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Sonoma Valley Youth Soccer Association

Minutes for the March Board Meeting

7:00pm, March 3, 2010

At Common Bond, 172 West Napa Street, Sonoma

Directors Present: Lynn Abaté-Johnson, Jean-François Ducarroz, Jaime Evina-Galindo, Vikki Griggs-Demmin, Camerino Hawing, Sam Honey, Colleen Paul, Edwin Richards, Dino Rossini, Marc Sloop, Deidre Verdu, Greg Volker, Phylis Wakefield

Absent: (see Apologies)

Also Present: Renee Caruso, Teri Miller, Scott Miller, (also present for some of the time: Martin Chourre, Tobias Hartmann)

Apologies:  Adolfo Contreras, Jim Van Sickle

Public Comment

Tobias (Tobi) Hartmann came to talk about adult soccer.  He wants to start a non-competitive adult soccer league in Sonoma and has formed FC Sonoma, a non-profit corporation.  So far 40-50 people have signed up; there is a website fcsonoma.org; he is hoping to start games at Arnold Field on Monday March 8, with games initially taking place on Mondays and Thursdays.  Long-term he is interested in developing an astro-turf field and also indoor soccer.  He noted that Novato has a very active, well-run adult soccer league.  Board members welcomed Tobi’s presentation.  Sam remarked that the SVYSA did not want to be in competition for fields with the adult league.

Martin Chourre came to speak about the John Mesa fields, which are on Sonoma Developmental Center land.  He has practiced there with various teams over the years, but the fields are in need of repair. Martin presented a two-page bullet-point document outlining the situation.  He proposed a community effort to improve the fields.  He was looking to the board to offer support, particularly in negotiating permission with the SDC, but also possibly with funds.  The board recognized the value of additional fields to the SVYSA, though could not commit to financial support at the current moment.  Sam said he would contact Adolfo (Fields and Insurance) and Adolfo could begin the dialog with the SDC.  Martin was encouraged to proceed to a more detailed level of planning to help in the discussion with the SDC and was given Tobi Hartmann’s contact information.  (SDC fields have been used over the years by SVYSA teams – the fields are accessible from Highway 12 and the upper field is well-drained, negatives include playing-surface-damaging rodents, access by other teams, garbage, lack of bathroom facilities.)

ACTION ITEM:  Sam and Vikki to talk with Adolfo.  Adolfo to talk with Martin and SDC.  (Martin to continue planning, talk with  Adolfo, Tobias.)

Outreach, Scholarship, Fundraising

Lynn announced that food refreshments had been provided for the night’s meeting by Kinyon Culinary Services in Napa.  The board appreciated the tasty donation. 

Lynn also showed a banner purchased from eScrip ($60 + tax) that could be displayed at public events to increase awareness about the opportunity to help the SVYSA raise funds through eScrip.

Lynn also reported:

Scholarship guidelines have been updated.

The SVYSA will be the beneficiary of Mary’s Pizza Shack’s Dine and  Donate Day on Wednesday April 28, 2010.

The SVYSA will be the sole beneficiary of the Sonoma Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day on March 23.  Scoopers of varying degrees of celebrity have been recruited.

Flyers have been prepared for the upcoming registration sessions.  Phylis said she would review which pre-schools should receive flyers. 

Deidre and Colleen will run the All-Team Parent Meeting.

Jody and Andrew Purdom will coordinate the gear exchange program.

Spanish interpreters are listed on the website at the bottom of each page.

Deidre volunteered to recruit AGCs.  The SVYSA will have a booth at the Cinco de Mayo 5.2.10 event in the Sonoma Plaza.

We are still looking for a volunteer coordinator.

ACTION ITEMS 

·  Any and all – publicize March 23 Free Cone Day (see website for details)

·  Phylis to review pre-schools and decide which of them need to be sent flyers for the upcoming   

   registration (based on eligibility - having children aged 4 on August 1, 2010).

·  Deidre to recruit AGCs

Mission Moment

Sam reported that the SVYSA sent some money to the Maloney family following their tragedy and had received a card of thanks from the Maloneys/ Murrays. 

