Mid State of Ohio Kart Club
Board of Directors Meeting
July 20, 2006
Station House 81 – Commercial Point, Ohio
Call to Order – Paul Lyda called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM after which he distributed an agenda.
Attendance – In attendance were:
Bill Bruce – Member (Secretary)
Kevin Brown – Member
Layman Cobb – Visitor
Dana Conlin – Member
Erin Dillon – Visitor (Membership Chair)
Mike Dillon – Member (Treasurer)
MaShaun Jones – Visitor (Webmaster)
Paul Lyda – Member (Vice-President)
P.J. Lyda – Visitor
Todd Mees – Visitor
Bo Strawser – Visitor (Race Director)
Bob Strawser – Member
Heath Tatman – Member
Steve Tatman – Member
Greg Wilkinson – Visitor
Mike Yoerger – Member
There were nine regular board members present and no alternates.
Apologies for Absence – Those who had indicated that they were unable to attend the meeting were:
Mike Unger – Member (President)
Approval of Minutes – The minutes from the June 15, 2006 MSOKC Board of Directors meeting were approved as written. Bill Bruce indicated that the minutes from the special session held on July 15, 2006, would be posted in the next few days.
Membership Up-Date/Treasurers Report – Mike Dillon reported that the total number of members had grown to 135. He outlined a number of recent expenditures, including trophies, office supplies, and the catering costs for the up-coming hog roast. He projected that, at the current average of 80 karts per event, there would be approximately $6300 available at the end of the season for the banquet.
Restricted Animal with Unrestricted Raptor – Bill Bruce distributed a chart that shows a comparison between Conor Bruce's lap times from Race No. 7 with a restricted Animal (0.505 in. gold restrictor plate) and his lap times from Race No. 3 (the previous night race) with an unrestricted Raptor. He indicated that, in general, the restricted Animal is about a 1 to 1-1/2 seconds slower that the unrestricted Raptor. He went on to say that, if running the restricted Animal with the unrestricted Raptor is going to be attractive to anyone, some concessions for the restricted Animal will need to be made. Reducing the minimum-required weight was discussed, but some of the restricted Animal candidates may already be over the current limit (310 lbs) without added weight. The other possibility is a larger diameter restrictor plate. Bill Bruce indicated that they would be willing to do the development work required to determine the appropriate diameter for Circleville Raceway Park. He also suggested that, if successful, Butch McCall may be willing to make and distribute the custom restrictor plates. Paul Lyda made a motion to allow additional experimentation on a one race at a time basis (ACTION 1). Second – Steve Tatman, Vote – Unanimously approved with one abstention (Bill Bruce).
Mid-Season Reflections – Paul Lyda invited discussion pertaining to how the season has gone so far and what change and/or improvements were required. Erin Dillon indicated that better communication was needed between the tower and the grid person, as the subsequent group of karts was being released before the AMB system was ready. She also indicated that better communication was required between the scale house person and the tower regarding disqualifications for tire and weight infractions, etc. (ACTION 2). Mike Yoerger expressed some concern pertaining to running the Jr. Yamaha and Jr. Unrestricted classes together. Greg Wilkinson indicated that this issue was the reason for him attending the meeting. He suggested that these two classes should not run together. Bill Bruce agreed and indicated that while the lap times for these two classes are similar, there is a significant difference between the speeds of the karts in these two classes, with the Yamaha karts being much faster on the straights and the Briggs karts being much faster in the corners. It was agreed that the additional time savings associated with running these two classes together did not justify the danger involved. It was agreed that every effort would be made to run these two classes separately in the future.
Preparation for Race No. 8 – It was pointed out the Charlie Hughes, a long-time club member, was moving out of the area and would be having his last race with the club. It was agreed that an appropriate acknowledgement was in order. Paul Lyda invited discussion pertaining transponder usage. MaShaun Jones suggested that some of problems from the previous races could be avoided if the grid person were responsible for making sure that transponders were installed. Bo Strawser indicated that it had already been decided that this was the driver’s responsibility. Regarding moving of rental transponders from kart to kart, Erin Dillon indicated that the class schedule was being arranged so that no two karts that use the same transponder were being scheduled back-to-back. The subject of a penalty for leaving the scale house without removing a rental transponder was discussed next. Steve Tatman suggested imposing a requirement that no kart be weighed before the rental transponder is removed. The issue of a kart running without a transponder was then discussed. Layman Cobb suggested that it was a bit harsh to not score a driver who had forgotten to install a transponder. Erin Dillon indicated that this had already been decided and that the use of transponders was necessary to make full use of the system in the future (AMB scoring as opposed to manual scoring). Regarding fuel and tires, Bob Strawser indicated that a sufficient supply of both would be available. The need to have a sufficient supply of Vega banners on display was discussed, since representatives from Vega would be in attendance.
