Board first addressed the matter of assessing a PVS Registration fee for athletes moving into PVS territory during the registration year – an item which had been on the agenda unaddressed for several meetings. In a previous email to all Board members, Hirschman provided some background by explaining that the registration year runs from September 1 of one year to December 31 of the next year. An athlete, once having joined his LSC for the registration year, can transfer his registration to another LSC, at no charge. PVS’s current annual registration is $68, with $43 remitted to USA-S and the balance retained. Included with his email, Hirschmann provided a spreadsheet indicating the number of athletes transferring in and out of PVS, by month, during the past 12 months.
A motion was made and seconded stating the following:
If an athlete transfers into PVS between September 1 and December 31 and has already paid for the new registration year to another LSC, PVS will collect $25.00
If an athlete transfers into PVS between January 1 and March 31 and has already paid for the new registration year to another LSC, PVS will collect $15.
If an athlete transfer into PVS April 1 or later and has already paid for the new registration year to another LSC, PVS will collect no fee.
Hirschmann stated he made the motion as a matter of equity since these athletes get benefit or our services, but do not pay anything to PVS. He acknowledged that PVS does not need the additional revenue.
The Board discussed the motion. Many felt the additional income or increased equity achieved did not warrant the effort required to collect. Others pointed out that PVS retained revenue for athletes who transferred out of the LSC, and who then did not benefit from the PVS program.
The motion failed, thus, PVS will continue its policy of not collecting fees for athletes who transfer from another LSC into PVS during the registration year.
PVS Scholar Athlete Program: Garner informer the Board that he had received a letter from the parent of a home-schooled athlete regarding participation in the PVS Scholar-Athlete Program. Ward Foley and Riley Eaton agreed to investigate if and how other programs establish criteria for home-schooled athletes and make recommendations to the Board. It was also noted that those honored are in 9th thru 12th grades and the inquiry came from the parent of a student not at this level.
PVS Officials Requirement: There was limited discussion to determine if the policy should be amended for the coming year. The question was raised whether PVS should attempt to do the assessment next year by comparing the number of sessions worked by a club’s officials with the number of sessions swum by that club’s swimmers. This had been considered for the current year as well as the preferable methodology but the data on sessions worked by officials was too incomplete to make this fair. Most felt such a switch should not be made next year, since it was not yet clear the data would be complete enough next year and also the House had endorsed continuation of this year’s policy (with a slight modification.)
Thus, the Board agreed that no further changes should be made for the 2007-08 swimming year and that the policy should remain as modified at the 2007 Annual House of Delegates meeting and June 12, 2007 Board of Directors meeting (see: http://www.pvswim.org/bod060614_ofc_req.htm) .
Status of Fines for PVS Officials Requirement: Prior to passing out a document listing fine assessments as of May 1, 2007 for clubs not meeting their minimum number of officials registered and certified with PVS, Art Davis informed the Board that there were only 3 clubs (FAST, MACH and RMSC) who had significantly exceeded the minimum requirements. Of the remaining clubs, 12 did not meet the minimum Officials requirement and were facing club penalties ranging from $200 to $2,800 per club with a grand total assessment of $7,800.
Acknowledging that he was not on the Board when the requirement was instituted, Davis recommended that the penalties be booked as off-budget and that the clubs be granted an extension until December to meet their numbers and, if so done, the penalties removed.
Board reaction to Davis’ recommendation was mixed. Those in favor of the recommendation cited the increased attendance at Officials clinics and wished to allow the attendees additional time to complete their training. Those opposed to the recommendation stated the importance of the Board enforcing its policies and that, if it was not done, there was a real risk clubs would not take seriously the requirement to be in compliance in future years. Thus, the incentive to come into compliance (which was the purpose of the program) could easily become lost.
Three alternate proposals were offered. One recommendation was that the $200 per official fine be reduced to $50, collectible now, and the remaining $150 balance be waived if the goal was attained in December. A second recommendation was that the $200 fine be reduced to $50 per shortage of official. The third recommendation was that the fines be issued and collected, but refunded if the goal was attained in December. None of the recommendations were acted upon.
To conclude the matter, a motion was made, seconded and unanimously approved that the Administrative Chair was to issue penalty letters to the offending clubs indicating the total amount was now due and payable. The letters are to include the provision that, on December 31, 2007, a second “look-back” calculation will be performed, at which time, for every net addition of an official relative to May 1, the fine will be reduced by $200 and PVS would issue an appropriate refund check..
New Club Applications: Davis updated the Board on the status of three potential new club applications.
Strategic Planning
Chief Operating Officer: Bill Stephens proposed a motion to the Board that it approve the following:
That John Ertter be hired as the part-time Chief Operating Officer (COO) for PVS with the intent for him to share his time as the PVS COO with his time as the PVS Controller under an agreement for a period of one year only, beginning on September 4, 2007. Compensation and terms of employment to be negotiated by the new General Chair, Greg York, and presented to the Board of Directors for approval sometime after the new Board members take office in September .
During the discussion that followed, Whalen asked that the minutes reflect the importance of the employment agreement addressing the separation of financial controls in light of the fact the COO and Controller would be the same person. It was recommended the current role of the Treasurer in this regard be retained.
Additionally, incoming Chair, Greg York, asked the Board to consider an earlier effective date for the COO contract so as to allow Ertter to assist with the upcoming Eastern Zone Long Course meet and other items. Following a suggestion that Ertter be separately hired for this purpose under a Special Project agreement for Zones, the motion was withdrawn. It was also pointed out that his contract as PVS Controller remains in place to allow the performance of those duties related to the annual closing of the books
It was suggested that another alternative would be that a “letter contract” be entered into to allow John Ertter to start earlier. This would permit the long term contract to be carefully developed and reviewed before being signed.
Accordingly, a motion authorizing the General Chair to engage Ertter’s services on an immediate interim basis and authorizing the incoming General Chair to initiate negotiation with Ertter of a one year part-time COO contract to be presented to the Board for approval in September.. Following a second, the motion passed unanimously with one abstention.
Championship Meet Enhancements: In an effort to increase ideas and involvement in enhancing championship meets, Stephens reported to the Board that York would like Jim Thompson to form a committee comprised of the Athlete Representatives, Board members, coaches and parents. The matter was deferred pending action at the September meeting.
Treasurer’s Report / Finance Division (continued): As John Ertter had returned to the meeting, the Board returned to the matter of the purchasing of a new Certificate of Deposit. (This would replace a CD at M&T Banks that had matured in December.) A resolution to authorize the opening of a one year, dual signature authority of Greg York and Bill Stephens, $100,000 certificate of deposit at Chevy Chase Bank was unanimously approved.
Ertter requested and authorization was also granted to allow him to enroll PVS in a credit alert program at an expected cost of approximately $13 per month.
Senior Division: No discussion occurred on the Agenda item of “Travel Assistance Clarification – College Students and Time Trials” as Riedlinger could not attend the meeting and it was believed that it should more properly be first addressed by the Competition Committee.
New Business: In response to a question asking if PVS has a mechanism for providing assistance to an athlete who is financially unable to participate in a club’s training program, Garner asked that the particulars of the situation be submitted to him in writing. It was pointed out PVS has programs in place to “scholarship” a needy and deserving athlete for fees that due to PVS.
Next Board Meeting: The Chair announced that its next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 6:30PM, location to be announced at a later date. [Following the meeting, it was confirmed that the meeting would be held at River Falls Community Center.]
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 10:20 PM.
Respectfully submitted by,
Janet Auger
PVS Administrative Assistant