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Posted March 14, 2023 | Minutes

2023-01-31-Minutes

NCF Board of Directors
Minutes of Meeting
January 31, 2023

Minutes of a meeting of the Board of Directors

Board members present:
Anis Hanna (gb499) Chair
Majd Karam (gc029) 1st Vice Chair
Emmanuel Adenlolu (gc476) Treasurer
Graeme Beckett (aw958) Secretary
Christopher Cope (bz787)
Laura Novitsky (gd477)
Michael Chan (ga869)
Martin Dubois (al432)
Lindsay Carreau (gc034)

Regrets:
Peter MacKinnon (fr198) 2nd Vice-Chair
Mai Nguyen (gd478) (resigned: This board seat is now vacant)

NCF Management/Staff present:
Executive Director: Shelley Robinson

  1. Confirmation of Quorum

    Quorum was confirmed
  2. Consent Agenda (45 minutes: questions & comments or corrections)

    1. Minutes of board meeting December 13, 2022

      Motion: To move in-camera.
      Proposer: Majd Karam (gc029)
      Seconder: Christopher Cope (bz787)
      The motion was carried.
    2. Fourth quarter financial statements

      This item was conducted in-camera.
    3. Executive Director's Report

      The following portion of the Executive Director's report is open to the public.

      Operations:

      Because of staffing changes, office hours are currently Monday-Friday 10am-5pm: we are returning to Monday to Friday 9am-7pm starting Wednesday, Feb. 1 and hope to add back Saturdays soon.
      ● Luke Deschenes has started his new role as HelpDesk and Service Excellence Manager.
      ● Back-ordered DSL modems finally arrived! We also still have some open-box DSL modems at a reduced price.
      ● We had a few minor issues with the website and mail server: all fixed and we have added new equipment, including another firewall, to improve network resilience. Internet service was not affected.
      ● Welcome to Albert Montano, who has joined the HelpDesk for a three-month placement! His position is being funded through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS program) of ESDC, offered through the Social Planning Council of Ottawa.
      NCF COVID-19 Safety Plan, regularly updated: www.ncf.ca/covid19

      Communications and Advocacy:

      We were quoted in a National Post piece about internet affordability published Dec. 28/22
      https://nationalpost.com/feature/left-behind-urban-internet-access
    4. Update from the Nominations Committee (Michael Chan)

      Motion: To appoint Eddie Villarta to the vacant board position until the next annual general meeting.The consent agenda items were carried.
  3. Strategic Discussion: 2023 Budget (including pricing) (60 minutes)
    1. Presentation and discussion of the 2023 budget including pricing (Shelley Robinson)

      This item was conducted in-camera.

      Motion: To accept the budget as presented by the Executive Director and stay within the budget parameters.
      Proposer: Christopher Cope (bz787)
      Seconder: Majd Karam (gc029)
      The motion was carried.
  4. Date of Next Meeting _________

    February 14, 2023, 7:00 pm. Location: Hybrid, electronic and in-person at NCF office.
  5. Standing agenda item for discussion without staff and review (15 minutes)
    1. Discussion item (Anis Hanna)

      This item was conducted in-camera.

      Motion: To move out of camera.
      Proposer: Christopher Cope (bz787)
      Seconder: Majd Karam (gc029)
      The motion was carried.