Hog Roast Preparations – Preparations for the Hog Roast following Race No. 8 were discussed next. Mike Dillon indicated that the caterer for the main course had been paid. He also indicated that a supply of potable water was required and that he had paid the caterer an additional $150 to supply this himself. Paul Lyda indicated that Mike Unger had finalized the details for the games.
Qualifying for Race No. 8 – The format for qualifying during Race No. 8 was discussed next. Bill Bruce indicated that a format that involves two practice sessions, then a five lap qualifying session (40 points available), followed by a six lap heat race (40 points available), and then a 10 lap feature (80 points available) was discussed at the June 15, 2006, meeting. It was agreed that the results of qualifying would set the starting order for the heat race and that the finishing order from the heat race would set the order for the feature. Regarding the qualifying session, Bo Strawser indicated that the flags the driver would see would be green/green/white/checkered. The need to split up the larger classes into two groups and how to space out the karts was also discussed. The need for the faster karts in each class to go first was also discussed. It was agreed that this would be decided based on the honor system. Paul Lyda indicated that it would be the driver’s responsibility to get a clean lap. The need to have the days racing activities complete by about 4:30 PM was mentioned. Erin Dillon indicated that she would do what she could to make this happen.
MSOKC Promotion at CPGP – Paul Lyda voiced Mile Unger’s request for help staffing the MSOKC booth at the Commercial Point Grand Prix. The booth will jointly promote MSOKC and National Kart News.
Preparations for 2006 MSOKC Banquet – Erin Dillon reported that Villa Milano had been reserved for the 2006 banquet, which will be November 17, 2006, which is the Friday before the Ohio State/Michigan football Game. The start time was move back to 6:30 PM. The issue of what to do with excess club funds, if any, after the banquet was discussed. Mike Dillon suggested that excess funds should be earmarked for track improvements. The solicitation of donations for banquet prizes from the various kart suppliers was discussed next. Likely candidates include Comet Kart Sales, American Power Sports (Bill Bruce), Margay (Pail Lyda), Russell (Bill Bruce), Yellow Fin (Kevin Brown), G-Man (Bob Strawser), Turner (Bo Strawser), CKI (Heath Tatman), Willis Brothers (Mike Dillon), Leonard Trailer (Bob Strawser), and Trailer Whiz (ACTION 3). Heath Tatman indicated that he had received $11,000 worth of sponsorship for the CPGP and that he would provide the list of contributors to the board (ACTION 4).
Board of Directors By-Laws/Charter – The need for by-laws or a charter for the board was discussed next. Bill Bruce reported that Mike Unger had emailed him a draft that had been started in early 2005. He also indicated that he had located examples of other kart club charters that he had found on the internet. Paul Lyda suggested that the draft should be finalized prior to the banquet. Erin Dillon suggested that Eric Stoller, who is a club member and a lawyer, might be willing to review the charter.
MSOKC Swap Meet – The need to set a definite date for the swap meet was discussed. Bill Bruce indicated that the likely candidates that were identified at the previous meeting were the first part of November, the middle of January, or sometime in March. After some discussion, January 27, 2007, was selected. Motion – Mike Dillon, Second – Bob Strawser, Vote - – Unanimously approved with one abstention (Bill Bruce). Regarding the venue, Bob Strawser indicated that the availability of Pickaway County Fairgrounds was good (ACTION 5). Mike Dillon indicated that he would investigate cost and availability for an appropriate space at Franklin County fairgrounds (Action 6).
Next Meeting – The next meeting will be Thursday August 17, 2006, at 7:00 PM. Mike Dillon offered to investigate the Grove City Public Library as an alternate venue, since it is unlikely that they would be having a Karaoke Night there (ACTION 7).
Actions – The following is a list of action items from the meeting:
Adjournment – The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:45 PM.
Bill Bruce
Secretary
MSOKC Board of Directors