Board Minutes: December 15, 2021

MINUTES

OF

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WMCC

A Zoom meeting of the board of directors of Western Mass Climbers Coalition (WMCC, a Massachusetts Nonprofit corporation), was held on December 15, 2021 at 7p ET pursuant to notice given in accordance with Article 11, Section 3 of the WMCC’s bylaws.

Present:

Stephanie Giguere, President; Dolci Mascolo and Sara McFadden, Co-Vice Presidents; Pamela Matsuda-Dunn, Secretary; Danielle Rao, Treasurer; Sam Copland; Josh Seamon, and Rob Sullivan. General members: Rama Davis, Christopher Caplinger, Bill Fogel, Joshua Musial, Alan M., Kayla Crowe, Derrick Roma, Alec Baker, Wayne Burleson, Eliana Wallack, Jeff Squire, Ryan  Stefiuk, Jon LaValley

Stephanie Giguere called the meeting to order. Based on the number of directors in attendance at the meeting and the Non-Profit’s by-laws, the Secretary determined that a quorum was present and stated that the meeting could proceed. 

 

Topics discussed and decisions made follow below.

 

  1. Welcome new board members!
    1. Emeritus board position
      1. Jeff Squire has rejoined the board. He’ll be able to contribute institutional knowledge, operational advice, and will be a non-voting board member.
    2. 2021 recap
      1. Hanging Mountain! Massive accomplishment. Many, many people were and continued to be involved.
      2. We have had strong membership growth. More members than ever. 
  2. JDEI committee update: Sara McFadden
    1. Winter Speaker Series
      1. Cody Kaemmerlen and Shara Zaia from Climb United – successful event with 19 participants
        1. Lots of topics including route names, access to the outdoors, and more.
      2. Community Ascension Project- Community Presentation – Dec. 16th – register here
      3. Community Ascension Project – Jan 6th – register here
      4. Feb. 1, 2022 – Azizza Singh
        1. Affinity spaces in climbing
      5. Myjak Burkhart with Sendhers & AMC in March 
  3. Hanging Mountain Stewardship Committee Update: Rob Sullivan
    1. Corps Wall; closed
    2. Wonderful fall, lots of visitors, cars from all over
      1. Success caught the attention of the Army Corps of Engineers; impressed, climbers when present on site. Still no climbing on Army Corps property and would like us to stop climbing for now. We’ll go through the process of making climbing official sanctioned along with a plan for proper stewardship.
      2. Sara, Pam, and Dolci went into action when the wall needed to be closed. Signs went up, social media blasts, updated guidebook. Rob has continued communication with the Army Corps and is working on a proposal.
      3. We need to show we are good stewards and not climb on the Corps Wall for now. People can walk and hike there, but not climb.
      4. We’ll get information out when there is more information.
    3. Questions/Comments
      1. Any exceptions to climbing on Corps land in other places? Couldn’t find any place in the NE, but there are places outside of the NE that have worked out permission. Access Fund provided 4 example places. Rob sent in the info. They are not used to climbing. They want it done right and safely. 
      2. Army Corps has been happy with WMCC’s coordination with the state. 
      3. Hunting is allowed and is potentially dangerous and they have a  positive connection with the activity.
      4. Working hard to make sure they like rock climbers!
      5. Need to make sure dogs are on leashes. Please wear helmets. Set a good example.
  4. Finance update/grants: Danielle Rao & Stephanie Giguere
    1. The WMCC was awarded a $9,000 (updated number) grant from the Arthur Ashley Williams Foundation for the Farley parking lot project.
      1. Help from Rama! Details coming soon.
    2. Access Fund grant has been closed out – thanks Dolci!
    3. Donate to the Access Fund before Dec. 20th and have your gift matched by Black Diamond.
    4. Now donate using Venmo!
      1. Through Donorbox
    5. Stripe fees
      1. Around $50 per $1,000. Encourage people to send in money via other methods?
    6. Financial overview
      1. Year and quarterly views
      2. Stronger membership revenue than ever
      3. Silent auction broke 10K for the first time
      4. Porta pottie fees add up. Take them out in the winter?
        1. People should let us know if there are issues with any of the porta potties.
      5. Questions/comments
        1. Last few years has seen an increase in revenue and grants.
        2. Organizational improvements have buoyed the organization.
