BASFA Meeting 886 Minutes July 25, 2007
Meeting 886 of the Bay Area Science Fiction Association was held in the meeting room of the Round Table Pizza, Milpitas CA. The meeting was called to order on July 25, 2007 at 8:01 PM, Vice President Chris Garcia presiding and President Emeritus, etc. Kevin Standlee acting as Secretary. More than 20 people attended - the Emergency Holographic Secretary forgot to count.. Officers absent: President Trey Haddad, Secretary Barbara Johnson-Haddad. On a motion by David Clark, a "Bob Wilkins" Jar was established. On a motion by Evil Kevin, a Party Jar was established. Officer Reports President Trey and Barbara have been called out of town unexpectedly and send their regrets. They will be gone through August 5. Treasurer's report Last week the general fund collected $4.19, bringing the total to $9905. The Party Fund took in $19.75, for a total of $610.56. The Treasurer noted that the Party Fund total does not include any expenses from Westercon. Of the $9900, only about $800 is readily available for spending; the remainder being tied up in certificates of deposit and in maintaining a minimum balance to avoid service charges. Vice President The Vice President, with the consent of the meeting, jumped forward to the two Money Motions. As the Vice President had to leave the room for a few minutes, Andy Trembley assumed the Chair. The Treasurer read the meeting notice with the money motions. The VP resumed the Chair. New Business: Money Motions Per BASFA rules, motions to spend the club's money have to be announced in advance with a postcard mailing to all registered members. Only registered BASFA members may vote. BASFA's "Chicago-style" voting is not allowed, nor are proxies. Members may vote only once on each issue. A motion to spend money may be amended to spend less (but not more) than the amount originally proposed in the meeting notice. Money Motion #1: Kaja Foglio The meeting entertained a motion on behalf of Mr. Haddad, as summarized in the notice of this meeting: Resolved, That the Bay Area Science Fiction Association grants $___ to Kaja and Phil Foglio to assist in the payment of extraordinary medical expenses. It was explained that Kaja went into the hospital with a flare-up of Crohn's disease. There was further discussion of how much liquid cash we have. The Treasurer has discretion on when to actually pay out grants based on when our certificates of deposit are due. There was discussion of how much money to fill the blank with. This being a motion to spend money, we will start with $1000 (the amount in the meeting call, and thus the largest amount we're allowed to spend) and work downward in $100 increments. There was explanation of the Foglios' finances and how much perceived need. While the Foglios' do have health insurance, they do have co-payments and deductibles regarding an expensive hospital stay. Members asked about precedent: BASFA has donated money to fannish individuals with health problems; the Treasurer said that such payments have been in the neighborhood of $300. Unfortunately, the motion's original maker was unable to attend tonight, and we do not have a lot of information about the specific need. There was considerable, spirited debate, about the club's finances, the Foglios' financial need, and related issues. Adrienne Foster asked if we could postpone the motion until next week. This would effectively kill the motion because we'd then have to restart the notice procedure from scratch. (She did not move a postponement.) There was more discussion of how the club's treasury is arranged. The Chair of the Party Committee asked if we could take money from the Party Fund. The ruling was "No; the Party Fund is dedicated to holding BASFA parties, so we can't divert it to other purposes." There was a concern expressed that the club shouldn't be jointly making charitable decisions, and that individuals should donate money individually. Other members said that the club can spend money the way the club decides, and that might include spending it on charitable purposes. After debate, values to fill the blank were considered, starting with the largest amount and working downward in $100 increments. Eventually the blank was filled with $500, and the motion with $500 in the blank passed on a counted show of hands, 16-4. The Treasurer will pay this out as our cash flow allows. If anyone wants to piggyback additional donations on top of the club's donation, see the Treasurer. Money Motion #2: Bob Wilkins Mr. David Clark introduced a resolution, as summarized in the notice of this meeting: Whereas, Bob Wilkins influenced a vast number of science fiction and fantasy fans in Northern California over a period of more than thirty years; and Whereas, Bob Wilkins is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease; and Whereas, BASFA would like to extend its appreciation to Bob Wilkins for his many years of service to the field; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Bay Area Science Fiction Association grants $300 to the Alzheimer's Aid Society of Northern California for the care of Bob Wilkins. Mr. Clark explained the reasoning behind the resolution, and the importance of Bob Wilkins to Bay Area fandom. There are members of BASFA who found fandom thanks to Wilkins putting Jerry Jacks on Creature Features back in the 1970 to talk about an upcoming Westercon. Mr. Clark said that Wilkins was one of the most unifying factors in Bay Area fandom of the 1970s and 1980s. Now that Wilkins is suffering from Alzheimer's and his family has asked for donations for his care, this would be a good way for us to show our appreciation of what he's done. There were again arguments that the club should not be spending club money on acts of private charity. In response to questions, Mr. Clark reiterated that Wilkins' family is soliciting donations for his care, and that they've asked for the aid to be to the Alzheimer's Aid Society and specifically for Bob Wilkins' care. This is not a donation to research on Alzheimer's, but a specific donation to care for a specific person. There were several more arguments for and against the motion, including one by proxy that the club should not be spending money on people who aren't even members of the club. The question was called (>2/3 vote to close debate). The resolution passed on a vote by show of hands, 17-2. As with the Kaja Foglio motion, any persons wishing to piggyback donations onto the Bob Wilkins donation should see the Treasurer. On a motion by Mr. Gallaher, a "Kaja Foglio Jar" was established. There now being four jars in the room, the Treasurer did a little song-and-dance to explain which jar was which and how to donate to them. Previous Minutes While a motion to approve the minutes of meeting 885 was under consideration with a pending amendment, Julie Porter moved to suspend the rules and go straight to Auctions. On a >2/3 vote, the rules were suspended and the meeting jumped to Auctions. (The motion to approve the minutes of meeting 885 was implicitly laid on the table by this action.) Auctions There was a huge pile of auction material. The Secretary made no effort to attempt to keep track of the specific material. Many auctions were committed. Julie Porter's long-delayed birthday auction was finally held; she eventually sold for $15. Previous minutes As the meeting returned to considering the minutes of meeting 885, there was a motion to adjourn. Before putting the question on adjournment, the Vice President asked the Site Selection Committee to report, because otherwise a lot of members might not realize where we are meeting next week. Committees Dave Gallaher reported that the Site Selection Committee had secured sites for the next three meetings Monday, July 30 - Giovanni's Pizzeria, 1127 N. Lawrence Expressway, Sunnyvale Monday, August 6 - Coco's, 1206 Oakmead Parkway (at Lawrence Expressway), Sunnyvale Monday, August 13 - Round Table Pizza, 5544 Thornton Avenue, Newark Adjournment On a vote of 11-5, the meeting adjourned at 9:39 PM. Kevin Standlee Emergency Holographic Secretary
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