Meeting:Committee (2013-11-24)

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  Wikimedia Australia Inc.
MINUTES
Sunday 24 November 2013, 16:00 AEDST

Meeting opened at 16:05

Introduction

Attendance

  • Present: Steven Zhang (President), Gideon Digby (Vice President), Andrew Owens (Secretary), Robert, Charles, Mike, Pru
  • Observers: Craig (for part of the meeting)
  • Apologies: Kerry
  • Absent: none

Observer resolution

Resolution:Craig Franklin and Kerry Raymond as observers of the committee passed 7-0 at 16:24, with 6 votes having been cast before the meeting.

Thanks

  • Steven thanked Adam Jenkins for his assistance during the changeover.
  • Andrew thanked all nominees for the election, Craig and the former committee for the handover (still in progress)
  • Others present seconded.

Minutes of previous meeting

It was noted that no meeting took place in October. The action item on renewals was probably not done, but can be reinstated. Other actions were either done or vacated.

Motion
That the Minutes of the September committee meeting be accepted.
  • Moved: Steven
  • Seconded: Charles
  • Carried without dissent

It was noted that most present were not at the meeting, but that as Graham had prepared the minutes and Craig had agreed to them, an overall majority of the previous committee could be judged in favour.

ACTION: Andrew to follow up with renewals.

Reports

Finance report

  • Current position as of 30 October 2013 (in cash): $82,357

Estimated future costs

  • After Linkage contract is signed; WMAu is committed (at present) to provide $28,715 to UQ
    • This would leave WMAu with $53,642
      • See below for discussion regarding project.

Agenda business

Committee transitioning

A1 Update of records with CAV and the ACNC
  • Steven advised that everyone had sent through the necessary details. Email issues have hampered the ACNC matter; Steven is sending Andrew the form via express post.
  • The rule changes have not been sent to CAV from the SGM. If it goes beyond 26 November, the lodgment fee increases from $75.20 to $160.50.
  • ACTION: Steven to email Andrew the form; Andrew to file it with CAV on Tuesday.

Craig joined the meeting at 16:37.


A2 Updating of bank accounts, issuing of debit card

Four signatories at present: Craig, John, Graham and Kerry.

Motion
That Steven Zhang, Andrew Owens and Gideon Digby be added as signatories to the chapter bank account, replacing Kerry, John and Graham.
  • Moved: Charles
  • Seconded: Pru
  • Carried without dissent

It was agreed that Craig would retain the debit card until the appointment of a new treasurer.


A3 Update of postal address

Current postal address is in Toombul, Queensland, and is actually Craig's personal box. While Craig is happy to pick up and scan/forward any mail which arrives to the secretary, a new one is needed.

Various options were discussed, as was the undesirability of moving the PO box upon major committee changes (the original box was in Sorrento VIC until 2010, when it moved to Toombul QLD). Mail forwarding costs $84.70 a year within Australia.

As Steven has close access to boxes in eastern Melbourne and the location can easily be reached by two other committee members, it was proposed to move it to Burwood VIC.

Motion
The committee authorises Steven Zhang to obtain a PO Box in Burwood, Victoria, with payment upon receipt for the annual cost to be reimbursed.
  • Moved: Andrew
  • Seconded: Gideon
  • Carried without dissent

(Update: This was actioned on 27 November; the new address is PO Box 2062, Bennettswood VIC 3125.)


A4 Roles and responsibilities for committee members
  • Social media (Charles)
  • WMF-WMAu liaison (Steven)
  • Vice-secretary (Robert)

There was discussion about on-boarding and support of new members as well as engagement with existing members. Suggestions included a subcommittee with a mixture of committee and financial members, state-based coordinators, or members with specific responsibilities. A final decision was not made; discussion will take place on comm email.

ACTION: All to update COI register.


A5 Business cards

Craig left the meeting at 17:08

  • What to put on the business cards? Email, contact number, QR code to user page on WMAu wiki.
  • ACTION: Charles and Robert to follow up with Vistaprint and other suppliers and report back.


A6 Treasurer position
  • The position was declared vacant at the AGM and must be filled within 14 days. On a temporary basis, Craig is assisting Steven with Xero and remains the responsible person for the ATO / BAS etc.
  • Michael indicated he could fill the role temporarily if needed.
  • ACTION: Robert to follow up with potential treasurer candidate to see if interested.


A7 Past resolutions
  • ACTION: Andrew to sort out past resolutions for posting to the public wiki.