Vikki had heard from the head soccer coach at Cal Poly that he would be sending a coach to watch a U15B Santos game.  The head soccer coach also sent Vikki some college application information for players.  Vikki was heartened by the coach’s interest and by the reminder that soccer could help players think about college and perhaps get into college.

Approval of Minutes

A motion to approve the minutes of the February 3, 2010 Board Meeting was proposed by Cam, seconded by Lynn and carried without a dissenting vote.

Old Business – Review of Action Items

Edwin ran through the action items and their status was updated as follows.

Action Items arising from 02.03.10 (reference 020310-)

1)  ACTION ITEM: Greg to communicate with Richard regarding SVSA use of Field of Dreams and Aspen Jazz coupon scheme (matching ticket sales with donations). Done. 

Additional: Aspen Jazz won’t let us distribute coupons at Sonoma Music Shop, the ticket vendor, so Greg released them to Papa Murphy’s.  Greg and Lynn will compose and distribute an email alerting people that if they purchase tickets for the Jazz festival using SVYSA coupons, the League gets $20 per ticket from Aspen Jazz.  (Greg noted the Aspen Jazz supplied coupon lists the ticket as costing $80, but actually it costs $85.)

New ACTION ITEM

Greg and Lynn to put together and distribute an email regarding Jazz Festival coupon offer.

2)   ACTION ITEM: walk with the football people feel to review fields (Vikki, Greg, Sam)  Completion of the walk will allow completion of 111809-4 (below), 

Done/ Attempted Earlier on 3.3.10 Sam and Vikki had walked the High School field with SVHS Athletic Director Bob Midgely. Unfortunately, invited representatives of the North Bay Youth Football League didn’t show up.  Mr. Midgely had requested an alteration to the League’s field plan: Football practice areas cannot be next to each other since players need to respond to whistle commands and to be sure they are responding to the correct whistle (not a whistle coming from the adjacent field).   

New ACTION ITEM

Sam, Vikki, Greg to discuss new field layout for High School field to accommodate Bob Midgely’s request, then to get back to Bob Midgely.

2a) ACTION ITEM: Vikki, Sam and Greg to approach other user groups for money.  Not yet (NBYFL members didn’t show up.)

3)   ACTION ITEM: Greg to solicit at least two more bids for ongoing maintenance work of fields. (This is a modification of 111809-2). 

Done.  Greg received bids from Scott Anderson and Eric Nyberg.  Eric’s bid was a little bit higher than Scott’s and encompassed less work.  It was noted that the board had budgeted $6,000 for maintenance and that thus at the bidded rates there was only enough money for two maintenance sessions this year, rather than four.

Motion: To accept Scott’s bid for annual maintenance, but to limit work to two times per year.  Proposed by Greg. Seconded by Cam.  Carried unanimously.

4)   ACTION ITEM: Greg to get provisional estimate on developing a field on the undeveloped “back field” (the field south and across the path from the High School soccer fields aka the “ag field”). 

Done.   Greg met with Scott and Delta Blue Grass.  To build a bluegrass field for year round use would cost about $70,000.  Additional costs: plans, surveying etc. would bring the total up to $100,000 to develop one field or $170,000 to develop two fields.  Developing a turf field would cost about $1,000,000 per field.  There are sanitization and safety issues (FIFA regards turf fields as unsafe).  In additional discussion, it was agreed that the League shouldn’t try to raise money to develop the ag field since it would have little control over use.  Developing a turf field there was considered a non-starter since it would be practically impossible to install lights there (due to neighbor protests).  Since the main advantage of a turf field is to be able to practice in winter, lights are needed for evening practices.

5)   ACTION ITEM: Adolfo (and Sam) to meet with Rick Hicks to take over Fields and Insurance portfolio, discuss the job. (Rick’s email = algernodhicks@aol.com) Done. 

6)   ACTION ITEM: all interested parties – email Greg with ideas about what we want/ need to raise funds for (Greg’s email = fundraising@sonomasoccer.org)  None received.

7)    ACTION ITEM: Jean-François and Marc Sloop to discuss cooperation on web-site.  Done (they talked).

