OTOW Men’s Softball Club
Board of Directors
Event: Board of Directors Meeting
Date: October 19, 2023
Place: Rec Center Lounge
Board Members Present:
Tom Laccone, Brad Youngberg, Jed Blair, Steve Perl, Steve Tate
Meeting called to order: 1:00 pm
Presidents Opening Remarks:
Tom Laccone opened the meeting with a review of Parliamentary procedure and Robert's Rule of Order and the importance of adhering to these procedures.
Motion made by Steve Perl that the minutes of all meetings be approved by the Board before being published on the website or sent to the membership. Second by Brad Youngberg. Vote: 4-0 to approve.
Treasurer's report: Steve Tate gave an overview of the current financial condition of the clubs finances stating that the balance as of October 31, 2023 will be $831.80 with an available emergency fund balance of $3200.00 carried over from the previous year. Tate reviewed a proposed budget for 2024 detailing gate fees paid by non-resident members and income projections for the upcoming year. This information was inconclusive due to the uncertainty of paid memberships. The budget should be finalized during the month of December when more accurate information will be available.
Governance: Tom Laccone reviewed our current procedures as it relates to membership voting and who is able to approve an issue. Currently, the club must receive a minimum of 79 votes from the membership in order for the membership to decide an issue. If the threshold of 79 is not reached, for or against, then the decision reverts back to the Board pursuant to our By-laws. (Article 4, Sec. A-1-a)
Motion made by Steve Perl to access club data stating that access was needed to verify the accuracy of voting and to compile statistics of the clubs divisions (American and National)
No second: Motion dead
Tom Laccone talked about communication with the membership via the email database that the club currently maintains and who is authorized to send out emails to the membership. The current procedure allows the ability of any Board member to send communications out to the membership but only after receiving approval from the President and only the President will access the database to send out those communications. This procedure is necessary to maintain the integrity and security of the memberships private information.
Motion by Steve Perl to create a new website for the softball club to replace the current one.
No second: Motion dead
Field Usage: Tom Laccone talked about field usage and an attempt to regain our Tuesday morning scheduling slots from the Elite Club which was unsuccessful. An informal offer to use some of the Tuesday time slots were offered but rejected due to the lack of guaranteed access.
Motion by Jed Blair to exclude the Elite Club from using The OTOW Men’s Softball Club equipment. Second: Steve Tate. Discussion: Tom Laccone stated that in his meeting with the Elite Club, they advised that they don’t need our equipment. Brad Youngberg stated that he would be inclined to let them use some equipment but was concerned about the care of loaned equipment citing two examples of abuse recently showing lack of respect for our equipment.
Vote: Jed Blair, Steve Tate, Brad Youngberg voted to support the motion and Steve Perl voted against the motion. Motion: Approved
Tournaments and Pick-up games: Motion by Jed Blair to charge a fee to cover the cost to the club for equipment when external groups come into OTOW to play games (challenge matches) Second by Steve Tate. Discussion: Jed Blair suggested a fee of $50 to cover the cost of balls, gate fees and equipment. Brad Youngberg suggested a fee of $25 would be more in line with actual cost to the club. Steve Perl disagreed with charging a fee if the other communities would reciprocate by bringing our club into their communities for games. Vote: Jed Blair, Steve Tate, Brad Youngberg voted to support the motion and Steve Perl voted against the motion. Motion: Approved (No fee amount was decided-fee charge tabled until next meeting)
Motion by Steve Tate to have the entire membership decide equipment use and fees. Second: None. Motion: Dead.
Discussion on promoting pickup games, challenge matches, and games at the Ocala Sportsplex. Steve Perl advised he and Cork were organizing pick up games at the Sportsplex as well as pick up games outside of our normal scheduled games for anyone wanting to play more games. Jed suggested that the club support these efforts as long as all members are given access to participate. Steve Perl requested that the club allow him to use our club name when playing at the Sportsplex. No motions. Discussion to continue
Mercy Rule: Motion by Steve Perl to change the current mercy rule from 10 runs to 15 runs. Second: Brad Youngberg. Discussion: All members agreed providing that the losing manager must agree to extend the game after reaching a 10 run differential after 5 innings and that the game clock, currently set at 65 minutes, hasn’t expired. Vote: 4-0: Approved
Dual Membership: Motion by Jed Blair not to allow dual membership with the Elite Softball Club. Second: Steve Tate. Discussion: Jed cited a membership vote held last August in which the membership voted to approve, by a 2-1 margin, not to allow dual memberships with the Elite Softball Club. Members will have to choose which club they want to join and participate in. Steve Perl stated that our club would lose many National Division players if the motion is approved. Vote: Jed Blair, Brad Youngberg, Steve Tate voted to support the motion and Steve Perl voted against the motion. Motion: Approved
Good of the Order: Tom Laccone discussed the line of succession when members leave the Board and how that member is replaced. Article 4-9 of our club Bylaws addresses that issue.
Motion to adjourn: Tom Laccone. Second: Steve Tate
Meeting adjourned at 3:00 pm
Brad Youngberg-Secretary