Minutes from the February 2019 meeting President Bernie Hanmore called the membership meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room of the U.S. Bronze Foundry & Machine, Inc., located at 18649 Brake Shoe Road, Meadville, PA Attending the meeting were Bernie Hanmore, Dennis Mead, Ed Cronin, Carl and Vanessa Timko, Bill McComas, Jack Sheets, John Snyder, Stan Niwa, John Nagurney, Ron Stafford, Nick Ozorak, Al Reibel, Maryann and Terry Martin, Jonathon Gable, Jim Saulsbery, Dave Ellis, Scott Ladner, Pete and Jennifer Gifford, Mike Shannon, and guest Melissa Burnett. A motion was made by Ed Cronin to approve the minutes of the January 2019 membership meeting. Al Reibel seconded the motion and the attending members voted unanimously for the minutes to be approved. Treasurer's Report Treasurer Ed Cronin gave the monthly financial report, citing current balances, income, and expenses. Noted donations were from David Miller that also brought in donations through the Network for Good. Sales were some railroad spikes Jack Sheets had. Expenses were electric bills for the display site and the depot, liability insurance, rent at the Parkside Commons, a bank service charge, and a returned check service charge. Ed would like to open a second bank account specifically for the depot. A motion was made by John Nagurney to do so. Al Reibel seconded the motion. The motion carried by unanimous vote of the attending members. Afterwards, Jack Sheets moved to approve the treasurer's report, which was seconded by Dennis Mead and approved by the attending members. Committee Reports Budget / Finance / Insurance/Compliance Dennis Mead reported receiving a bid to make and apply vinyl lettering to the snowplow. The bid was very affordable and comes with a 10 year warranty. John Nagurney made the motion to accept the bid unless a lower bid or better offer is received. The motion was seconded by Ed Cronin and approved by the attending members. Historical/Archives Research is being done on the Meadville Depot by Dennis Mead and Ron Stafford. Some very valuable and interesting information has been found so far. The information may be used in a future issue of the Valley Express. The Spring 2019 issue lead story will be part 2 of the Pennsylvania Petroleum Railroad. Membership The by-laws committee studied and updated the 2004 by-laws. Changes were as follows: * Modified wording in Article A,section (1), subsections (iii)and (iv). * Added a dissolution statement noted as Article A, (1),(v.). * Changed the registered office to the Meadville Depot, 136 Mead Ave., Meadville, PA under Article B Registered Office. * In Article D Board of Directors and Governance, Membership Participation was added. * Number, Tenure, and Qualifications had the number of directors changed to eleven, a legal counsel/ex officio clause added and eliminated the list of directors to avoid the need to rewrite the by-laws every time a new director is elected. * Special Meetings may be called by or at the request of the president or by the request of any two directors. The special meetings can be conducted without public notice, especially if there are emergency circumstances, and they may be conducted using telephone, conference call, or any use of electronic means of communication. * An Executive Sessions section was added for the purposes of personnel issues, legal matters, litigation, or other matters necessitating confidentiality. * Under Quorum, it was noted that if no quorum exists at a meeting, the meeting may continue as long as there are no issues requiring a vote. * Article D Officers, the President is responsible for filing reports with the Pennsylvania government and the IRS. The Vice President is an ex officio chairperson of the membership committee. The Secretary no longer has the responsibility of handling laws and insurance matters. The Treasurer is the chairperson of the Budget/Finance/Insurance/ Compliance Committtee. * Under Financial Signing Authority, all officers have check signing authority and will be bonded. Checks will require three signatures. * Financial Audits will be conducted by three non-board members and will conduct an annual review. A non-member accountant may be one of the three to review the finances. Audits are to be conducted internally and may require a discussion with the accountant when necessary. * Class of Members - there are now only three classes: Individual, Family, and Student/Junior. Family is to include all adult heads of households and children under the age of 18. Student/Junior will include children up to the ate of 18. The Life and Corporate memberships will no longer be available. Those that are current Life and Corporate members will not lose their status and will be grandfathered. * Annual Meetings will be held with the picnic at a venue selected by the board on a date selected by the board. * Under Voting Rights of Members, all members age 18 years and older have the right to vote at membership meetings. * Under Termination of Membership, payment deadline for dues is June 30 of each year. Members have until the September meeting date to pay their dues to avoid membership termination. This will be effective June 2019. * Notice of Members' Meetings is changed to reflect current forms of electronic communication to notify the membership. Notification is deemed delivered upon depositing in the U.S. Mail or when sent electronically or posted. The new by-laws will be sent to each member. Each member can review the by-laws and submit their concerns before the next