8)    ACTION ITEM: Renee to finalize registration locations.  Done.  (See Registrar’s Report below for dates.)

9)  ACTION ITEM: all interested parties to help with sod-laying at Adele (subject to arrival of sod, coordination, labor requirements, etc.)  Done.

10)  ACTION ITEM: all interested parties continue online budget review and discussion so we can vote on it next meeting. Done.

Outstanding Action Items from Earlier Meetings

Action Items from 01.06.10 (010610)

10)  Phylis to approach State Department contact re Peru. Done.  (Phylis has made several attempts to communicate with Sam Keechler, but he has not responded.    The advice she received from the State Department was to work through the US Embassy.)  

ACTION ITEM: Renee to check in with Sam.

Action Items from 12.02.09 120209: None remaining

Action Items from 11.18.09 111809

4)   Rick and Vikki and any other interested party to craft a memorandum of understanding between the SVYSA and the School District in the event the SVYSA undertakes to work on the fields. [Ongoing - see also 020306-2 above] 

President’s Remarks

Sam thanked everybody for the work they were doing. 

Vice-President’s Remarks

Contracts:  Referee Scheduler: Allison wants her son Jack to do the job this year.

Gaudencio and Tom have their contracts on hold prior to select meeting where coaches will be nominated.

Vikki noted the board had approved the idea of giving a donation to SDC for field use, but hadn’t passed a vote.  Motion: To donate $500 to the SDC for field use.  Proposed by Dino, seconded by Greg.  Carried with no votes against and one abstention (Cam). 

ACTION ITEM: Vikki to talk with Adolfo (Fields and Insurance) about where exactly to send check.

Renee asked if the SVYSA would get a credit card.

ACTION ITEM: Sam to go to Sonoma Valley Bank to investigate credit cards.

Treasurer/ Bookkeeper’s Remarks

Jennifer said she was looking forward to the beginning of the new financial year on April 1, 2010.  Because the board meets on the first Wednesday of each month, Jennifer does not have time to reconcile the monthly accounts for the preceding month when the board meets.  Therefore she will bring a copy of the latest reconciled financial statement e.g. January’s statement to the March board meeting, along with the very latest available print out for select team accounts. 

Jennifer clarified that for financial purposes the new team year starts on April 1.

Secretary ‘s Remarks

Edwin said the CSYSA affiliation forms had been submitted in a timely manner.

Budget Discussion

Sam suggested that $500 be set aside for Presidential expenses.  These were incurred when attending meetings or out of town games.  In the past, Sam had paid for these expenses out of his own pocket.  However, he felt other Presidents might not be able to do this, and that therefore some money should be made available.

Lynn had suggested raising the scholarship award cap by $1,500 to $11,500 since the basic registration cost had been raised.

These two expenses would raise the budget by $2,000 if they were not off-set by cuts.

It was suggested that the souvenir program budget be cut by $2,000 to $4,000.  In online discussion, some members had been opposed to the souvenir program outright, others had argued that it was an important memento for players and parents; the program was also used to thank various parties who had helped the SVYSA in some way during the course of the year.  It was again remarked that in the past the souvenir program had made money through selling paid advertising, although it had not done so for the past two years.  It was suggested that the souvenir program didn’t have to have as high a production value as it currently had.  The basic requirement was good quality photographs of teams.  It was also suggested that the program might make a good senior project for somebody at the High School.

Motion: to accept the budget as presented by the Finance Committee, but to raise the scholarship award cap to $11,500 and to allow $500 to cover Presidential expenses and to reduce the amount spent on the souvenir program to $4,000.  Proposed by Colleen, seconded by Deidre.  Carried unanimously.

Registrar’s Report

Renee read out the confirmed dates for registration:

Tuesday April 13 at Sassarini from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Thursday April 22 at Sassarini from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday May 1 at El Verano from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday May  8 at La Luz 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Online Registration – most updates have been made. 

Some CYSA changes in the pipeline:

Player passes will change in format.

Adds and transfers will be possible at the League level (by the registrar). 

