FYI - CKLN Board Minutes from Sept. 11/09 Meeting

CKLN Board of Directors
Minutes – September 11, 2009

Present: Peter Toh, Ron Nelson, Andrew Lehrer, Barry Johnson, Caldwell Taylor (present by phone)
Absent: Toby Whitfield

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Chair Toh asks if chair elected is tentative. Nelson says positions should be interim until there’s a full board. Lehrer asks who is interested in being Chair? Nelson indicates interest. Johnson asked if interested and says no. Taylor nominated, declined. M/Toh, S/Lehrer: That Ron Nelson is elected interim chair until we have a full board. Nelson elected chair.

Vice-Chair: Johnson nominated, declined. Taylor nominated, accepts. M/Nelson, S/Johnson: That Caldwell Taylor is elected interim vice-chair until we have a full board. Taylor elected vice-chair.

Secretary: Lehrer nominated, accepts. M/Johnson, S/Toh: That Andrew Lehrer is elected interim secretary until we have a full board.Lehrer elected secretary.

Treasurer: Toh nominated, accepts. M/Johnson, S/Nelson: That Peter Toh is elected interim treasurer until we have a full board.Toh elected.


OTHER BUSINESS

- CRTC meeting: Letter from CRTC reviewed and discussed as is our report to the commission.

- Programming: Nelson moves for calling of staff meeting. Johnson says all staff should go through mandatory review process. Letter by Womyn and Trans People at CKLN calling for general meeting to elect a programming committee discussed. Toh agrees with some of the suggestions in the letter but not others. Johnson wants more time to review the letter. Idea of programming committee can be presented at staff meeting. Lehrer asked to write response to authors thanking them for the letter and acknowledging that it has been accepted by the Board for review. M/Nelson, S/Lehrer: That a staff meeting be called for Monday 21, 6:30 pm at Ryerson (exact day subject to room availability); Motion passed.

- Return of CKLN property: Lehrer says various property need to be returned. Toh says his past requests have been ignored and suggests use of a lawyer. Taylor suggests that if letters fail to achieve response the Board should then ask for a resolution at the staff meeting and if that fails a lawyer should then be used. M/Lehrer, S/Nelson: That the Secretary write former Board members and paid staff instructing them to return any CKLN documents, equipment, databases, keys, lists, seals or other property and that any social media accounts run in the name of CKLN also be turned over as well as any passwords or other intellectual property as required, by September 21. Motion passed.

- Election Planning Committee (student reps): Lehrer reads Section 16 of the bylaw which requires appointment of Election Planning Committee to conduct election of student reps to the Board by October 30th. Johnson volunteers to chair EPC and recruit two other members. M/Lehrer, S/Johnson: That the Board appoint Barry Johnson to the Election Planning Committee and delegate to him the authority to appoint two other persons to the committee. Passed.

- Staff arbitration: Johnson calls for two former staff members who were fired by previous Board and whose dismissals were overturned in arbitration be re-hired with their status changed retroactively to layoff. Toh states that we should consult a lawyer first. Johnson unfamiliar with issue and would like to see documentation before deciding. Lehrer will seek background information and documentation from union. Motion is tabled.

Formal portion of meeting adjourned (Board remains to answer questions from observers)

Board Meeting - Urgent Notice

There will be an emergency CKLN Board of Directors meeting on Monday September 28 @ 7pm, in the Thomas Lounge @ the Ryerson Student Centre (55 Gould Street).

Agenda

1. Approval of minutes

2. Personnel issues tabled from last Board meeting (in camera)

3. Legal issues (in camera)

4. Financial update

5. Organizing Student elections

6. AGM: Proposed October 25 & By-law changes

7. Programming

8. Calling next staff/volunteer meeting

9. Other Business

IMPORTANT: Board Statement to Volunteers & Questionnaire

CKLN Radio has been off the air for some time now with a number of staff and volunteers locked out of the station. An Election meeting took place on July 24, 2009 and a new Board of Directors was elected. The new Board is now in place and we have now regained access to the station.

Although the exact date that CKLN will be returning to the airwaves is yet to be determined, preparing for that day is a process that starts immediately. Needless to say, the re-creating and reconstructing of the new CKLN will be a challenging process. The CRTC is now monitoring the Station and programming must be restored in accordance with the guidelines outlined in our licence.

Due to the difficult task of procuring essential documents and information pertaining to CKLN Radio Inc., we have to start from ‘scratch’ in terms of collecting show descriptions and personal information for all current and dismissed CKLN staff and volunteers. The challenges facing us are difficult, but it is our firm belief that we can put in place, effective and practical solutions to restore CKLN.

In the absence of a Station Manager, News Director and Program Director, we are taking these gradual and transparent steps in moving forward. The following application/questionnaire may be followed up by phone calls or a personal interview.

Please fill out the volunteer information form attached (see NOTE below) and email it back to us (ASAP) within the next few days, you may also drop off the form personally at the CKLN main office. Feel free to include your comments and suggestions if you feel they may be helpful.

We thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

CKLN Board of Directors

Ron Nelson

Barry Johnson

Andrew Lehrer

Peter Toh

Caldwell Taylor

NOTE: Questionnaire/Info Form can be found 2 posts below this message or can be downloaded in WORD format here or as a PDF document here.

Volunteer Staff Meeting Notice: Sept. 23 @ 6 PM

NOTICE

Attn. Volunteer Staff Members of CKLN

There will be a meeting of all CKLN volunteer staff on Wednesday September 23, 2009 at 6pm.

