Minutes 2008-11-10
Minutes of the Wikimedia UK v2.0 Board Meeting #wikimedia-uk-board, 20:30 10/11/2008
Constitution
Present with speaking rights: Kwan Ting Chan (KTC), Mickey Conn (MC), Tom Holden (TH), Mike Peel (MP), Andrew Turvey (AT)
Apologies for Absence
No apologies were received.
Minutes of Last Meeting
The minutes of the meeting of 4th November 2008 were available to view at [1] and were approved unanimously.
Matters Arising
Expenses claims forms
TH sent updated expenses claim forms to all board members. HMRC guidelines suggested paying 20p/mile for travel by bicycle; TH to alter rate stated on form accordingly and circulate updated forms.
ACTION: TH to update expenses claim forms and circulate.
Bank account
AT confirmed that he is happy to use the Co-op Bank. TH has all the forms. All cheques will require the signatures of two signatories. The first signatories are to be TH and AT. AT, MC and MP to complete relevant forms as directors of the company and send to TH, who will send them on to the Co-op Bank. Four directors are needed initially; KTC can be added later. TH will ensure that MP has a paying-in book. AT will arrange for a copy of the Mem&Arts to be certified and then send on to TH.
ACTION: AT, MC and MP to complete and send on forms. TH to collate and send on to bank when ChapCom approval received. AT to arrange certification and send to TH.
ChapCom & WMF response
ChapCom have responded; a resolution has been drafted and they are currently voting on it. It is likely that the result will be confirmed by the end of the week. All to read the standard agreement between chapters and Wikimedia Foundation. MC to e-mail Michael Snow to check date of next Foundation board meeting.
ACTION: All to read agreement. MC to e-mail Michael Snow.
Membership Rules
MP has contacted everyone who has expressed an interest in joining the organisation for feedback on fees. Little feedback has been received. The board agreed without objection that the proposed fees would be £12 for annual membership, with a reduced rate of £6 for under 18s, full time students, unemployed people and OAPs. All board members must be members of the organisation and will be expected to pay the annual membership fee.
Newsletter
MP has started a series of pages for the newsletter. MC to edit the newsletter, soliciting contributions from other board members. Planned deadline for the first issue is Monday 17th November. MP will distribute the first few manually, before beginning to use a bot.
ACTION: All to contribute to newsletter.
Business Plan
TH will work on the business plan and present it to the board.
ACTION: TH to work on business plan.
Wiki Educational Resource Ltd
Wiki Educational Resource Ltd (WER) is in the process of being wound up. Allison from WER has confirmed that there will be no issue with the rights to the Wikimedia trademark being transferred to the new organisation, and she is happy to write to the Foundation confirming this. James F personally owns wikimedia.org.uk and wikimedia.co.uk. AT to contact WER regarding their Register of Members.
ACTION: AT to contact WER.
Incorporation
The organisation has now been incorporated. AT has received the Certificate of Incorporation and has put together Registers of Members, Directors, Secretaries and Charges. MP will keep a working list of members and send information to AT to update the Register of Members as required. AT to e-mail the board with a standard text to use on official correspondence, including e-mails.
ACTION: AT to e-mail standard text to the board.
Timetable Review
The board updated the timetable to reflect the expectation of concluding discussions with ChapCom on 14th November. Applying to open the bank account and to HMRC for tax exempt status were also moved to 14th November. Applications for membership will be invited from 19 November 2008, following discussion at the next board meeting. AT to apply to HMRC. TH to investigate enabling members to pay by direct debit.
ACTION: KTC to include membership applications on agenda for next meeting. AT to apply to HMRC. TH to investigate direct debits.
Treasurers Report
TH has only received one expense claim for the board meeting of 27th October. All board members are encouraged to complete expense claims for this.
ACTION: All board members to complete expense claims.
Secretary's Report
There was nothing to report.
AOCB
AGM
MP may be able to get a venue for the AGM at the University of Manchester. MP to investigate further, with a decision on venue to be made closer to the time.
ACTION: MP to further investigate possible venue for AGM.
Languages other than English
It is important that the board keeps people informed of the organisation's activities, even if they do not contribute to Wikimedia projects in the English language. Keeping in contact with Welsh, Gaelic, Cornish and Manx communities and also with people with links to the UK who contribute in languages not native to the UK can be achieved by providing summaries of our newsletter, translated where possible. MC to investigate possibility of translation and to find suitable places to post or send the summary.
ACTION: MC to investigate translation and suitable contact points.
Requests for attendance at events
At the moment, the board's main priority is forming the organisation. Requests for attendance at events will be politely declined, unless a board member can conveniently attend. MC to respond to request. Any board member who intends to attend an event to contact MC as soon as possible.
Minutes of decisions
KTC asked the board to recognise and approve (as a board of an actual incorporated company) all the decisions taken, as minuted in the past minutes. KTC to draw up a formal resolution for voting on at the next board meeting.
ACTION: KTC to draw up resolution.
Closure
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 18th November at 20:30 (GMT/UTC).