2003 Annual Meeting
Minutes of the Annual General Membership Meeting of
The Rib Mountain Repeater Association
15 November 2003
Hereford and Hops Restaurant, Sherman St., Wausau, Wisconsin
The meeting was called to order at 13:06 CST by President KC9NW.
Present were:
Rich Maier KC9NW Bill Bergs KC9UC Dean Andrewjeski K9PT
Mike Martens KB9VBR Mike Matakovich N9IAB Paul Kraay KC9EQS
Dan Sharpee KB9RXA Gerry Graebel W9GLG Herb Bloedel W9GAA
Glen Engebretson N9CWN Lew Sheerar K9JPS Billy Jack McCoy AE9ZH
Dennis H. Shawl W9PBB Brian Seehafer N9ATQ Joe Glinski KG9B
Paul Nelles K9DB Stan Kaplan WB9RQR
All officers and Board members were present.
KC9NW gave a last call for ballots and subsequently declared balloting closed. He appointed Paul Kraay KC9EQS and Glen Engebretson N9CWN as ballot clerks.
The business meeting was then suspended for the program, Wisconsin Section Emergency Coordinator Dr. Stan Kaplan WB9RQR. His talk was entitled, Wisconsin ARES/RACES - Their Backgrounds and Mission in Today's Environment, and lasted for about 40 minutes.
Upon resumption of the meeting, the reading of the minutes of the 2002 general membership meeting were dispensed with since they had been published on the website. The minutes were approved as published by unanimous acclamation.
Treasurer’s Report:
Printed copies of the Treasurer’s Report were distributed by Treasurer Mike Martens KB9VBR. A verbatim copy of the report follows:
Rib Mountain Repeater Association Annual Financial Report for 2003 |
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RMRA Check Register |
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Date |
Description |
Check # |
Payment |
Deposit |
Balance |
11/16/02 |
Beginning Balance |
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244.77 |
12/04/02 |
Deposit - dues |
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265.00 |
509.77 |
12/11/02 |
Postmaster - PO Box |
534 |
48.00 |
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461.77 |
12/11/02 |
Verizon |
535 |
23.40 |
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438.37 |
12/11/03 |
Postmaster - Stamps |
536 |
18.50 |
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419.87 |
12/23/02 |
Postmaster - Stamps |
537 |
18.50 |
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401.37 |
12/31/02 |
Deposit - dues |
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350.00 |
751.37 |
01/02/03 |
Verizon |
538 |
46.31 |
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705.06 |
01/23/03 |
Deposit - dues |
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120.00 |
825.06 |
02/14/03 |
Verizon |
539 |
23.47 |
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801.59 |
03/01/03 |
Deposit - dues |
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120.00 |
921.59 |
03/15/03 |
Verizon |
540 |
23.46 |
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898.13 |
04/22/03 |
Verizon |
541 |
36.32 |
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861.81 |
05/10/03 |
Deposit - dues |
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40.00 |
901.81 |
05/13/03 |
Verizon |
542 |
23.44 |
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878.37 |
06/16/03 |
Verizon |
543 |
23.44 |
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854.93 |
07/16/03 |
Verizon |
544 |
23.44 |
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831.49 |
08/25/03 |
Verizon |
545 |
24.45 |
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807.04 |
06/30/03 |
Dept of Financial Institutions |
546 |
10.00 |
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797.04 |
09/11/03 |
Postmaster - Stamps |
547 |
14.80 |
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782.24 |
10/14/03 |
Verizon |
548 |
48.53 |
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733.71 |
10/15/03 |
Deposit - dues |
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150.00 |
883.71 |
10/15/03 |
VOID |
549 |
0.00 |
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883.71 |
10/16/03 |
Postmaster - Stamps |
550 |
22.20 |
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861.51 |
10/20/03 |
Safeco Business Insurance |
551 |
268.00 |
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593.51 |
11/03/03 |
Deposit - dues |
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340.00 |
933.51 |
11/11/03 |
Verizon |
552 |
23.69 |
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909.82 |
11/14/03 |
Postmaster - PO Box |
553 |
48.00 |
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861.82 |
11/14/03 |
Deposit - dues |
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170.00 |
1,031.82 |
11/14/03 |
Ending Balance |
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1,031.82 |
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Totals |
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767.95 |
1,555.00 |
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Estimated Expenses 2004 |
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Telephone |
$300.00 |
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Postage |
$75.00 |
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Administrative |
$58.00 |
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Insurance |
$275.00 |
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Electricity? |
$300.00 |
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total |
$1,008.00 |
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50 memberships @ $20.00 |
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each are needed to meet next |
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year's financial needs. |
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All bills have been paid, but there are some outstanding expenses for tower climbing for which the
club has not yet been billed. These are expected to total form $250 to $350.
