Omaha Bikes July Meeting Minutes

OmahaBikes Meeting Minutes
July 13, 2010

In Attendance: Stuart Shell, Joe Simoens, Jason Niven, Sarah Johnson, Mark Siepker, Bob Brindamour, Kurt Goetzinger, Tammie Dodge, Ananth, Rich Wilson, Jake, Julie Harris

News/Announcements:
1. It’s official, we got the OVG grant! $3700 is in the bank. The Omaha Pedalers Bicycle Club has already pledged $500 as a partial match.

2. LCI Classes: Stuart reports that he is in the process of scheduling the upcoming LCI certification course, which will be held the weekend of October 15. Participants will pay the $200 class fee themselves, but then will earn an honorarium ($125 per class was discussed) for each class taught so that the investment will be recouped. There will also be one more Traffic Skills 101 course offered on August 21 for those who need to get this pre-requisite to the full certification class. Contact Stuart if interested.

3. Bike Parking at Shakespeare on the Green: The initial design and system was tweaked during SotG and seemed to work well. The PVC pipe may not hold several bikes without bending. The volunteers answered several questions about OB and biking in general in addition to parking bikes. The new OB banner looks really good, too.

4. Keystone Connector Trail Update: There will be a public meeting on July 29 at the Kroc Center that will explain the proposed changes to the original route plan. Please plan to attend to learn more and support the most bike-friendly option available.

5. There is an upcoming Pedestrian Safety webinar series. Please see www.walkinginfo.org/training/pbic/dps_webinars.cfm for more details.

Existing Business:
1. OVG Grant money expenditures to date: OmahaBikes Banner (FastSigns), helmet cam, bike parking materials.


2. Tammie is still working on the possibility of adding a PayPal link that can be used for people wanting to make online donations.


3. The OwL ride has 300 registrations and could still use volunteers for bike parking and ride rangers.


4. Bike Friendly Merchants: The BikeDenver model of having people nominate businesses for the “BFB of the Month” award was discussed – easy to implement, highlight these places on the blog, give them a sticker or certificate to post at their location.


5. Bicycle Parking: 20 bike racks have already been installed with 30 more to go. The North Downtown Business Alliance received a grant to install 50 racks in their area, so that frees up several that were scheduled to be placed in that area originally. Please continue to send your suggestions for bike parking to Tammie and she will make sure they get on the list.


6. Youth/School engagement: Julie will need some volunteers to help with the Saddlebrook Elementary Hike and Bike Tune Up (bike rodeo) day on August 14 at 6p. Assignments: help with bike obstacle course, assisting kids practicing locking/unlocking bikes from rack, helping with basic bike tune ups. Contact Julie if interested.


7. Website Update: With our limited budget from the OVG money, we will need a significantly discounted or pro bono help to get it developed. Contact Bob if you have referrals.


8. Update from Bike/Ped Advisory Committee: there has been a tentative offer extended to a candidate for the new Bike Ped Coordinator position with the city! The candidate will be visiting Omaha soon for a face to face visit and tour.


9. Sarah and Greenstreet Cycles is pursing a grant from Specialized to get a fleet of rental commuting bikes.


10. Activate Omaha is submitting an application to host the national Safe Routes to School Conference in 2011. If we are selected, we’ll need all hands on deck from OB!


11. OB has the opportunity to set up an online store through the Creative J (local company) that will allow us to upload our logo onto shirts and other items. (Similar to Café Press.) Anyone interested in helping with this – specifically, helping to determine what items we should include in our store – please contact Julie.

Upcoming Events:
Handlebar Happy Hour: Tom Snyders, a bicycling comedian, will be performing on August 2 at Barley's Bar in the Tip Top downtown (15th and Cuming) from 7:30 – 8:30. A portion of the proceeds (tickets are $8) will benefit OmahaBikes, so get all of your friends to attend! A potential pre-event Handlebar Happy Hour and group ride from Benson via the newly completed Benson Route on the 20 mile loop was discussed. Watch Facebook and Twitter for more details.

Book Signing: The Omaha Pedalers is sponsoring a book signing at for the author of The History of Cycling on Sept 22 at the Book Worm in Countryside Village.