        3. Professional help has been needed to file our taxes.
        4. End of year recap will be built after year’s end, shared
        5. 2018 = $981 in memberships, 2021 = ~7K
    7. Silent Auction
      1. First week of March? Sat. March 5th or Sunday March 6th?
      2. Online, in person or hybrid?
        1. Online bidding won’t go away; not sure yet how it’ll be folded in
          1. We’ll need to research system functionality
          2. Keep all the bids online, face to face event in addition
        2. Running an in-person event with food and drinks could be challenging
        3. Could we run an event outside?
          1. Would need to push it to later in the year
          2. Could increase the cost?
        4. We need to be able to make money, turn it into climbing areas!
      3. Esselon Cafe? CRG Hadley?
        1. CRG is large, wide open, could have it on a Saturday (Saturdays have not been possible as Esselon)
          1. Economical option
          2. Helps recruit people to join WMCC!
      4. Volunteers and donations needed 
        1. Contact Danielle (eyell151@yahoo.com) if you have a donation
        2. Needs help doing the day to day work of the event
  5. Porta Potties:
    1. Porta potties at Hanging Mountain and Farley will be cancelled soon – make sure to bring wag bags!
      1. Could be cancelled next week. Kept them this last week due to warm weather.
    2. How often should they be cleaned? Weekly/monthly?
    3. Pit toilet instead of porta potty?
      1. 20 to 25K each. Do have to get them pumped out.
      2. No immediate savings would materialize
      3. Project what the costs would be like over 5-10 years?
      4. Aim for it be our next grant?
  6. Tube Counter installed at Farley lot – thank you Wayne!
    1. Tracks number of cars going in and out
    2. Started collecting on Sunday morning
    3. Costs us nothing
    4. Data is manually collected, eventually get it online?
    5. Looking to install it at HM as well
  7. Marketing intern – please share with students or recent grads who may be interested!
    1. Social media work, email blasts
    2. Great way for a young person to start with the organization
  8. Crag Committees
    1. We need stewards for all of our local crags! Are you interested in serving on a committee? We are creating two committees: The Farley Committee and Access Committee. Committees may propose policies, hold events, and make proposals to the board. 
      1. Farley Committee: The Farley committee will review access issues related to Farley, including parking, trail maintenance, land manager relations and other access concerns. 
      2. Access Committee:  This committee would identify action issues at other Western MA crags, including open and closed crags, and take actionable steps to protect, improve, or open access. Access topics would include trail maintenance, parking issues, land manager interactions, and land acquisition.
    2. Questions/comments
      1. Appointed by the board. Making sure to keep an eye on DEIB.
      2. Anyone who is interested should join!
      3. There’s more than enough work to go around to people that aren’t local.
      4. Looking for people who may have specific interest in specific crags.
      5. Our smaller crags have similar issues to larger crags.
  9. Membership Update
    1. One year anniversary of Donorbox!
      1. Very helpful
    2. Sustaining members and direct members pay more than joint members
    3. Dec 2020 = 200, now 251 – Sustaining and Direct members continue to grow each quarter. Sustaining memberships have been live for just over a year now and the sustaining memberships have made it much easier to track and for members to keep their membership up to date. We did not hit the goal of 300 members, but still made significant improvements since last year!
    4. 101 New members, 83 did not renew
    5. Average membership amount = $46 (Direct and sustaining members)
    6. Questions/comment
      1. Errant messages regarding memberships needing renewal when they are automatic renewals. All seems to now be okay.
      2. Automatic renewal with Access Fund is not something Stephanie can see.

 

………………………………………

Joshua Seamon

Board Minutes: November 17, 2021

MINUTES

OF

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WMCC

A Zoom meeting of the board of directors of Western Mass Climbers Coalition (WMCC, a Massachusetts Nonprofit corporation), was held on November 17, 2021 at 7p ET pursuant to notice given in accordance with Article 11, Section 3 of the WMCC’s bylaws.

