Carla opened the meeting with a brief general discussion of condition of Larry Brooks, who had been hospitalized for a stroke on Oct. 22nd. Carla notified the Public night reservations company of her phone number.
General discussion of the President's position; Because it is expected that Larry Brooks will not be able to serve as President for the foreseeable future, Carla agreed to be Acting President and continue as VP until the next election of board and officers in Mar. 2003.
Secretary Ron Pearson, read the minutes of the Oct. Eboard meeting.
The minutes were approved as read.
DU Report, Dave Trott reported on the following items:
There has been talk of a need to improve the outside lighting of the Observatory. Dave thinks it is ok to change bulbs or put a shield on existing lights. If we want to replace the entire fixture it would be best to go through DU to have installed.
Clark Operator Safety training - Ron Mickle and Steve Solon have been designated as head of new operator training. Would like to re-train or train all operators before Jan. 1st.
Dave reported he and a DU student had 'kluged' a fix of the broken encoder wires on the 20". Dave Shouldice has completed new (donated used) laptop swap and software upgrades. Chuck Carlson has mailed a copy of the insurance policy to Dave. There has been no further review of the MOU yet.
Dave noted he would like to have a couple of 80mm finders on the 20". Have an 80mm short tube for that purpose. Maintenance tasks for the telescope should go through Steve Solon.
John Briggs of ATS has been in contact. The national meeting of the ATS will be Sept. 26, 27, 28th of 2003. Dave has ideas for coordinating lunar eclipse events of 03 with DMNS. Need to develop a new contact person, since Larry is now out of the loop.
Treasurer Chuck Carlson, distributed a monthly balance sheet. Chuck will add Carla to signatures for bank checks.
List Serv: Jack Eastman reported problems with his Yahoo access, again.
Public Events: There will be an operator's meeting on Nov. 16th.
Newsletter: Patti reported the printer is running late.
Old Business: CAD a huge success for public. Over 2000 people were reported from DMNS and about 450 attended the star party.
Dark Site: Ted Cox will followup with building permits. Dan will check on finding paperwork from Larry on what needs to be done.
Volunteer name tags: Chuck needs to order 3.
CCD Classes: Steve Solon is thinking of spring or summer next year. Participation Prize: Next drawing will be at the Christmas party. Will be a subscription to S&T or Astronomy.
Leonid Shower: no official plan. Dan invited eboard members and friends to come out to his cabin in South Park.
New Business:
Majestic view Nature Center requests a star party for Feb. 5th 2003.
Had 25-30 people there last month.
2003 Calendar put together by Joe Gafford was reviewed by all and only minor changes made to suggested dates. There was considerable discussion about when/if to hold a 'Mars Mania' event for the public in late Aug. or early Sept., for the Mars opposition. Ron used the new LCD projector and his mac laptop to show the sky for event dates being planned so that all could see what was up in the sky at the time. All should review the calendar dates before finalizing in Dec.
It was reported there has been a drop in Public Night attendance and some discussion of possible reasons.
Steve Solon proposed DAS do a calendar for sale with astrophotos of members and DAS event dates. Carla will check on prices with a printer in Greely. Sandy suggested selling planespheres.
Meeting adjourned at 10:20pm
Ron Pearson, Secretary, DAS, Inc.Ron Pearson, Secretary DAS