Technical matters

B1 Technical officer

Prior to 2010, the policy was always that the technical officer should be an independent person from the committee. Adam Jenkins has been filling the role in a temporary capacity.

Motion
That Adam Jenkins be invited to be the technical officer for Wikimedia Australia, holding access to the database and miscellaneous technical matters.
  • Moved: Steven
  • Seconded: Andrew
  • Carried without dissent
ACTION: Steven to advise Adam.

(Update: Actioned 25 November - committee members CC'd on email.)


B2 Email setup

The alias-based system WMAu now has forwards to another email address. It costs the organisation nothing, but sometimes loses email. Google Apps (which is used by WMF) costs $50/user/year, this would be cost a maximum of $1000/year, which seems reasonable. Adam needs to investigate the process to migrate email.


B3 Server hosting

Currently WMAu is hosted with Linux Users Victoria, mosttly for historical reasons. At the September meeting, it was noted they were having some possible changes, so moving to an independent server which WMAu engages with on a commercial basis seems a reasonable idea. Options include shared or dedicated hosting; shared costs less, but also carries a higher security risk, or other risks if another user of the hosting gets blacklisted.

Alternatives are being investigated, with a preference for Australian-based hosting for legal reasons.

ACTION: All members to investigate and report back.

Forward directions

Michael left the meeting at 17:52

C1 Alternative sources of funding

Steven expressed the view that is important to find ways to become self-sufficient. Projects may align to the mission and strategy of our chapter but not necessarily the WMF. He has been investigating Google Grants, which can be used to spread info about our mission and appeal to potential donors. The website (wiki) and donate section need to be refreshed if WMAu is to go with this option. Gideon suggested other grant organisations while Andrew noted events should have sponsors as per practice in other organisations.

Eligibility - Need to link to a URL (the donate page), write a brief ad and select keywords. There is a 2 month wait with applications, so the committee should use this time to improve the page.

ACTION: Gideon and Steven to supervise rewrite of donation page.


C2 Fair Use Network

Pru left the meeting at 18:03

This relates to a proposal brought to the committee by Liam Wyatt. The committee agreed to support the idea in principle and hammer out details in coming days - especially with regard to any financial liabilities.

(Update: Liam advised that there were no financial liabilities and the committee agreed to sign the letter and support the Fair Use Network.)


C3 Procurement subcommittee

At the July meeting, a subcommittee was announced with five members, but was never announced and it never met. Its purpose related to Proposal:Contracting. The committee set it aside for the time being, with a decision to be made in the future.


C4 Linkage project

The total outlay of this project is $140,000, with $28,000 required in the first year. With $82,000 in funds, it appears WMAu is overcommitted; in addition, there are questions as to its fit with our Statement of Purpose. An initial look into the project from WMF grantmaking staff raised concerns about fit to movement strategy and value for money, thus proceeding regardless of their perspective may have an impact on efforts to obtain future funding for projects. At present, the key deliverables appear to be a physical book (which benefits UQ/APC), an e-book (digital version of the physical book) and an e-history with similar content but delivered with multiple linear narratives and would include Wiki content. Several members expressed concerns about proceeding.

The path ahead is difficult, as WMAu has built up a good relationship with the other partners. In-kind support is an option; based on minutes of previous meetings with the APC and UQ, John Vandenberg has offered to provide some of his time to this end. We can also support the APC in other ways.

The current spending is authorised by a resolution of the previous committee, but we have the option to rescind this. The Rules and the Act do not prohibit this in any way.

Steven intends to set up a call with UQ and APC over the coming week and get a more concrete description of the project.

ACTION: Steven to email Asaf Bartov, CC to committee.
ACTION: Steven to set up a call with the University of Queensland and the Australian Paralympic Committee.


C5 Annual Plan

A draft of the Annual Plan has been made available. The committee undertook to work on it over the coming weeks so that membership input can be sought and it can be passed in time for next year.

ACTION: All to look at and assist with annual plan.

General business

Gideon reported on his project Wikipedia Takes Waroona (in conjunction with the Shire of Waroona and the Visitor Centre), at least 1,850 images were produced by over 50 attendees of a range of ages (in an area which prior to this project had just 4 images!).

A discussion was had about increasing the size of the membership and in particular bringing membership forms to community events.

The World War I event proceeded, but nobody on the committee was present, so a report will be sought from the organiser for the next meeting.

Gideon raised registering Freopedia as a trademark. Cost for business name is about $160, trademark is uncertain. Gideon will write a resolution for the committee to vote on and circulate by email.


Meeting closed at 18:55.

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