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Sonoma Valley Youth Soccer Association

Minutes for the August Board Meeting

7:00pm, August 4, 2010

At Common Bond, 172 West Napa Street, Sonoma

Directors Present: Lynn Abaté-Johnson, Adolfo Contreras, Vikki Griggs-Demmin, Jean-François Ducarroz, Camerino Hawing, Sam Honey, Edwin Richards, Dino Rossini, Jim Van Sickle, Marc Sloop, Greg Volker, Phylis Wakefield

Also Present: Renee Caruso, Jennifer Rochlin

Public Comment

None

Apologies: Jaime Evina-Galindo, Colleen Paul, Deidre Verdu

Mission Moment

Larson Family Winery raised $400 for the SVYSA at their Dog Day of Summer. The Board expressed gratitude for Larson Family Winery’s generosity..

Approval of Minutes of July Meeting

Proposed by Greg seconded by Jim; carried without dissent.

Action Items

Action Items Arising From 07.07.10 (reference 070710-).

1. Sam to take over hotline response for last two weeks of July. Done. Sam will continue to monitor the hotline as he has a database, making it easier for him to contact people.
2. Sam to discuss purchase of anti-virus software with Jennifer Renee to clarify which account the purchase should come from Pending
3. Renee to send email indicating that we are looking for coaches. Sam urged Renee to call for help if she needed it. Done.
4. Vikki to send email to coaches informing them of the motion and making it clear that private bank accounts should not be used. Done. Any coach still using their own account should close the account and work solely through the SVYSA bank for SVYSA team-related transactions..
5. Edwin to email Vikki the motion on coaches and bank accounts. Done.
   

Action Items Arising From 06.02.10 (reference 060210-).

060210-4 Select Committee to determine how money flows at the end of the financial year for select teams. Done.

060210-6 Edwin to update outgoing phone message at a suitable time. Done.

060210-8 Adds, edits and guide-related comments concerning the Coach and Referee Guide to be submitted to Lynn. Done.

Ongoing Action Items from 05.05.10 (050510-)

050510-4 Phylis to email copy of final document “Team Financial Management” to board members and relevant parties, and to post on website. Pending.

050510-7 Vikki to continue working on Field Preparation contract. Done.

Ongoing Action Items from 030310 (030310-)

030310-11 Following on from 020310-2 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. Not yet done. It seems unlikely that there is enough field space to accommodate Mr. Midgely’s request. The walk is pending.

President’s Remarks

Sam asked that the meeting go into closed session.

.

Vice President’s Remarks

Contracts

The Field preparation contract has been signed (on 8.03.10) by Gaudencio. Tom has signed the waste management contract; Jack Johnston will sign his referee scheduler’s contract on return from Ireland. (Jennifer needs W9 forms from Jack and Tom.)

Fees

There was a long discussion on fees. Four players on the U19G team had paid a reduced rate of $75 (the players themselves had not requested this). Sam said he had offered the rate because the girls were only going to play two weeks of the new playing year (which began August 1). Eleven other players on the team had paid $130. In addition the U19B team coach Rudy Bryson had asked for a reduced rate for his team (which will play for longer than the U19G team).

A number of board members expressed dissatisfaction that there be talk of a reduced rate, when the League had in place clear policies on registration (deadline May 31, thereafter a late fee, scholarships granted only at the walk-in registration sessions etc.) and furthermore that the departure from policy had not stemmed from a board decision; the granting of special dispensations undermined the league’s policies

Other board members said the reduced fee was to help players who had played a long time with the league, perhaps since the age of four and who now faced a difficult time paying for soccer (some players now longer received the financial support of their parents). In the case of the U19G team the League was not paying any entry fees for the players and since each team is entitled to one tournament/ league entry fee, which could be up to $1,000, the League was coming out ahead by subsidizing $220 (4 x $55).

There was some sympathy for players in a difficult financial situation from some members, but others felt with scholarships and work opportunities players ought to be able to come up the money and that financial responsibility was a useful lesson for players to learn. Adolfo mentioned that some coaches paid for players to pay one season and then the players expected this to happen on an annual basis irrespective of the coach. Phylis said that coaches paying for players was inappropriate. Others noted that effective team managers came up with ways of raising funds for teams so that players were able to play.

Because the reduced rate had been offered to the four U19G players, the Board felt they couldn’t take it away, regardless of the legitimacy of the offer.

Motion: All players who haven’t yet paid, must pay the full rate by August 15. Any player not paid up by August 15 will have their player pass pulled until they have paid in full. Any players added after August 15 must pay the full fee. Recreational (Rec) players will not be added to the roster until they have paid up in full.

