[MRIC] Meeting Minutes for April 25, 2009

[Brett Hammond]

Pat,

My comments were in the email that preceded the minutes, not in the minutes 
themselves.

We tried conducting business outside the meetings the first year, and debate 
spiraled out of control. The idea behind getting together in person is to 
try to tear down the walls between jurisdictions, get to know each other 
personally, and debate the issues openly to eliminate politics and 
demonizing, which I believe has worked very well with a few exceptions. I 
believe if we change the tone of the meeting back to trying to build 
consensus, rather than trying to push through one's own position, more 
people would attend. Perhaps when there is less contention we can try it 
again. Also, we normally have a much higher attendance.

Once again I must request you stop the personal attacks on me such as 
questioning my experience, motives and accusing me of using MRIC to advance 
my own personal agenda. As I said many, many times publicly, the equipment 
list we have been working on for the past year is of no use to me 
personally. I already have a well equipped EOC. I am only trying to move 
forward with it because so many other jurisdictions have requested we put 
our collective minds together and give them such a list. Some of whom, 
unfortunately, were unable to attend our last meeting in which you lead the 
effort to kill it. In fact, I can't think of a single thing that we have 
done in the past 3 years that has benefited me or Talbot County, except that 
we finally have an agreement on interoperable communications to other 
jurisdictions. On the other hand, the time I spend on MRIC for the benefit 
of others is considerable, and at times, very frustrating.

Brett



----- Original Message ----- 

From: "Pat Scolla" <wb0egr at comcast.net>
To: <mric at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 11:39 PM
Subject: Re: [MRIC] Meeting Minutes for April 25, 2009