Present:

Stephanie Giguere, President; Dolci Mascolo and Sara McFadden, Co-Vice Presidents; Pamela Matsuda-Dunn, Secretary; Danielle Rao, Treasurer; Sam Copland; Josh Seamon, and Rob Sullivan.

Stephanie Giguere called the meeting to order and welcomed our new board members, Sam Copland and Josh Seamon, to their first WMCC board meeting. Based on the number of directors in attendance at the meeting and the Non-Profit’s by-laws, the Secretary determined that a quorum was present and stated that the meeting could proceed. 

[NOTE: Since voting does not officially end until the 20th of this month, Sam and Josh joined the meeting with full participation except the ability to vote.] 

Topics discussed and decisions made follow below.

 

Minutes approved

Minutes from the last board meeting, October 21, 2021, were approved.

 

JDEI Committee Update:

(by Sara McFadden)

Winter Speaker series:

  • November 18, 6-7:30 pm: Heather Bruegl, More Than a Land Acknowledgement
    (organizers: WMC JDEI and Scenic Hudson)
  • December 9, 7-9 pm: Cody Kaemmerlen and Shara Zaia, Climb United, AAC

(organizers: WMCC JDEI committee)

  • January 2022: Majka Burhardt
    (organizers: Sendhers, AMC, WMCC)
  • 2022: Irene Yee

Action: The JDEI committee requested $350 for a winter 2021-2022 speaker series. It was approved unanimously by the board.

Fundraiser for Stockbridge-Munsee Band Youth Climbing Program:

The youth climbing program was a WMCC JDEI idea, but we are putting this on hold while we speak with the S-M Band on what the tribe wants and what would really benefit them.

 

Press Protocol:

The WMCC does not seek publicity, but we have decided that it would be good practice to create a press release for some of our activities. This decision has come about after a Berkshire Eagle article about the Hanging Mountain opening. Organizations who gave money to the project and provided us with many volunteer hours were not mentioned in the article. This was a terrible oversight as Hanging Mountain could not have happened without their support. We feel that this would not have happened if the board had been prepared for media coverage and had a formal statement about Hanging Mountain. 

Action: WMCC will create a media page on our website where we will post releases for major events. This will ensure that important information about the WMCC is released in an orderly and reliable manner.

 

Passwords and Other Security Protocols:

There is no policy regarding current practices. We realize that this is an important issue that requires a deeper dive into the subject than we have time for in tonight’s agenda. The board decided to re-visit this issue at a later date.

 

Hanging Mountain Stewardship Committee (HMSC) Update:

(by Rob Sullivan)

New Rock Fall Sign: It has been ordered (see 10.21.21 minutes).

Spring Closure: Whether or not to have one, how dates might be determined: Still under discussion.

Guiding: HMSC will come up with a policy.

Crag Management: Rob is looking into getting Kel Rossiter to speak to WMCC on this.

Route Development Protocol: HMSC is working on one.

Conservation Easement: Matt Conroy, president of RMF and member of the HMSC, and Jennifer Carlino of the AMC will work on a plan. 

Drones: If anyone wants to use a drone on the property, they must request permission first.

Army Corps: On October 29, WMCC received an email from the Army Corps of Engineers regarding climbing on their land. WMCC’s guide currently lists climbs on the Corps Wall, but makes clear that this is not WMCC-owned land. Rob and Jon LaValley will meet with representatives of the Army Corps to discuss usage. 

Action: Corps Wall climbs and any mention of it will be removed from the guidebook. Signs will be put up at the kiosk saying the Corps Wall is closed.

 

Finance Update:

(by Danielle Rao and Stephanie Giguere)

$49,307 in bank account as of 11/10.

Mass Trails Grant: We will be reimbursed $5,000. Dolci reported that we can apply for another Mass Trails Grant next Fall 2022.

$5,000 Grant: WMCC was awarded this money from AAWF through Rama Davis. It will go towards maintenance and expansion of the Farley Parking Lot and will be dispersed sometime this winter.

Iron Ranger at Hanging Mountain: 

Action: Jon LaValley will be reimbursed for expenses for this.

