Omaha Bikes June Meeting Minutes

OmahaBikes
June Meeting Minutes

In attendance: Matt Martin, Joe Simoens, Kurt Goetzinger, Jakob Wilson, Jean Duffy, Julie Harris

Julie just realized that she never transcribed or posted meeting minutes for May. Oops. It was a good meeting with approximately 20 people in attendance. :)

Omaha Venture Group grant application: The award announcement party will be June 10 at 5:30. Julie will be going; Bob is riding BRAN, and Julie could use some company at the party. We know we are receiving a grant, we just don’t know how much it will be.

Stuart Shell will be leading a clinic on Wednesday on the benefits of and how to apply for Bicycle Friendly Business designation from the League of American Bicyclists. It is free and all are invited to attend.

Kurt Goetzinger updated us on the Benson SummerFest scheduled for June 12. There will be bikes on display and a booth with information. A CBSO volunteer will also be attending to provide bike tune ups.

The Red Route (Benson) of the Bike Omaha system is going in as we speak. Public Works reports that it should be complete in the next 6-8 weeks.

There is a new bike shop that recently opened in Bellevue: Olde Town Cyclery.

New Business:
Temporary Bike Parking. As we get more organized rides and events going in Omaha, it has been suggested that we invest in building and maintaining some temporary bike parking. Potential revenue could be raised by renting it out to other events. Matt Martin has volunteered to build it. Joel VanderVeen from the OWL Ride committee has a potential idea for free or cheap storage. Various design ideas were discussed, and input is welcome from others who have ideas. (PVC pipe has been identified as the material, based on weight and ease of transport.) Matt is also going to explore the idea of making preferred bike parking available at Shakespeare on the Green – perhaps doing “valet” bike parking for a small fee with proceeds going to OmahaBikes.

Stole Bike Protocol. There has been a rash of stolen bikes recently, especially in the downtown area. Some bikes have been recovered as a result of quick social networking blasts. We discussed the idea of offering cyclists the opportunity to submit a photo and description of their bike to OmahaBikes so that the info can be blasted out ASAP incase of theft. This may also be a potential revenue opportunity or benefit of potential formal membership.

ActivateOmaha has received a small amount of grant money to support bike commuting activities this summer. We are considering hosting a “bagels on the trail” or other type of informal event and hope that OmahaBikes members will be willing to help.