Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, January 24, 2018

6:30 p.m. – Biba’s Restaurant

 

Attendance – Bob Morrison, President; Mike Grobman, Treasurer; Doris Warpole, Secretary; Gary Mastrodonato, Team Sponsorship/Past President; Ron Petre, American League Commissioner; Rick Rhodes, National League Commissioner; Harvey Schulman, AL Member at Large; Eurskine Lyons, NL Member at Large; Jim Hannah, Team/Field Manager

 

Agenda Items

 

Final 2017 Financial Statement - Mike Grobman
•    12 months ending 12/31/17 - League has a CD balance of $6,590.21.
•    No major changes - Revenue was good even with operating expenses up slightly due to cost of Dri-Fit shirts, increased out of county fees, and purchase of softballs for 2018.
•    League has enough money to pay for capital expenditures.
•    No tax implications based on league financial standing.
•    Harvey asked if we could get thicker Dri-Fit shirts.  
•    1/31 - Gary contacted vendor -  the cost for next level Dri-Fit shirts is in the $15-20 range. He recommends we not buy them.

 

Statement of Purpose
•    Bob presented the League Statement of Purpose created by Harvey.
•    Board approved –  2/4 - Doris added the statement to the first paragraph of the home page on the web site.

 

Capital Expenditures in 2018

•    Pitching Machine

• •    New machine costs approximately $2,500 to $3,000.
• •    Replacing the feeder and/or wheels and motors individually could cost about the same.
• •    Decision was not to purchase a new pitching machine this year.
• •    Jim will report back to the Board if a new machine is necessary.

•    Pitcher Screens

• •    New pitcher screens cost $300 each
• •    Screens with fixed legs are a safety issue, plus they cannot be stored in the room.
• •    We need screens where the legs fold in.  
• •    Board approved buying 2 new screens from Pitch Safe in Florida.
• •    Jim will purchase before season starts.

•    Pitcher Masks

• •    Current helmet masks in concession room are missing straps and pitchers have trouble seeing with them.  
• •    Most pitchers wear fielder masks.  They have their own or use ones purchased by league through Ed Brown at Mizuno.
• •    Board approved buying new pitcher masks through Mizuno.  
• •    Number to be determined by Ron and Rick who will follow up with Ed.

•    Net for Left Field on Softball field

• •    Info sent in from Neil Castro on cost of net, but it did not include cost of poles and labor.
• •    Ron said he checked some web sites and it would probably run over $5,000.
• •    Gwinnett County will only use their contractors.
• •    Mike Peters was checking on cost and will get back to us.
• •    Doris will follow up with Mike and send out information to Board.

•   Chalk Spreader and Chalk

• •    Ron and Rick asked if County could get a new chalk spreader and make sure to have chalk in the light room for games.
• •    Doris will follow up with Mike about getting a new one or one that works better and also ask him to make sure Doug has chalk in the light room.

Application Form / League Fees
•    Due to the week delay in the Board meeting, Bob made the decision to review the application/waiver and not make any changes to the form or in the member and league fees for 2018.
•    The First Half Mailing is being sent out week of January 22.
•    If an increase needs to be made in fees due to increased cost of Dri-Fit shirts, insurance or capital expenditures, Board can review before second half mailing.
o    Bob recommended increasing member fee to $35 and leaving league fees at $98. Board decided to stay with $30 member fee.
 

Insurance

Insurance was $1,095 in 2017.  

o    SSUSA Team Insurance (Floyd/Ron King) – 2017 - $520 for 13 teams ($40 per team – same as 2016)
o    Directors and Officers Liability Insurance (Mike) – 2017 $575; 2016 - $558
•    Mike will follow up with the D&O agent about the cost and new policy for 2018.
•    Ron King has already contacted SSUSA - cost will remain the same for 2018 - $40 per team.
•    There was concern that if the County does not put up the Safety Net and someone got hit with a HR ball, will the SSUSA insurance cover the league and/or Gwinnett County.
•    Doris will follow up with Ron to see if the policy will cover the League/Gwinnett County and report back to the Board.
o   Ron contacted SSUSA – No clear-cut answer on if insurance will cover if individual is hit with a ball outside the field. Adjustor will need to decide on what is covered or not based on the individual situation. (Example:  Thrown bat hitting an individual would be covered).
o    League may need to get a Rider to cover balls hit out of park.  Doris is waiting to hear back from Adjustor on the cost of a rider.
o    Doris contacted Stacy and Mike to see how many incidents there have been where have been hit with balls outside the fields.  Waiting for response.
 

Umpire Pay
•    Board discussed increasing David Birge’s pay.
•    Currently pay Ed $32 and David $28 a game.
•    Ron stated Cobb County umpires get paid $22 for HP umpire/$18 for Field umpire for 3/4 games per night.
•    Bob said he talked to Ed about his pay and Ed was okay and had no problem in increasing David’s rate.
•    Board approved raising David’s pay to $30 a game.  
•    Mike will make change in pay for David.
 

First Half Season - Start Date Week of March 19
•    Deadline to sign up Feb 19
•    Draft Dates – Ron and Rick will get back with Doris on the final date of the drafts.
•     AL Tues (Feb 28 or Mar 7)
•    NL Wed (Mar 1 or Mar 8)
•    American League – March 19 thru June 18 (Memorial Day – Monday May 28)
•    National League – March 20 to June 21
•    NL will have a One Pitch Spring Training Night (round robin) on first Tues/Thurs.
•    This would add 1 week to the NL schedule.
 

2018 Suggestions/Proposed Rule Changes

 

Umpires
•    Several members mentioned that Ed was “testy” toward the end of the season.
•    Suggestions were that he let David umpire a few more games.  Bob will talk to Ed about his attitude.
•    He will also talk to both umpires about the following items specifically:
•    “We’ve always done it this way” – Umpires should not be making decisions based on the way it’s always been done.
•    No following managers to the dugout.
•    No rule on player carrying bat to first base.  It is not an out.

