Board Meeting
Hazen High School; 7:00pm

Notes submitted by stand-in secretary, Barbara Markarian

7:15pm:         

Meeting called to order.  Greg Krueger represented RLL and conducted the meeting.  Mike Wydick, DA for District 7, was in attendance.

In attendance was a mix of both North and South General Membership.  The total number of General Membership in attendance was 38.

Greg: Opening remarks and overview of meeting to take place (Board nominations, and the possibility of pursuing efforts to combine North and South leagues into one).

Greg: Brief explanation of Board positions (8 key positions to fill, varying responsibilities of each).

Greg: Called for a motion: how many Board members should be nominated?         Floor recommended 15 directors;

1^st and 2^nd motions called and acknowledged;

Majority motion (raising of hands) acknowledged;

Motion carried.

Greg: Opened floor to accept nominations for Board positions.  Following 11 individuals were nominated:

Chris Galbraith
Dave Anderson 

Question from floor: Can Board members also coach?

Answer from Mike: Yes

Jenn Inoue
David Cretin
Chuck Markarian
Marc Hill
Jon Lacktorin
Cy Kawasaki
Marni Ramos
Kim Loucks
Jay Kallaher

Greg: Called for nominations a second time.  None offered. 

Greg called for nominations a third time and final time. No additional nominations were offered.

Call for motion to close nominations;

1^st and 2^nd motions called and acknowledged;

Majority motion (verbal) acknowledged

Motion carried.

Members were instructed to vote (ballots were handed out at the beginning as members signed in).  Members were told that if they wished to approve all nominees, they could write “All” on their ballots verses entering each name individually.  All ballots were collected.

Greg and Mike:  Participated in a small question and answer period.

Greg asked if there were any other motions:

A member motioned to allow the Board permission to explore the possibility of combining Renton North and South teams.

Mike:   Gave a brief historical overview on why we have league boundaries and how they were designated.  The floor was opened for questions. 

Q:        Joining leagues would mean that we would lose 1 All Star team?

A:        All Stars are a minor segment of the purposes of the overall league.  (Secretary’s summary of Mikes answer: members should be careful to not allow the loss of an All Stars team to affect their decision to combine the leagues.)

Q:        North teams/children would have to travel to the South side?

A:        (Mike) Younger divisions can compensate to meet in the middle.  Coaches can work together to smooth this out.

Q:        What is the intention of the A ball draft?  Why do returning A ball players need to try out again?

A:        (Chuck Markarian) numbers are low this year, everyone can go back to their same team if those teams exist, but everyone needs to be evaluated.

            (Mike) numbers are low everywhere.  Registration is slow throughout the area in all sports.

Q:        How will the teams compete?

A:        (Mike) in a similar manner – just not as Renton North and Renton South, but now as Renton Little League.

Q:        What about inter league play?

A:        (Mike) This would be an option that could be addressed by the board and district 7.  Renton could play each other and could also play other leagues such as PacWest. 

Mike:   Encouraged members to consider combining North and South, even though All Stars will be affected.  He suggested it could help to strengthen the league overall.

Greg:  Called for a motion on the subject (to allow the Board permission to explore the possibility of combining Renton North and South teams).

            1^st and 2^nd motions called and acknowledged;

Majority motion (verbal) acknowledged;

Motion carried.

Question from the floor: How many children are registered so far (and the break down)?

Answer (Chuck):

140-150 are registered

B-ball and Coach are the biggest return

North Hill has higher numbers than South

No big league

Softball registration is low.

Question from the floor:  When are tryouts?

Answer (Chuck): February 2 and February 16.

Question/concern from the floor:  2^nd tryout is during school vacation.

Answer (Chuck): Coaches can make an amendment to this date and will meet after the Board meeting to do so.  (Secretary note:  the 2^nd tryout date has been changed to March 1.)

Chuck:  Fair evaluation at tryouts is key.  It is important that coaches be at both tryouts.

Floor member mentioned that there has been a make-up day in the past.

Question from floor:  has the rule changed on runs per inning?

Answer (Mike): 5 runs per ½ inning except in the last or 6^th inning (defined by both managers at the beginning of the last inning).

Mike also noted that for minors, all batting orders would be continuous.  Also, T-ball level now has the option of mixing coach pitch and t-ball.

Greg:  Called for results of the election.  Votes were tallied by two General Members who were not nominated to the board.  The ballots showed that all nominees received 50% or greater of the vote.  The ballots have been collected and are available for review if needed. 

Greg: Called for a hand vote to accept all Board members that received 50% or greater votes from the floor.  Vote was taken and all 11 members were accepted to the Board.

A few details were shared about the website, calendar, clinics, etc.

8:11pm:  Greg called for a motion to close the meeting.

            1^st and 2^nd motions called and acknowledged;

Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned.