Board members present:
Wendell Goodwin
Tom Paradis
With Club members present

Meeting called to order at 7:00pm.

1. Missing board members
 Three of the five board members are absent tonight, all excused. The board won’t be able to vote on new proposals or other board agenda items, but the club will still be able to vote on club items.

2. Club vote on new members: 1) J. Ernest Jutte, 2) John Newman, 3) Rick Weaver
 Second reading for membership applications. Both Newman and Jutte have been getting involved with the club and have some good ideas for improvement. Paradis noted that Newman was also a member of the White Mountain Model Railroad club, and a field trip to visit that layout would be a good idea. Weaver’s application has been tabled, given his absence since his completing the membership application. Club vote was unanimous in favor of admitting Newman and Jutte to the FMRC.

3. Club vote on board members: 2 slots
No further nominations have been provided for board member elections. Paradis called for a hand vote on the slate of two candidates for the board, consisting of Jerry Snow and Eric Hadder. Club vote was unanimous in favor. Cluck asked about the Secretary’s status, given his being called up for military duty. Paradis noted that Ryan Gallagher wished to remain secretary until further notice. Also, Paradis reminded everyone that the Club votes for board members and the board votes for officers. Snow and Hadder will retain their former officer positions of treasurer and vice president respectively.

4. FY 2003 Membership List: review for mistakes.
  Paradis passed around a rough draft of the new membership list for members to correct as needed. The revised list would be available at the club the following week. Jutte inquired about the most “distinguished” senior members of the club, and a few of them were introduced.

5. Membership cards, facility locks, web site.
 New FY 2003 membership cards were distributed to all dues paying members. Paradis reminded all that full members have access to the club facility at any time. The two facility locks were explained. The club was reminded to lock the gate lock to the county’s lock when leaving the club facility. Newman offered to pay for new ID tags for club members so that new members and visitors could be more familiar with other club members. Jutte agreed to help print them up and purchase plastic name tag holders. Both were thanked for their interest in helping out with name tags. Paradis noted further that the club Web site has been updated with PDF files for the membership application form and project proposal form. Snow and Deibel were thanked for their efforts with the membership cards.

6. N and HOn3 committees
  Paradis proposed that two new committees be formed to represent the N-scale and HOn3 interests of the club. The purpose of the committee would be to oversee track and scenery decisions for those respective layouts without having to approve all little changes with the entire club. The committees would still be required to submit proposals for any club funding or for altering the layout/facility in any way beyond the N or HOn3 areas.  Discussion ensued. Cluck made a motion that the N and HOn3 layouts be operated by committees as proposed. Newman seconded the motion. Club vote was unanimous in favor.
HOn3: John Lovely, Ryan Gallagher.
N: Larry Davis, Joe Cluck, Bill Baughman, Curtis Deibel.

7. Section Crews
 Paradis explained the idea of keeping the facility and track cleaner by assigning so-called section crews and facility cleanup crew. A special cleanup night will be scheduled once every two months. Each section of track would have an assigned club member to keep the track clean and to vacuum any debris off the right of way. Crew members would also be responsible for reporting any problems with track, wiring, etc. to the Trainmaster. Discussion ensued. Two shop vacs have been purchased by the club for this purpose. Club agreed to the idea without a formal vote. Jutte offered to help organize the facility cleanup. Trainmaster Goodwin will help decide how to divide up the layout into sections using the recently-found Lovely map of the layout. Signup for sections would commence at the club the following week.

8. Clinics
  The club was asked for volunteers for future clinics, at least one every other month. With a good mix of “newcomers” and “oldtimers,” it would be beneficial to everyone to start sharing knowledge more often. Cluck believed that the club could handle one clinic a month. Discussed ensued regarding the types of possible clinics. Numerous club members were interested in offering clinics. Jutte recommended that dates be set tonight for the first few clinics. Cluck asked Paradis to check about using an empty county building at the fairgrounds for various clinics, given the lack of open space in the club facility. Deibel offered to hold a clinic on trackwork; Lovely offered a clinic at his house on branch line operations; Baughman and Cluck offered a clinic on painting and decals. Paradis will set up the club schedule with these clinics in mind for February, March, and April.

9. Project Proposals: non-DCC.
  The board cannot vote on these tonight due to lack of a board quorum. Paradis explained the proposals briefly to the club, including a variety of scenery-related projects: Hadder’s proposal for finishing cliff scenery on South Mountain; Jutte’s proposal for enhancing Challenger Canyon; Lovely’s proposals for (1) eliminating “radical rocks” near South Mountain, originally placed there by Gary McAlester, and (2) rebuilding Timber Creek/Red Mountain scenery. Paradis reminded everyone that proposals such as these are designed so that the entire club has a say about how the layout is altered. Further, to date no funds have been spent for FY2003 proposals already voted upon, though $453.00 had been allocated. It is up to each project leader to use the funds and commence the project during the fiscal year. If the money is not spent in one year, the proposal must be resubmitted the following year.

10. Treasurer’s Report
  In Snow’s absence, Paradis made copies of the current budget report for everyone at the meeting. The budget was reviewed, including monies allocated for projects. Deibel mentioned that Snow had been looking for cheaper insurance, but without success. Snow was thanked for his efforts. Paradis noted that given the current remaining funds for projects, any DCC funds will necessitate moving funds from the Promotions and Maintenance budgets. Further, switch machines need to be purchased. Babbitt noted that he thought the train station project may not continue until next year, and thus the funds allocated for that could be diverted to the DCC project if necessary.

11. Trainmaster’s Report.
  Goodwin noted that a new computer and modules had been donated to the club, and the equipment was currently at the club facility, hopefully for future use. The computer could be hooked up to DCC, sensors, etc. in the future if desired. The club is also in dire need of switch machines. The company that produced the switchmaster machines had been sold to another company, and Goodwin has tracked it down. Goodwin will need to place an order for switch machines very soon. The new company is not processing orders yet, but they are taking orders. Six switch machines would cost $102. 25 machines would cost $406. There is a web site with all the prices. Cluck suggested that the club evaluate the use of ground throws in yard areas for realistic switching abilities, especially if the club is not able to acquire replacement switch machines in the near term.  Goodwin also announced current maintenance to the main line at Timber Creek. The main line has been removed to improve its grade. Trains are being rerouted on the Timber Creek passing siding until main line is replaced.  There are also two dead spots on the upper loop that will need to be fixed.

12. DCC proposal, Phase 1.
  Paradis noted that the current DCC Phase 1 proposal has risen to approximately $550, and had previously been approved by the board. Lovely added that Phase 1 would not replace any existing DC capabilities on the layout but would essentially add to that a DCC throttle and its associated components. Lovely also volunteered to purchase for the club (using personal funds) a radio receiver unit so that members could use wireless throttles in the future. He explained that the receiver would be an addition to the current proposal components, not a replacement of the equipment in the current proposal. Lovely was thanked for his generous donation.
  Paradis noted that a clinic would be necessary for teaching club members how to use the DCC system and how to regulate its use. Some confusion came about regarding the capability of the layout to use both DC and DCC. It was explained that the entire layout would have to be switched to either DC or DCC, but could not handle both simultaneously. Until a master switch is installed, it will be necessary for club members to be very careful to make sure that the entire layout is set up for one or the other.
  Cluck explained the upcoming challenges for using DCC and cautioned that it will not be the great “panacea” that some believe it might be. It would not be all “wine and roses” in the near term, and club members agreed that challenges will be presented. Discussion ensued about the potential challenges and benefits to getting involved with DCC.
  Paradis and others noted that future meetings would be necessary to help decide how to use DCC, if at all, during the upcoming fair, and how to manage the use of DCC during operating sessions and the like. Paradis also reminded the club that the FY2004 budget will most likely include some funds dedicated to helping club members purchase decoders, or a similar type of assistance, depending on how the club wishes to proceed with such purchases. It is clear that not all club members can afford to convert to DCC this year, and it would be useful to think of Phase 1 as a “jump start” in FY2003, in that the proposal was presented earlier than expected due to an efficient and productive DCC committee. Therefore, the club is essentially a year ahead of schedule, which may be putting pressure on some club members to purchase equipment earlier than expected. It is hoped that club members will gradually, with time, be able to adapt to DCC and participate with the club. Still, it is not expected that all club members become involved immediately with their own personal funds.
  Deibel made a motion to move ahead with Phase 1 of the DCC proposal as discussed and budgeted. Motion was seconded. Club voted with raised hands: 9 (yes), 1 (no), 2 (abstain). Motion passed.
  Club members were given three weeks, until the Third week in February, to submit their own personal DCC orders along with the club order.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.

End of Minutes.