 

2018 SSUSA Rule Book
•    Doris requested 5 copies of 2018 SSUSA rule book $10 each (Ron, Rick, Ed, David and Doris)
•    SSUSA Rules meeting was mid-January - new rule book should be available week of 1/22

 

American League and National League Breakout Decisions  
•    3 possible rule changes were brought up during annual meeting.
•    Board decided that there will be no changes to these rules for 2018.

 

Infield Restriction Line (National League)
•    Change in the depth of the infield restriction line from 15 feet to 23 feet was 2017 pilot.  
•    Board agreed to keep the restriction line as permanent.
•    2/4 - Doris updated the rule removing reference to a “pilot”.

 

Parity (National League)
•    Rick stated the biggest complaint he gets is parity of the teams from managers and players.  
•    He asked to remove 5.1c Team Parity Rule (Having an additional OF has not made a difference in any NL game).  Board agreed.  2/4 -Doris removed the rule.
•    Rick proposed to the Board 3 options that he would like to send to NL managers and let them decide if they would like to do something different for a “trial period” in the First Half to see if parity could be achieved.
•    Board agreed.  
•    1/30 - Rick sent out an email to managers for their feedback on options prior to draft meeting.
•    Option 1.  Eurskine and Rick would put together the teams just like they do for the Memorial Tournament. They would present the make-up of the teams to managers at the draft and then spend the time critiquing the teams so that all the managers could agree as much as possible as to the fairness and balance of each team. At that time managers would draw for a team.
•    Option 2.  Ranking of each player. Managers as a group would work together and reach an agreement as much as possible as to the ranking of each player so when they make their selection at the draft each manager has the opportunity to ensure they get an equal number of high ranked players and so on down the line. Like option 1 this ensures that the skill levels of all the new players are equally available to each manager.
•    Option 3.  Continue with the draft as in the past.
 

Team Sponsors (Gary)
•    As of meeting date, we have received 8 sponsor checks.
•    2 new sponsors – Parts Authority and Jim Ellis Used Cars.
•    Chris Bolden wants to stay in AL; Craig Pippin said he will sponsor in NL.
•    Try to keep Sponsors on the team they sponsor, even though some sponsors don’t care.
 

Lock Box vs Keys
•    Door/fence keys were lost twice in 2017. Bob requested 4 additional sets at the GCPR meeting.  
•    County will not charge us for the 4 sets, but they might be going forward.
•    Harvey asked about replacing the locks and keys altogether.  Bob explained the County rekeyed all locks/keys for all County Parks in 2015 and they will not allow us to change them.
•    After discussion about continuing to use the blue box or investing in a lock box, Board decided to check into a 3-digit programmable lock box.
•    1/30 - Bob followed up with Stacy about the best place for the lock box – on a fence or on the concession stand door.  Waiting for response.
 

One Pitch Annual Players Memorial Tournament  
•    Ron and Rick will follow up with Doris on a date between first and second half and a backup date for Sept/Oct in case of bad weather.
•    Based on feedback, we will ask Alan Wesley back this year and mention players going back 5 years rather than 3 years.
 

Playoff Tournament between Seasons or end of Season - top 3 teams and bottom 3 teams
•    Ron and Rick will make the decision if they want a playoff tournament between seasons or end of second half and follow up with Doris on dates.
•    Proposed schedule:  Team 2 plays 3; winner plays Team 1-- Take off 3 or 4 games of regular season to accommodate the playoffs
 

2018 Rules / Insurance (Jim)
•    Base rules on SPA not SSUSA.
•    League went with SSUSA in 2010 due to cost of league/county insurance; SPA insurance was too high (researched by Peter Mariolis)
•    Eurskine has looked at the rules between SSUSA and SPA and they are basically the same.
 

Jim Smith Sportsmanship Award (Harvey)
•    Nomination Committee of Past Winners has not been successful in past 2 years.
•    Harvey proposed we go back to the original process of having members send in their recommendations and Board makes final decision on winner.
•    Doris will send out a reminder email for players to think about nominating a player.  
o    Email will be sent out toward end of first half.
o    Second email will be sent out toward end of second half.
•    All nominations will be forwarded to Harvey for review and a final list to the Board for a final decision before the Annual Meeting.
 

Park Facilities Emergency Number – 678.333.6267
•    Emergency problems, such as water or flooding, loss of lights or electrical power, hazardous conditions, vandalism, storm drainage, etc. should be called in as soon as possible so Gwinnett County can get a vendor to the field or create a work order for maintenance.
•    Board approved to give emergency number to all managers.
•    This number is NOT to be used for player emergencies – NEED to call 911.
•    Bob will include the number in his letters to the Managers and Umpires.
 

Forms for Review (No changes)
•    Manager Rules of Conduct
•    Umpire Rules of Conduct
•    Player Movement Guidelines
 

Gwinnett Stripers Night Out (Bert McDade)
•    Friday, May 11 - $100 deposit sent in by Mike
 

Team Managers
•    Team Managers contacted by both Rick and Ron.
•    5 AL Managers returning, New AL Manager – Sergio Sencion
•    5 NL Managers returning, New NL Manager – Bob Rosen

 

Annual Meeting Feedback (2 members)
•    Overall positive feedback
•    Negative feedback – Have to hurry through meeting. Not enough time for break out sessions.  Shorten other parts of the meeting or start half hour earlier

 

Other Organizations Using Best Friend Fields
•    Baseball field – Sunday morning – Korean baseball league
•    NOTE:  Baseball league will remove wind screen for play each week and put it back up.
•    Softball field – Sunday morning – Cricket League