Minutes
ACTV Board Meeting
June 14, 2007
Board Members present: Isaac Ben-Ezra (presiding) , Alan Root,
Lacy Johnston, Paulette Brooks, Jeanne Haggerty, Josna Rege
Members absent: Anna Carter, Vladimir Morales
Others Present: Sean Kinlin, Sonia Arrubla, Maureen Interlande
Call to Order: 7:39 p.m.
Request for Use of Studio for Graduate
Student Movie Project:
The
first item addressed was the request from Sonia Arrubla
to use the big studio
to produce a movie for her master’s thesis project at the Tisch School, NYU.
Sonia discussed her background and interests and shared her ideas and
goals for this project with the Board emphasizing that it involves working with
many students and that this is "art" for her, "not a
business." The members of the Board
expressed their concerns in regard to liability, student monitoring, and a
timeline for this project. Sonia
explained that there is a qualified (i.e. CORI background checked) person
assigned to monitor all student activity throughout this process. Sonia noted the project would begin on June
25th, 2007, and end on July 25th, 2007 (with the understanding that this
production will not be completed until a later date - possibly April 2008?).
The first week would probably involve all-day activity creating and setting up
a very large set for this production.
The Board members expressed the concern that the project not interfere
with ongoing programs at ACTV. One major concern at this time for the
Board is that ACTV does not have in place a formal policy for use of their
facilities. With the recent request from
Sonia and other requests, it is time for ACTV to set up a formal policy for these requests that will meet all necessary rules and
procedures of ACTV and the community. The
Board members discussed at length their ideas and suggestions for approval and
implementation of this policy in the near future. Questions were raised as to possible use of
equipment (lighting, camera, etc.) Ms. Arrubla’s
project. Sean Kinlin gave a brief overview of his knowledge of the
project. He suggested that the contract
for use of ACTV's facilities (for this project and future projects) could
possibly include joint copyright. The contract could state that ACTV be granted
"exhibition time" in accordance with our Rules of the House. It was
made clear that the project would not use ACTV equipment or ACTV staff time,
and that it would not interfere with the production of existing studio programs
such as Through the League Lens or Conversations. After much discussion,
the Board members agreed that Sonia's project request sounds very interesting
and could help promote future growth for ACTV and the community.
MOTION
A
motion was made by Alan Root and seconded by Jean Haggerty to accept Sonia Arrublas 's
request to use ACTV's facilities, with the understanding that all necessary
paperwork be in writing and approved.
Sean Kinlin will draw up a contract and Paulette Brooks will review it.
The
motion passed unanimously.
Approval of Minutes: April 19th meeting: Josna Rege explained one area within these
minutes that needed clarification from Anna Carter. The Board members agreed to approve these
minutes subject to revision. May 15th meeting: The Board agreed to table the
approval of the May 15 minutes until the July meeting.
MOTION
A
motion was made and seconded to accept the April 19th minutes noting revisions
will be made.
The motion passed unanimously.
Treasurer's Report: In the absence of Treasurer
Anna Carter (whose daughter has just had a baby), the Board suggested tabling
this agenda item until the July meeting.
President's Report: Isaac BenEzra
reported on his regular meetings with the staff as Board Liaison in the absence
of an Executive Director. The evaluation
for James O'Connor has been completed.
Isaac informed the Board that an apology was made to James in regard to
the slight delay of the evaluation process and Isaac recommended that, for all
his efforts (i.e. website very impressive), one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) be
added to James’ salary at this time as per his employment contract, retroactive
to May 1.
Nominations for Vice-President:
MOTION
A motion was
made and seconded to nominate Paulette Brooks to the position of Vice-President
of the Executive Board/ACTV.
The motion passed unanimously.
Board
members congratulated Paulette on her new title.
ED Search Committee Report: Paulette Brooks gave a brief overview of the status of the Search
Committee's progress to date noting that the job has been posted on the ACTV
and MassAccess websites and a timeline has been
set.
The
Board members discussed the advertising process for the position of Executive
Director/ACTV. They briefly discussed
the efforts made, to date, by the ACTV/Search Committee. Board members suggested
that the job description be posted at other sites sent to other sources such as
Monster.com. It was noted that Anna Carter will give the Committee an complete update as to where the job description has been
posted.
Old Business: Suggestions were made in regard to ACTV purchasing a copier,
rather than leasing it, as we do now, to better equip us with a more efficient
way of copying standard documents, booklets, Annual Reports, etc. that are
processed by ACTV. More information is
needed before a decision can be made on this subject (i.e. price quotes, cost
of ink and supplies, etc.). Several
Board members offered to seek more information and give feedback to the Board
at a later date.
New Business:
The
Board members discussed at length the idea of hiring
a temporary, part-time clerical assistant to help with the process of
putting together this year's Annual Report for ACTV, in the absence of an ED.
MOTION
A motion was made by Isaac BenEzra and
seconded by Paulette Brooks to hire a part-time clerical assistant, Maureen Interlande, to assist in the process of putting together
the 2006-2007 Annual Report.
The motion passed unanimously.
Josna
Rege shared information in regard to an e-mail she received from Bookkeeper
Julia Shively, requesting raising her hourly rate of pay. Isaac BenEzra noted that he has been pleased with Ms. Shively’s
work. She is also "a key person in
providing vital information needed in the Annual Report."
MOTION
A motion was made and seconded to accept Julia Shively’s request
for an increase in her hourly rate of pay.
The motion passed unanimously.
Mr. BenEzra commented briefly on the status of coverage of the
upcoming July 4th parade, noting that ACTV has received no requests from the
Fourth of July Committee or the community to either participate in or cover the
parade. Isaac has made it clear to the staff that staff or members are free to
participate in any way they choose, but the staff will not be working on paid
time.
Outreach:
Mr. BenEzra commented on the status of his outreach to SAGE. Jean
Haggerty informed the Board of an upcoming community event to be held at Mill
River and that a lot of people are expected to attend this event. (It would be
good for ACTV to be covering such events; greater notice is needed, and the Board
and Search Committee have agreed that community outreach will be an important
part of the job of a new Executive Director.
The next meeting of the Search Committee
is set for Tuesday, June 19th, 2007, at the home of Jean Haggerty (Ann Whalen
House) 7:30p.m. (top floor conference room).
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:17 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Maureen Interlande
Board-appointed
minute-taker