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HAL-PC Board of Directors

                             Houston Area League of PC Users, Inc.
                                           Board of Directors

                Agenda for Special Meeting to be held on Thursday, May 6, 2010
                             at HAL-PC Headquarters, SIG Room B

 

Unapproved minutes of the May 6, 2010 special Board of Directors Meeting.
Any corrections, changes, additions to these minutes will be provided following approval of the minutes by the Board.

HOUSTON AREA LEAGUE OF PC USERS
MINUTES OF May 6, 2010
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Houston Area League of PC Users, Inc.
4543 Post Oak Place
Houston, Texas 77027

ATTENDEES (12):

Officers:
John Furby, President
Rick Archibald, First Vice President (SIGs)
Sibley Cooley, Vice President Programs (absent)
Robert Spotswood, Vice President Communications
Annette Story, Recording Secretary
(vacant) Membership Secretary
(vacant) Treasurer

Directors:
Chris Read, Executive Committee (absent)
Jim Ward, Executive Committee
Greg Brewer, Director
Kelly Brown, Director (absent)
Meredith Foster, Director
Robert Gunn, Director
Kojo Idrissa, Director (absent)
Michael J. Lempel, Director
Jerald Linsley, Director
Mary Ann Mitscherling, Director (absent)
John Molson, Director (absent)
Bernard Silverman, Director
Jim Story, Director

5 HAL-PC members

I.The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM, John Furby presiding.

II.President, John Furby

  1. John Furby addressed the question of proxy voting as was noted under new business. He stated that under Roberts Rules of Order (RRO), Article 8, section 38 says that proxy voting has to very specifically in the Bylaws that proxy voting is permitted. Proxy voting is not mentioned in HAL-PC Bylaws, therefore proxy voting will not be allowed. Meredith Foster stated that Texas Law Act 1959 56 Legislature ch. 162 Article 2.2 and Article 1326 Article 2.3 require it and takes precedence over RRO. John Furby stated for the record the previous. A discussion continued with statement that according to Texas law proxies do count for quorum. Meredith has a proxy for Kelly Brown to vote on the Aldridge bid.
  2. Positini enrollment for all subscribers is about ready to take place that will be free for 30 days. It is believed it will correct the volume of spam. A letter will precede the implementation explaining what is to occur and why.
  3. John's negotiations with AT&T about all our accounts with them continue.
  4. A short discussion about the HAL-PC Magazine and its label with the voting key.

IV.Old Business

  1. John Furby stated that there are 2 motions: one about Net Star Telecommunications and the other is a presentation about Managed Services from the Aldridge Company.
  2. John read Tabled Motion 2 with Amendments 1 and 2 and Rick Archibald made a motion to take the tabled motion [Motion 2] as follows from the table:
    Motion 2 with Amendments 1 and 2 tabled on April 22, 2010
    Amendment 1: Anybody higher than current rate have their rate reduced to current rate.
    Amendment 2:
    a.Chair is to appoint a committee to look into overcharges and report back at the Special Board of Directors meeting in 2 weeks.
    b.To lay the motion with the amendments on the table.
    Jim Story seconded and the motion passed by voice vote. Rick Archibald had been asked by John to gather a small committee to analyze the DSL pricing issue and present findings to the Board. VP Communications Robert Spotswood, VP Programs Sibley Cooley, and DSL Coordinator Doug Kneupper comprised the committee.
  3. Robert Spotswood presented the information to the Board. He explained the summary of the DSL users and the line speeds of Express, Elite, and Pro with HALNet prices and AT&T prices. The proposed 4 scenarios are possibilities for the Board to consider in deciding what to do about pricing. After a number of amendments and motions the Board passed the following motion:
    To start to align prices "Adopt scenario 1 to raise everyone who is an Express user below AT&T's special rate of $24.95 to $24.95. Only covers DSL prices. If they have additional services [such as Postini] then that price is added." Question called by Jerald Linsley motion passed with vote of 8 to 3.
    Director Greg Brewer requested that we note in the minutes our thanks to Doug Kneupper for staying.
  4. Patrick Wiley, Executive Vice President of The Aldridge Company (TAC), was asked to discuss the company's bid for Managed Services. He discussed the pricing and the services that will take about 30 days for the conversion to their management.
  5. Tim Ury of New Star Telecommunications said that New Star could not match the services offered by TAC.
  6. The presenters were thanked and excused.

    The following motion was the second motion under Old Business.

Motion tabled on April 22, 2010:
"Motion to approve Net Star Telecommunications, Inc. as Colocation Partner as follows:
WHEREAS, the HAL-PC AD HOC Committee was formed to find a co-location vendor for our ISP,
WHEREAS, the Colo Committee evaluated nine possible vendors over a two-month period,
WHEREAS, co-location would save HAL-PC approximately $5,000 per month in expenses,
RESOLVED, the Net Star Telecommunications, Inc be approved our co-location vendor."

V.Executive Session
At 8:26p.m. John Furby called for closed session [Executive Session] of the Board.
Minutes will be separate.

VI.Motion to adjourn was made by Jim Ward. It was seconded and passed at 8:55p.m.

Next regular Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for May 27, 2010.

Annette Story
HAL-PC Recording Secretary