 

New Land Managers for Becket Quarry:

The Trustees (thetrustees.org) are the new land managers for Becket Quarry. 

Action: WMCC will reach out to The Trustees to discuss access for climbing at the Quarries. Jon LaValley and Josh Seamon will be our representatives.

 

FERC and First Light Update:

(by Pamela Matsuda-Dunn)

On July 14, the board voted in favor of seeking a land transfer from FirstLight to the WMCC; the preferred alternative to that would be to continue our current arrangement of an “informal” recognition of climbing. After talking to Bob Fletcher, the official at FERC who handles transfers, we found out that ownership was not an option, but a permanent Conservation Easement (CE) was possible. Climbing can still be informally recognized for FirstLight’s license, but would be listed in the CE as an “allowable activity.”

Action: The board voted unanimously to seek a permanent Conservation Easement status with climbing as an allowable activity.

 

Special Board Seat:

An emeritus board position was discussed. Josh provided this definition:

“An “emeritus” director is usually a former board member who is invited to stay on board as a nonvoting member in an advisory capacity. This is an honorific title in recognition of the member’s active participation, financial contribution, or continuing strong interest in the organization.”

The board voted unanimously to appoint Jeff to the board as regular board member. He will need to run as a regular nominee in the next election to retain his seat, as was done with Rob’s position (Rob was asked to fill Michelle Lloyd-Dedischew’s position when she vacated her seat).

Actions: 

  • Rob will talk to Jeff about joining the board. 
  • Rob and Josh will bring a proposal to the board about an emeritus position to ensure institutional memory. The board will continue to discuss how to incorporate an emeritus seat.

 

Committees:

WMCC needs to establish specific policies for our committees in order to be better organized, establish better communication, and have clearly defined roles to better engage our membership.

Current committees:

– JDEI committee

– Hanging Mountain Stewardship committee needs to be defined. It is a coalition committee currently made up of RMF and WMCC members.

Current informal committees:

Farley committee

Farley Parking Lot committee (subset of Farley committee?)

FERC/FL committee (another subset of Farley committee?) [Does this need to be a committee? Pamela is the only WMCC member actively involved in FL discussions. Perhaps she should be a “representative” of the WMCC who brings back information to the greater board for discussion and voting.]

Still to discuss:
– Are committee positions indefinite appointments?
– How do we create diversity within committees?

Actions:

  1. Committee members will be appointed by the board.
  2. Committees should meet on a regular basis.
  3. Committees should take minutes and share with the board.
  4. Each committee will have a board member who acts as a liaison to the board. This board member will bring formal proposals to the board to consider via email or regular board meetings.
  5. Each committee will choose a committee chair and secretary.
  6. As committees are formalized, we will add them to the website.
  7. There will be 5-9 members in a committee.

 

The next Board meeting is a public meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, December 15 at 7p via Zoom.

 

There being no other business to consider, the meeting was adjourned 9:05 pm.

 

………………………………………

Pamela Matsuda-Dunn

Secretary

Board Minutes: October 20, 2021

MINUTES

OF

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WMCC

A Zoom meeting of the board of directors of Western Mass Climbers Coalition (WMCC, a Massachusetts Nonprofit corporation), was held on October 20, 2021 at 7p ET pursuant to notice given in accordance with Article 11, Section 3 of the WMCC’s bylaws.

Present:

Stephanie Giguere, President; Dolci Mascolo and Sara McFadden, Co-Vice Presidents; Pamela Matsuda-Dunn, Secretary; Danielle Rao, Treasurer; and Rob Sullivan.

Stephanie Giguere called the meeting to order. Based on the number of directors in attendance at the meeting and the Non-Profit’s by-laws, the Secretary determined that a quorum was present and stated that the meeting could proceed. Topics discussed and decisions made follow below.

Hanging Mountain:

Helmets:

There was concern that many climbers were not wearing helmets even though they are strongly advised to do so on signs at HM and in the guidebook. It was noted that we cannot require helmets because of liability issues, nor do we have the means to enforce it.