> Brett:
>
> With respect to the minutes of the April 25, 2009 MRIC Meeting, I am
> appalled that the minutes of the meeting are being used to editorialize.
> The minutes are to be an objective accounting of the meeting, not a 
> soapbox
> for one to vent their displeasure on how the meeting went or how things
> turned out.
>
> If anyone wishes to vent their personal feelings about an MRIC meeting 
> they
> should do so in a separate e-mail to the group and not in the meeting
> minutes.
>
> The way in which the second paragraph of the preamble was written is at 
> the
> very least, misleading and overall inaccurate.  Yes, it is true that 
> Harford
> County did call for a vote to delete specific references to equipment by
> model number and to replace it with general equipment specifications.  The
> discussion leading up to the vote was initiated by Howard and Washington
> Counties, and all present actively participated in a very lively debate.
> The end result was the removal of the specific model numbers from the
> appendix with a recommendation, and eventually a motion that passed, that
> each jurisdiction posts their equipment on the MRIC website.
>
> As far as the third paragraph of the preamble goes, this is entirely your
> opinion and not an objective reporting of the minutes, and as previously
> stated, opinions do not belong in the minutes.  If you have a problem with
> poor attendance, then you should say so in a separate e-mail, or just say
> that you are concerned about the lack of attendance at MRIC meetings and
> leave it at that.  Do not go on to say that you are concerned about a
> minority leading the group in this e-mail.  That is your opinion, not an
> official MRIC opinion.
>
> Remember you are just ONE member of the group.  Yes, you are the Chairman,
> but you are not the "Head" or "Group Leader".  A Chairman's function is to
> oversee the meeting and ensure that it takes place in accordance to 
> Robert's
> rules and procedures and the MRIC Charter.  You are not to use MRIC as a
> tool for your own agenda.
>
> Harford County agrees that attendance at the MRIC meetings is below what 
> it
> should be.  However, we must all remember that we are volunteers and we do
> not get reimbursed for travel or for the time we devote to these meetings.
> One alternative which has been discussed and was brought up at the April
> 2008 meeting was to provide for a method for jurisdictions to vote via
> e-mail or proxy.  An alternative method for members to participate and 
> vote
> would put aside any concerns any jurisdiction would have about a minority
> pushing an agenda.  This issue was brought up in April 2008 and at your 
> lead
> was voted down.  No further concerns regarding attendance at meetings 
> after
> April 2008 were raised by any jurisdiction until the April 2009 meeting.
>
> If attendance is truly an issue then we should revisit alternative methods
> of participation and open up a discussion on the MRIC e-mail reflector and
> continue it ahead of any other business at the next scheduled MRIC meeting
> in November 2009.  Another alternative that we should look at is the use 
> of
> webinar technology using products such as Go To Meetings, which costs $30
> per month ($1.00 - $1.50 a month per RO) for a subscription, or the free
> version of Aim Professional which supports video, audio and text
> conferencing.  As Dave Prestel from Howard County and others suggested at
> the April 2009 MRIC meeting, let's take advantage of technology and put it
> to our good use.
>
> Pat Scolla, WB0EGR
> Harford County RACES Officer
> Member, MRIC
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mric-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:mric-bounces at mailman.qth.net] 
> On
> Behalf Of Brett Hammond
> Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2009 3:58 PM
> To: mric at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: [MRIC] Meeting Minutes for April 25, 2009
>
> All Maryland RACES Officers:
>
> Please find below the proposed minutes for the Maryland RACES
> Interoperability Committee meeting held on Saturday April 25, 2009. You 
> will
>
> note that the motion to pass on our interoperability document to the
> Association actually passed. There was a miscount during the meeting,
> perhaps due to one vote scrolling off the top of the window during the 
> vote.
>
> My apologies for any confusion.
>
> One significant event that occurred during this meeting was the deletion 
> of
> all the text we approved over the past year to create guidance material 
> for
> those interested in purchasing equipment to implement our interoperability
> recommendations. Instead, the motion made by Harford County to delete the
> guidance material allows for each jurisdiction to post their current
> equipment list to our web site with no unified guidance material to be
> created by MRIC. See the minutes below for details. I will post the 
> updated
> interoperability document in the next few days.
>
> We had poor attendance at this meeting with only 9 members staying through
> the meeting. I know some of you had very good reason with personal family
> emergencies that could not be helped. I am concerned that it only took 6
> members to vote to delete the work we accomplished over the past year 
> during
>
> which many more members attended. I am also concerned that a motion passed
> with just 6 members voting to pass this significant change on to the
> Association for approval without waiting until the next meeting as we
> normally do for significant interoperability motions, in order to ensure
> consensus. Also, this is the first time MRIC has recommended something be
> passed on to the Association for approval that has not been unanimous. And
> finally, I am concerned about the attempts by one or two jurisdictions to
> try to use procedural rules to prevent other jurisdictions from speaking. 
> I
> hope we can return to an atmosphere where everyone is working toward
> consensus on what would be best for all jurisdictions, rather than try to
> get their own position pushed through quickly.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Brett Hammond
> Chairman, MRIC
> 410-829-6749 (cell)
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------------------
>
> Maryland RACES Interoperability Committee (MRIC) Meeting Minutes for April
> 25, 2009:
>
> Pat Scolla hosted the meeting at the Harford County EOC. Thank you Pat.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> ATTENDANCE:
> The meeting was called to order at 10:30 AM. The following RACES Officers
> (or their representative) were in attendance:
>
> Allegany -
> Anne Arundel - Frank Winner
> Baltimore County - Joe Krystoforski
> Baltimore City -
