Meeting Notes June 3, 2015

Bike Mansfield

Meeting Notes, June 3, 2015

Attending:  Hultgren, O’Keefe, Pierce (2), Waldburger, Manizza, Santasiere (let me know if I missed anybody)

We convened the meeting shortly after 6:30 PM in the lobby of the Nash-Zimmer Transportation Center.  Introductions were made.

Publicity for the upcoming July 8^th and 15^th bike workshops at the Mansfield Community Center was discussed.  Hultgren will send the .PDF of the flyer for the workshops that Gosselin made to the active Bike Mansfield members so that they can be printed and distributed at community bulletin boards, schools, bike shops and other places of employment.  All members are encouraged to spread the word using all available channels.

On that same theme, topics for fall workshops were discussed.  Pierce said she would put together a surveymonkey questionnaire about potential topics and send it out to the Bike Mansfield email list.  The deadline for submissions to the Rec Dept for inclusion in the fall brochure is June 22^nd.

Sunday morning rides were set for June 21^st (Waldburger leading, Hultgren sweeping), and O’Keefe said he would be willing to lead an August ride (Aug 23^rd).  Please contact Lon H. or Dave P. if you or somebody you know can lead a ride in July (20-25 miles, 12-13 mph pace, no drop).

Hultgren reported the following meetings have been set up with the Town.  He said he needed a few people to attend these meetings with him.  Manizza and Pierce said they would.  Palmer and Dean have expressed interest as well.  3 to 5 people would be ideal.

1. Thurs June 25^th, 9:30 AM with the Resident State Trooper (Sgt. Cournoyer) to discuss bicycle-related traffic enforcement and safety.
2. Thurs June 25^th, 10:15 AM with the Director of Planning (Linda Painter) to discuss bicycle planning.
3. Wed July 15^th, 5PM with the Parking Steering Committee to discuss bicycle parking in Storrs Center.

Hultgren reported that he talked with the Executive Director of BikeWalkCT about the idea of establishing BikeWalkCT chapter in Mansfield.  The group came up with the following questions that would need to be answered prior to going forward:

1. Insurance coverage

(Some research on this is also needed in the event Bike Mansfield decides to be an independent non-profit, rather than a chapter of BWCT.)

2. Membership rules and/or bylaw requirements
3. Financial obligations and liabilities
4. Time line for when and how this would take place
5. Expectations and advocacy requirements.

Pierce said that she recently incorporated a non-profit in CT and the process has been much simplified and improved, so that Bike Mansfield could consider being its own non-profit organization.

Pierce explained the Facebook page, Twitter account and Instagram account she set up for Bike Mansfield.  She suggested all of our members and interested people could access these and begin posting and advertising Bike Mansfield events and enthusiasm.  Hultgren will ask Palmer to set up Pierce with a Mail Chimp account so she can distribute “how to” instructions for each of these media to people on the Bike Mansfield email list.

Hultgren passed around proofs of the Bike Mansfield T shirts with the logo on the front and “3 feet please” on the back.  By consensus, a day-glow green shirt with a thicker arrow and larger lettering was approved.  He will get a final proof, send it to the email list and post it on the web page so that people can pre-order shirts so the order can be made with the appropriate shirt sizes.  He said he can place the order (50 shirt minimum), front the money ($12.50 per shirt cost – plus shipping?), and collect the money from sales @$15 a shirt, saving the money for Bike Mansfield after the cost of the order is paid off.

Santasiere reported that about 50 riders participated in EOS’s bike to school events during national bike week, which was a little less than in previous years’ possibly due to the 4 day week.  He said the cost of the events ran $400-$500, which has been sponsored by the EOS Foundation in the past.  He said that next year the middle school could be possibly be included if enough mentors were available to accompany students on their ride to and from school.

Pierce mentioned the weekly CT Cycling Advancement Program sessions in East Hartford and suggested a link to this CCAP program be put on the Bike Mansfield web page (http://www.CTCyclingAdvancement.com).

The meeting ended about 7:35 PM.  The next meeting is scheduled for July 1^st at 6:30 PM.

LRH

Acting Scribe

6/15/15