Leashes:

Although it is stated on the kiosks and in the guidebook that dogs must be leashed (to protect the plants), most of the dogs at the crag are unleashed. Stephanie suggested that we get the message out on social media. We can feature pictures from climbers of their dogs on leashes at HM. We can also leave leashes by the kiosks to borrow, much as stick clips are available to borrow at Muir Valley.

Spring closing of Hanging Mountain?

Because of the instability of HM, it was suggested that we might want to close the area in the spring until it stabilizes.

Action: We will ask the Stewardship Committee to make a recommendation to the board.

Pamela will talk to Stow Kelner about liability and trespassers if we decide to close in the spring.

Rock Fall Sign:

The board voted unanimously to replace the current Rock Fall sign with one that Stow had suggested: “Recent Rock Fall” 

Action: Rob will talk to Jeff Squire about ordering the correct sign.

Drones:

Drones are a problem at HM because of noise and interference with peregrine nesting. 

Action: The board agreed that there will be a policy of “no drones at Hanging Mountain without permission.”

Route Development Protocol (RDP):

Rob recommended a committee be formed to develop a policy for this and that it be a subcommittee of the HM stewardship committee. He named some people who could be part of this committee. Stephanie and Pamela nominated Dolci for the committee. Dolci requested that a place be held for someone that the JDEI committee could recommend for RDP. She also thought that developers should help with the development of the infrastructure (trails, etc) as well. The board agreed with both of these items.

Update: Steve Johnson will finish his report for the other half of Hanging Mountain by Monday.

Action: Further discussion is needed to determine the makeup and requirements for members of an RDP committee.

Hanging Mountain opening and celebration a success!

Total revenue: about $2,000 ($700 from raffle)

$682.42 (food – 382.42) + $83 (food, ice, charcoal) = $765.42

Total profit: $1,234.58

Stephanie suggested that this should be a yearly event. No vote was taken, but the board was in general agreement that this would be a good thing.

Farley Ledges:

Farley confrontation?

A climber was approached by the Speed of Life boulder at Farley Ledges, by a possible landowner who was carrying a gun at the time.

Action: Rob will reach out to one of the climbers involved to get details and more information about the situation.

Potential parking:

More parking is badly needed for hikers using the New England Trail (NET) as well as for climbers. 

Action: On Monday (10/25) representatives from the AMC and WMCC will meet at Farley to look at parking in general and to check out the Rock family property (73.5 acres) to assess its potential for parking and access to the NET and Crag X and Crag Y.

FERC/First Light Power (FL) update:

Pamela reported that many of the stakeholders have expressed their support of our request for a land transfer of the 40-acre area that comprises Farley Ledges, both privately and publicly in meetings with First Light. She emailed Carter Wall of FL outlining our argument for the transfer of land, addressing FL’s concerns about dam safety, and requesting a separate meeting to discuss this further. The next general stakeholders’ meeting with FL is scheduled for October 29.

JDEI

Sara reported that we had reached out to people who had previously signed up, but had gotten no responses. Stephanie suggested we start small, perhaps using WMCC’s social media to get people to suggest names for speakers.

People are confused about putting feedback on routes on the google form and not on Mountain Project (MP). How do we articulate this more clearly?

Land Acknowledgement and Safe Space info: 

Action: Add this information to crag info on the website.

The Safe Space sign is a xerox encased in plastic. It is looking worn.

Action: Pamela will order a laminated signed to replace it.

Membership:

Stephanie reported that people can now be joint members of both WMCC and Ragged Mountain Foundation (RMF). RMF will take care of billing for joint memberships and send WMCC quarterly updates and payments.

The month of October is our first membership drive ever. We have 39 new members!

Upcoming Events:

Is Reel Rock 16 happening? What about winter zoom events?

Gym to Crag: We should discuss this event at the next board meeting. It was suggested that we could add a tour component in the spring – perhaps a tour of various sections of Farley to familiarize people with the area and climbs.

 

There being no other business to consider, the meeting was adjourned 9:07 pm.

 

The next Board meeting is a public meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, November 17 at 7p via Zoom.

 

………………………………………

Pamela Matsuda-Dunn

Secretary