(end of Treasurer’s Report)
The Treasurer’s Report was approved as presented by unanimous acclamation.
The President’s Annual Report:
Printed copies of the President’s Report were distributed by President Rich Maier KC9NW. A verbatim
copy of this report follows:
2002/2003 had been a busy year. A lot has happened which I would like to cover with everyone. I would like to thank the Board members who made this year a success. The R.M.R.A. is a non-profit, tax exempt corporation, staffed entirely by volunteers, that maintains the 53.450 MHz, 146.82 MHz, and 444.30 MHz Amateur Radio repeaters on and near Rib Mountain near Wausau, Wisconsin for the benefit of the public
The R.M.R.A. board wish’s to thank all those who supported the club. I wish to personally thank those who went beyond and also gave a donation. We exist off the dues and donations. Even if you do not plan to use the systems a lot over the next year you generous contribution will be greatly appreciated.
The past year has been a year of many changes for R.M.R.A. and its members. Its affects have been felt by all amateurs in Central Wisconsin area and any travelers through the area who used one of our repeater systems.
The advent of High Definition TV required different TV antennas on the tower. A new tower would be required for the additional antennas and the tower change had us put many of our proposed projects on hold. Many of the issues are now behind us. The one main unknown issue is the possible future rental cost to remain on the tower. It is in the discussion stage and the joint adventure group has not proposed anything to us yet. As you know tower cost can range from gratis to cost that a commercial entity would pay. If we can get by the rental cost I plan an active year of the projects we delayed. The repeater equipment is becoming of age and those being the voter system for remote receivers, and updating the repeater equipment. That cost would require the new board to actively seek a grant or equipment donations.
We are currently working on a new noise issue. Due to limited access on the tower we have to wait for a tower crew to do each step. We believe we can work around this noise problem to give us a good working repeater system.
You can get more information on our web site at WWW.RMRA.WS. If you have not given IRLP a try go to 446.000 simplex or listen for when the UHF repeater is back up and running.
Thank you for coming and 73 for now,
Rich Maier KC9NW
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(end of President’s Report)
Old Business:
K9PT gave a summary of the Rib Mountain tower, building, and equipment activities for the past year.
- Mark Hoenecke WB9YZR was responsible for installing the interface between the 146.82 repeater and the Wisconsin Emergency Alert Systems. This system sends out alerts on the repeater for severe weather, Amber Alerts, and other situations. Routine test alerts occur on Wednesdays with more detailed test alerts monthly. The state does not issue alerts for severe weather watches, only warnings.
- The antennas were moved to the new tower in stages over the past year. In August, the repeaters were physically moved to the new transmitter building.
- There is no UPS on the emergency power system at present. The generators take about 5 to 10 seconds to reach full power in the event of a commercial power failure. This power lapse causes the controller to reset. It is believed a facility-wide UPS may be available in the next year. If not, the board will investigate adding a repeater specific UPS.
- The 146.82 receiver noise problem has been investigated by swapping out various components including reconfiguring the mounting bracket stabilizer bar and swapping out the VHF antenna. The most recent attempt removed the VHF/UHF splitter at the antennas.
- A formal lease of tower and building space has not yet been acted upon by the Joint Venture Committee (JVC), owners of the tower. That action is expected in the next few months.
Tentative dates for quarterly meetings for the coming year were suggested by KC9NW. February 15th , May 15th , and August 14th were approved by the members present by unanimous acclamation.
The IRLP Report was given by KC9NW. The number of nodes on the IRLP net has grown from 650 at this time last year to 1100 now. The IRLP is temporarily on the 443.75 MHz.on Mosinee Hill.
New Business:
The Board is continuing with upgrades to the systems as resources become available. Desired upgrades are:
Replace the 146.82 MHz transmitter
Replace the RC 850 controller
Add remote receiver sites controlled with existing LDG Electronics voter
K9DB is continuing to write grant proposals for capital improvement project funding. Members may be approached for one time contributions during the next year.
Election of the Board of Directors:
KC9NW read the results of the election for the Board of Directors as tabulated by the appointed clerks KC9EQS and N9CWN:
Rich Maier KC9NW 25 votes
Paul Nelles K9DB 24 votes
Dean Andrewjeski K9PT 23 votes
Mike Martens KB9VBR 21 votes
Bill Bergs KC9UC 19 votes
Mark Hoenecke WB9YZR 12 votes
Billy McCoy AE9ZH 6 votes
As per the by laws, the top five vote getters are elected. Therefore Board members for the 2002-2003 fiscal year are: KC9NW, K9DB, K9PT, KB9VBR, and KC9UC.
A motion to destroy the ballots was approved by unanimous acclamation.
Meeting adjourned at 14:43.
Respectfully submitted,
Paul Nelles K9DB, Secretary