> Caroline -
> Carroll -
> Calvert -
> Cecil - Will Owen
> Charles -
> Dorchester -
> Frederick - Jim Devilbiss
> Garrett -
> Harford - Pat Scolla
> Howard - Dave Prestel
> Kent - Bob Lovell
> MEMA -
> Montgomery - Fred Bader and William Hatfield
> Ocean City -
> Prince George's - Dan Blasberg
> Queen Anne's -
> Somerset -
> St. Mary's -
> Talbot - Brett Hammond
> Washington - Bob Long
> Wicomico -
>
> The jurisdictions listed above with no name, did not send a 
> representative.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> AGENDA:
> A motion was made by Bob Long to approve the following Agenda as 
> distributed
>
> earlier this week. Seconded by Bob Lovell. Motion passed by unanimous
> consent without objection.
>
> - Welcome
> - Attendance
> - Review Agenda
> - Approval of Minutes
> - Update MD RO Contact List
> - New 80 meter net frequency (Dan Blasberg)
> - Winlink Frequency List (Ray Brown)
> - Update MD RACES Freq list
> - Publishing RACES Contact info? (Chuck Hodell)
> - MRIC Winlink Tech Support contact procedures (Dan Blasberg and Bill 
> Clark)
> - Discussion on HF Net test results/schedule
> - Lunch
> - Finish HF Voice and Additional Equipment Sections of our Interop Doc
> - 2009 MRIC Interoperability Exercises
> - Simplex net
> - Next Meeting Agenda
> - Adjourn
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Approve Minutes:
> A motion was made by Fred Bader to approve the January meeting minutes as
> distributed earlier this week. Seconded by Frank. Motion passed by 
> unanimous
>
> consent without objection.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Contact List:
> The Maryland RACES Contact List was reviewed and updated. A motion was 
> made
> by Bob to approve the RO Contact info, seconded by Dan. It was approved
> without objection by unanimous consent. A copy will be emailed to the MRIC
> email reflector after the meeting.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> 80 Meter Freq:
> Dan reported there are no 80 meter frequencies that don't have a net 
> running
>
> on them at some point. He recommended we stay with the frequency 
> previously
> agreed to.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Winlink Freq:
> The discussion on Winlink frequencies was postponed until the next meeting
> with Ray Brown can attend.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Freq List:
> There were no changes to the Maryland RACES Frequency coordination list.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> RO Contact Info:
> The discussion on how much RACES Officer contact information we want to 
> make
>
> public was put off until the next meeting since Chuck could not attend.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Winlink Tech Support:
> No change since last meeting.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Web Site:
> Brett reported that Bill Bickley of Kent County graciously created a web
> site for MRIC (www.marylandraces.org). Part of the web site will be
> accessible by the public, and some will only be accessible by Maryland 
> RACES
>
> Officers. Only approved documents authorized for public release will be
> accessible by the public. We discussed creating a discussion thread for a
> contribution to be made by Dave Prestel. Also Brett will talk to Bill 
> about
> adding the following links:
>
> About - what we are doing right now.
> History - What we have done so far (milestones).
> Contact - TBD.
> Web Master contact link.
> Links Button - to other RACES sites.
> Suppliers - of equipment
>
> Also, Brett will address the following concerns:
> Verify that everything is not accessible by the public (i.e. readable).
> Ensure ability for all ROs to distribute documents to MRIC members.
> Add Home page links to other Maryland RACES web sites.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> HF Test Results:
> No further comments regarding HF test results.
> Dave Prestel volunteered to draft a new section to recommend procedures 
> for
> establishing multicounty contact in the event of loss of region-wide
> communications.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Interop Document:
> Motion by Pat that MRIC not recommend specific equipment in guidance
> materials. However equipment used by jurisdictions will be posted to the
> MRIC web site for reference. Seconded by Dave Prestel.
>
> Baltimore County - Yes
> Cecil - No
> Harford - Yes
> Howard - Yes
> Kent - No
> Montgomery - Yes
> Prince George's - Yes
> Talbot - No
> Washington - Yes
>
> Motion passed 6 to 3.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Motion to "delete Appendix A as re-written without guidance on which
> equipment meets these requirements" by Brett, seconded by Pat.
>
> Motion failed by voice vote.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Motion by Bob to accept the document as amended. Seconded by Dave.
>
> Baltimore County - Yes
> Cecil - Yes
> Harford - Yes
> Howard - Yes
> Kent - Yes
> Montgomery - Yes
> Prince George's - Yes
> Talbot - No
> Washington - Yes
>
> The motion passed, 8 to 1.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Motion by Pat to submit to the Association for approval. Seconded by Joe.
>
> Baltimore County - Yes
> Cecil - No
> Harford - Yes
> Howard - Yes
> Kent - No
> Montgomery - Yes
> Prince George's - Yes
> Talbot - No
> Washington - Yes
>
> Although it appeared this motion failed during the meeting by not getting 
> a
> 2/3 vote, while working on the minutes later I found that the vote 
> actually
> passed with 6 YES, 3 NO. I believe during the meeting one of the votes may
> have scrolled off the top of the window resulting in an inaccurate count.
> Therefore, the interoperability document will be passed to the Association
> for approval.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> Motion made by Bob Long: "Be it resolved that MRIC expresses its
> appreciation to Bill Bickley for his work to create and maintain an MRIC 
> web
>
> site for the dissemination of interoperability recommendations." Bob 
> Lovell
> seconded it.
>
> Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
> -------------------------------------------------------
> A motion to adjourn was made by Dan, seconded by Bob Long, and approved by
> unanimous consent at 15:03.
> -------------- end of minutes --------------- 
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> MRIC mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/mric
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:MRIC at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> MRIC mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/mric
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:MRIC at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>