Proposed by Jim, seconded by Jean- François. Carried unanimously.

Treasurer/ Bookkeeper

Jennifer had ordered some deposit books for those who banked money for the SVYSA. She handed them out to those present who wanted to receive them.

Some select teams are running a negative balance. Jennifer suggested effective opening day she won’t issue any checks that will give a team a negative balance. There was some discussion as to whether (select) teams should be allowed to run a negative balance. The issue arose for some teams because in April and May, just after team formation, teams were entering tournaments, but had not necessarily had sufficient time to raise funds.

Policy motion: Teams can maintain up to $1,000 negative balance prior to August 15. Balances must be zeroed out by August 15. Thereafter, no negative balances are allowed; nor will checks that would give a team a negative balance be issued.

Proposed by Phylis, seconded by Jim. Carried unanimously.

Action Items:

Vikki to communicate to select coaches,

Sam/ Vikki/ Renee to tell Rudy about board policy.

Secretary

Nothing to say.

Registrar’s Report

Renee reported that so far 1,263 players had been registered. Some of these have dropped out. Renee estimated that the number of players registered and intending to play was about 1,250. $695 has been collected in late fees. Donations include $955 to the fields fund and $1,025 to the scholarships fund. $2,130 has been given out in family discounts and $12,105 in scholarship fees. Total registration income is $123,055

All teams bar one had coaches, this team had an assistant coach.

Sam reported he was responding to large numbers of calls to the hotline. Sam was urged to delegate to AGCs.

Opening Day

Lynn encouraged all available board members to attend Opening Day (August 21). A schedule was available from last year which could be adapted.

Action Item: All board members to email Lynn about their ability to attend on Opening Day.

Bathrooms

Adolfo had arranged porta-potties to be delivered. There are currently seven porta-potties on the High School complex (three at Adele and four at the High School). In addition, the school wants us to use their bathrooms next to the running track. Lynn will get a key from Vikki to be able to open these bathrooms. There was a suggestion that next month Adolfo reduce the number of bathrooms to two at Adele and two at the High School.

Other Items

Food - Food is coming from Mondo next meeting. Greg has set this up.

Website - Jean-François needs a list of coach and team names for the website.

Action Item: Renee to give Jean-François a list of coach and team names.

Scheduling -Tracy is changing to a new software company for scheduling software. Game schedules will be available imminently.

Fundraising - Greg announced he wouldn’t be able to organize a fundraising event this year. He wasn’t receiving the support he needed. People were willing to “help,” but not to be on a committee. He announced that Tom Larson of Larson Family Winery wanted to make 100 cases of wine with the SVYSA logo on it and sell them for $100 per case with profits going to the SVYSA. While the board was thrilled Tom wanted to raise money for the SVYSA, there was general consensus that the logo didn’t need to be on the bottle. Phylis said she was uncomfortable with the link between alcohol and sport. She observed that such links had caused other organizations (e.g. health organizations) to withdraw sponsorship from sporting events. Others pointed out that the wine industry was a major force in the Sonoma Valley, supporting the livelihoods of many families.

Edwin asked how the board would feel about a winery donating $1.50 to the SVYSA for every bottle of a certain wine sold and publicizing the fact. Sam said he would consult Bruce Weaver.

Action Item: Sam to consult Bruce Weaver regarding the legitimacy of a winery offering a promotion in which for every wine sold, $1.50 is donated to the SVYSA and the winery publicizes that fact.

Fields - It had become apparent that the School District had an employee who was not pulling their weight with regard to field maintenance. In order to maximize the return on the SVYSA’s investment in fields, Scott Anderson had undertaken to mow every other week, hopefully alternating with the School District. In order to remain on budget, Scott would not be aerating fields, instead concentrating on mowing.

Action Item: Cam to coordinate set up of a meeting with the Facilities Department of the SVUSD regarding field maintenance.

Grant Application: Lynn announced she was submitting a $52K grant proposal for fields and scholarships to the Rosemary Piper Foundation. The Board thanked Lynn for her work and hoped for the best.

Timing - Adolfo suggested that next year the schedule be changed such that the All-Team meeting occur two weeks after rosters had been given out. This year he had received his roster shortly before the team meeting and this had made finding a team parent very difficult. He suggested that the two week interval would make it easier to contact players and parents. There wasn’t really a need to start practicing until August. It was noticed that despite the short interval between the distribution of rosters and the All-Team Meeting, only two packets were left over at the end of the meeting, suggesting that nearly all teams had been able to send representatives. This was something that could be revisited next year. There was a difficulty in getting the rosters prepared earlier than at present, but starting practices at a later date was a feasible suggestion.

The meeting adjourned at 9.10 p.m.