Board of Directors Meeting 11/17/20

MEDOCINO COUNTY PUBLIC BROADCASTING

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting

November 17, 2020

Via Zoom

A.    CALL TO ORDER  5PM by Dir Dow

B.    AGENDA APPROVED

C.     MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 MEETING APPROVED

D.    REPORTS FROM MANAGEMENT AND STAFF

a.     President’s Report

i.      Passed on to the General Manager

b.     General Manager’s Report

i.      See the report below. 

ii.     There was a general consensus that the format of the fall fundraising drive is a good format.

E.     COMMITTEE REPORTS

a.     Finance Report: Dir. Dow reported for Dir Bushansky.

We are on track with our budget and no new major expenses are contemplated except the deposit for the mortgage payment ($15,000). 

        2.  We can see enough future revenue for the remainder of the fiscal year to come out near our budget.

b.     Membership/Fundraising:  No new activity.

c.     Planning:  

                                      i.     Dir Hulse-Stephens reports that the committee hasn’t met. He asked whether there is an interest in a general meeting about our future plans for relocating the station. GM Durlin responded that she is arranging for an experienced person to give us a seminar on capital campaigns and finding and moving into new facilities.

                                    ii.     Dir Hulse-Stephens also mentioned that we might approach Walmart for a donation.

d.     Programming/Publicity:  No new activity.

e.     CAB: CAB Chair Stein held a successful CAB meeting.

f.      Bylaws & Policies: No new activity.

F.     CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

a.     Adoption of Budget Reserve Policy: This was discussed. The proposal will be changed and it will be on the agenda for a vote at the next Board meeting.

G.    COMMENTS FROM DIRECTORS

a.     GM Durlin asked for approval for giving staff yearend bonuses. The Board agreed to set aside up to $5,000 for bonuses to be decided by the GM.

H.    PUBLIC EXPRESSION   No members of the public were present.

I.      NEXT MEETING:  January 26, 2021, 5PM – via Zoom

J.      ADJOURNED at 6:15pm.

KZYX Manager’s Report

November 2020

Quiet Drive/Flash Drive: We began the Quiet Drive about halfway through September and we’d raised a bit over $60K when we began the five-day Flash Drive on Nov 11, hoping to reach a total of $120K. As you read in Renee’s email, we ended at about $103K. While I am always a proponent for putting the amount we need out there so we know what we can raise, our final tally is very good, and the dedicated staff did a great job under Renee’s leadership. 

Community Counts Initiative, NFCB: We’ve completed our first task in this year-long program by answering a 75-question survey. It required five staff members to respond properly, and even though they gave us two months to do it, it was a bit of a chore. The questions covered the station’s budget, membership, bylaws and all the other documents that guide us, our programming, staff, board, internet stats, etc. The next event will be a group (zoom) meeting with a dozen other stations from around the country on December 16. Alicia and I will participate as the two reps from KZYX. The survey’s purpose is to provide a baseline so that progress can be documented.

Two year lease, deposit: Tom and I met several times with our landlords to negotiate a new lease in Philo. The station has been headquartered there for 31 years and our current landlords have owned the property for 23 years. As you know, we just signed a two-year lease with an option for a third year. After all this time, they required a $15K deposit, to be held in escrow until our departure and cleanup of the site. We will take the dish, antenna, caboose, modular unit, walkways, and water tank; and we agreed to remove cement blocks that support the caboose and to regrade the property. This lease provides a new incentive for finding a new studio location that positions KZYX for the future and ensures an ongoing terrestrial signal.

Capital Campaign: We will need money to move, whether we enter into a long-term lease or purchase a building. It will necessitate new setups at our transmitter sites, new equipment, some remodeling and cleanup of the current site. Unless we re-establish the “mothership” somewhere in Anderson Valley, we’ll need a remote studio/office headquarters there — one thought is to move the modular unit to a new site, create a production studio and house office(s) for staff. The CCC site in Ukiah, owned by the Mendocino Office of Education and near our remote studio there, is a possible new location, after the CCC moves out in about two years. But wherever we go, it will require money outside of operating expenses. 

I’ve talked with NFCB CEO Sally Kane about coaching us — she led a successful capital campaign, purchase, remodel and move in Paonia CO when she was manager of KVNF. I did the same when I was manager of KGNU Boulder but Sally’s experience is more recent and probably more relevant since it was in a rural county with fewer resources. Sally is willing to meet with staff and board via zoom and talk to us about how to proceed.

Thank you for your support, 

Marty