It will be held in the meeting room at the Toronto Public Library Parliament Branch at 269 Gerrard Street East, located on the southwest corner of Parliament St. and Gerrard St. East.

For a map click here

Parking: Street parking along Berkeley St.

Public Transit: TTC Parliament #65 bus southbound from Castle Frank subway station to Gerrard Street, and/or TTC Carlton/Gerrard #506 streetcar to the corner of Parliament and Gerrard.

Agenda items (draft)

1. CRTC meeting

2. Returning to programming

3. Other business

CKLN VOLUNTEER Questionnaire

CKLN VOLUNTEER INFO FORM

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Date of Application:

Name: (First, Middle and Last)

Address: (Street, Apt. #, City, Province Postal Code)

Address: (Street, Apt. #, City, Province Postal Code)

Contact Information: (Home Telephone / Mobile )

Email:

- Which year did you start volunteering at CKLN?

- Have you ever been previously employed as (paid) staff at CKLN

Yes______No_____

- Are you currently a Ryerson student?

Yes______No_____

- Are you a former Ryerson student?

Yes______No_____

- Have you signed the volunteer/code of conduct agreement?

Yes______No_____

- Are you still in possession of a Ryerson University ID Card?

Yes______No_____

- What is your Photo ID Card No.?

- Were you dismissed/fired by the former administration?

Yes______No_____

- Do you plan to return to CKLN as a volunteer?

Yes______No_____

- As a CKLN programmer/volunteer, would you like more training to be provided for you by CLKN (e.g. technical/production, on-air hosting, production, computer skills, etc.)? Yes______No_____

- Are you willing to volunteer your time and skills in areas other than on-air programming (e.g. front office duties / computer/website maintenance, etc.)?

Yes______No_____

- If you plan not to return to CKLN, please state your reasons why.

- What are your suggestions for restoring programming at CKLN in the most practical and democratic manner?

IF YOU WERE PART OF A CKLN MUSIC SHOW OR NEWS/TALK PROGRAM, please provide with..

- Show Name/Title:

- Show Time Slot:

(e.g. Saturdays 1 – 4pm)

Show Main Host(s):

Other Show Volunteers/ co-hosts /Programmers/Producers etc.:

Short Show Description:

Programmers please note; While the decision to restore programming on CKLN Radio Inc. is immediate, these decisions may be “interim” in nature, and as such all programs are subject to change until and after a full program schedule can be developed.

_____________________

_____________________
Signature / Date

CKLN gets new lease on life: Summer board elections end power struggle over Ryerson radio

by Hilary Barlow

After a year and a half of infighting between the rival boards of Ryerson’s CKLN radio station, a resolution is finally on the horizon. Staff and community members of the station elected a new board of directors on July 24. Last Friday, board members received via email a lease agreement cementing the board’s authority from the Ryerson Students’ Union and the Palin Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation that runs the Ryerson Student Centre.

“Our aim is to be on the air, by the very latest, next month,” said Ron Nelson, former host of Friday Night Reggaemania on CKLN and now a board member representing volunteer staff.

Nelson expects to sign the lease agreement, which he called solid and professional, today.

“I think there will end up being a restoration of many of the shows, but there is a process we will go through to re-interview all volunteers,” he said.

Control of CKLN has been a matter of dispute since December 2007, when program director Tim May suddenly resigned from his post. Board member Tony Barnes was appointed as a replacement, in what some saw as a violation of bylaws since the position was not advertised.

At an emergency meeting in February 2008, staff and community members voted to impeach the board, which the board did not acknowledge. When over 30 volunteer workers of the station were dismissed without warning soon after, they promptly staged protests outside the station and launched an online opposition campaign.

Added to the leadership debate is a history of funding issues. The Ryerson Students’ Union bailed out CKLN on $100,000 of unpaid taxes in 2003, and the radio station sued the union and the university for withheld levy money in February this year.

Then-president of RSU Muhammad Ali Jabbar said that the union couldn’t resume funding the station until the leadership issue was sorted out, since the union was unsure of whom to pay. Representatives of RSU and the Palin Foundation expressed their confidence that the leadership conundrum has finally been settled, and said the rest is up to CKLN and its new board.

“Going forward, it is our hope that the issues around governance have been resolved by the members of CKLN, and that CKLN will continue to play a vital role in both the Ryerson Student Centre and the community at large,” said Chris McNeil, chair of the Ryerson Student Centre.

Joeita Gupta, one of the volunteer staff who was booted last February, said she looks forward to the re-establishment of the station, which she sees as an important counter to mainstream media in Toronto.

“There are a lot of people rooting for the station and we’ve made quite a bit of progress,” said Gupta, a U of T student who sits on Governing Council and is a vice-president of the Association of Part-time Students. Gupta was in attendance at the July 24 election and cited the 150-plus turnout as evidence that CKLN still has supporters and listeners in the community.

“Even after a year of infighting, even after a year of division […] there are people out there who care about the station, people who want to see it back on the air,” she said.

This article was published on Sep 7, 2009 in the News section. © 2009 The Varsity.http://www.thevarsity.ca/article/19686

CKLN Board Meeting Notice

Notice to All Members!

The CKLN Board of Directors will be having a Board Meeting
on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 6:30 pm
in Room 322 of the 519 Community Centre
(519 Church Street, north of Wellesley).

Agenda
1. Election of officers
2. Other business

CKLN staff and members - community, volunteers and

Ryerson students - are welcome to observe the meeting.