meeting in March. It is imperative that members with email to make sure their email address is given to the secretary to avoid mailing costs. The secretary's email is blebuddy@yahoo.com. The directors gathered at the Meadville Depot on February 5, 2019 for a photo shoot. An article on the depot appeared in the Meadville Tribune newspaper and on their website. Also, in the photo is Maryann Martin. Model Railroading Please note the committtee's name has been changed to reflect the name of the committtee as stated in the bylaws. The Meadville Model Railroad Club is progressing with installing the base scenery on the layout. It is 95% complete, according to Nick Ozorak. The club is planning to have the layout on display at the Launch Event for the Meadville Depot. Melissa Burnett was introduced by Dave Ellis. Melissa is an Allegheny College Davies program student who is assisting the club by lending her social media skills to help the club. She has scheduled a field trip for the club at the college. Melissa has been teaching the club how to solder, a skill that is necessary in many parts of the model railroading hobby. The attending members gave a round of applause for her efforts in the program. Dennis Mead announced that Bachmann is manufacturing an HO scale model of an Erie Railroad ALCO S2 numbered 528, a sister to our own 518. Museum The Steering Committtee met Friday, February 8, 2019 at 789 Bessemer St., Meadville. The committtee released the news article on the Meadville Depot that appeared in the Meadville Tribune recently. The committee will decide on a date for the Launch Event at an upcoming meeting. The presentation of the Launch Event will include guest speakers, a Power Point ® presentation, floor plans and conceptual drawings and refreshments. The next Steering Committtee meeting is Friday, February 15, 2019. Jack Sheets has received two quotes to survey the Depot property. He is expecting three more. Work sessions are being scheduled to clean up the Depot. Two will likely be completed before members read this edition. Those that volunteer at scheduled work sessions must not be on the premises alone. Another member is required in case an emergency occurs. Members should not be on the property without prior authorization. All those wanting to volunteer will need to check their email for notices. Property / Equipment Work sessions this spring will include replacing the windows on the snowplow. Other snowplow-related work to be done is applying vinyl lettering, which is to be done by a contrator. Also, fencing the area around the snowplow is planned first for the area between the WNYP Railroad tracks and the snowplow. Some fencing left at the Depot may be used. A few floodlights at the railroad display in Pomona Park need replaced. Three have burned out and costs has risen dramatically. LED bulbs will, in the long run, be cheaper because of less maintenance. Al Reibel will checkwith Hite Electric to find out what is available to fit the current fixtures. Public Relations/Education Valley Express editor Carl Timko asks those who would like to submit articles or photos to be in the Spring 2019 issue to email them to him at blebuddy@yahoo.com. Quality and content will be judged before publication. Members are advised the Erie Train Show is Sunday, March 3rd, 2019. Volunteers to help man the tables will be very much appreciated. Special Events / Programs There are several train shows upcoming. March 2, 2019 - Independence Train & Toy Show at the Independence High School Fieldhouse, located at 6001 Selig Dr., Independence, OH Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and admission is $6 March 2,3, 2019 - Greenburg's Great Train & Toy Show at the ROC Dome Arena, 2695 E. Henrietta Rd. in Rochester, NY. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and admission is $10 for Saturday and $9 for Sunday. March 3, 2019 - Erie Train Show at Rainbow Gardens, Waldameer Park, in Erie, PA. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5. The FCVRRHS will be there. Stop up and visit our tables and chat. March 10, 2019 - Train Collector's Association, Fort Pitt Division Meet at the Syria Shrine Conference Center, located at 1877 Shriners Way, Cheswick, PA. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission price is unknown. March 16,17, 2019 - MCR Division 5 Railfest at Lakeland Community College, located at 7700 Clocktower Dr., Kirtland, OH. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $7 or $12 for a family. March 17, 2019 - Rochester Shamrock Train Show at the Raddison Hotel at the Rochester Airport, located at 175 Jefferson Rd., Rochester, NY. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Admission is unknown. March 22, 23, 2019 - Militaria and Police/Fire Dept./EMS Collector's Show at the Lakeland Community College, located at 7700 Clocktower Dr., Kirtland, OH. Hours are 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is $5. March 30, 2019 - TCA Springtime Train Meet at the UAW Hall, located at 5615 Chevrolet Blvd.,Parma, OH. Hours are 10 a.m.to 3 p.m., admission is $6. April 14, 2019 - Youngstown Model Railroad Association Toy & Train Show at the Salem Center Plex, located at 1098 E. Ellsworth Ave., Salem, OH. Hours are 10:00 a.m.to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $5 Next Meeting: The next FCVRRHS membership meeting is Monday, March 11, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room of the U.S. Bronze Foundry & Machine, Inc., located at 18649 Brake Shoe Road, Meadville, PA. See you there!