Players will be eligible to play on the fourth day after transfer, no limit to transfers. 

Select Committee Update

Teri and Vikki reported the Select Committee were in the process of interviewing people for coaching positions.  There had been lots of applicants.  The committee was trying to be creative in pairing up newer and more experienced coaches.  There will need to be a special board meeting later in the month to vote on the proposed select coaches; the date was  provisionally set for Wednesday March 17. 

It was unclear whether all select teams would play in CYSA competitions this year.

Tryout dates had been set for April 17 and 18.  There was a question about having a barbecue after the event.

There was a question about following the “equal strength rule” in District 5. 

ACTION ITEMS

·  Teri to contact Stacey to sound out the possibility of a barbecue following the April 18 tryout.

·  Sam to call Bruce Weaver (District 5 Commissioner) regarding “equal strength rule.”

Amendment of By-laws

Edwin introduced the by-law discussion and potential by-law changes, reading from a document which he had circulated online. 

The following addition was proposed to Article VIII, Section 1 (in italics after the original wording). 

Directors shall be elected at the annual Meeting of Members of the Corporation, or at a Special Meeting of the Members if duly noticed. Candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected.  In the event of a tie for the final position(s) on the Board of Directors, a vote shall be held by those Directors already elected to decide which of the tied candidate(s) shall fill the final position(s).  In the event this vote is tied, the outgoing President gets to make an additional, deciding vote.

Motion to make the change: proposed by ? seconded by? Carried unanimously.

The next issue was whether to codify how vacancies were filled on the board.  It was agreed that in the event of a vacancy on the board, the first unsuccessful candidate at the Annual Meeting (i.e. the person who had finished sixteenth in the election) would be invited to join the board, if that person declined, the next most successful candidate would be invited to join and so on.  In the event there was no one available to fill the vacancy, the board should advertise, interview and appoint (by virtue of a board vote if necessary).

Motion: to accept these changes.  Proposed by Phylis, seconded by Jaime, carried unanimously.

NOTE: it was not proposed where in the by-laws this decision be placed, nor was the exact language discussed. 

Implied ACTION ITEM: Secretary and any other interested party to suggest language and position in the by-laws to reflect the board’s decision.

The third by-law issue regarded amendment of Article VI, Section 12, “Voting of Classes.”  The proposal was to state in the by-laws that in order to exercise the two votes per eligible family, only one family member (a parent or legal guardian) needed to be present.  However, in the discussion it became clear that the rules governing membership (Article V) and voting of classes (Article VI, Section 12) were not in harmony.  Consequently, additional discussion was postponed pending a review of language in the by-laws governing membership.

ACTION ITEM: Phylis, Vikki and any other interested parties to look at membership language.

CYSA District 5 Meeting

Teri and Scott Miller, and Greg all attended.  The meeting had mainly dealt with proposed name changes for select teams and when and how these changes were to be phased in.  The three did not agree as to what the CYSA had resolved to do at the meeting.  Consequently, Teri said she would contact District 5 and seek clarification on the nomenclature policy.

ACTION ITEM: Teri to speak with CYSA District 5 to get clarification on new nomenclature (names of select teams - what gets called what and when).

Fields

Greg reported that the at a meeting on fields, he, Vikki and Edwin had come up with the proposal that the SVYSA try to raise funds to buy five acres of land and on it build two grass fields with lights and parking.  This would cost about $500,000 and meet the SVYSA’s basic needs.  The SVYSA needs fields available year round for practice and it needs to be able to restrict access to those fields.   Greg wanted the board’s backing to proceed with fundraising for the project.  The board encouraged him to go ahead.  Dino said he would get figures for the cost of the Santa Rosa field. 

ACTION ITEMS

·  Greg to initiate fundraising search for $500,000

·  Dino to contact relevant Santa Rosa party to learn their costs of field development.

Adjournment

There being no other business, the meeting adjourned around 9.40 p.m.

# # #

Attachments to Hard File Copy of Minutes:

Martin Chourre’s presentation.

“Possible Changes to By-laws” (previously circulated online)

Approved Budget.