Author Archive: Joan Potter

MINUTES of CentreBike General Meeting

June 8, 2015

Meeting held at the State College Borough Building

Present:

• Jim Serene, President
• Anna Morrison Nelson, Vice President
• Paul Barsom, Treasurer
• Joan Potter, Secretary
• Brian Dempsey
• Jean Bemis
• Allan Stoekel
• Brucie Serene
• Paul Rito
• Melissa Bopp
• Dangaia Sims

The meeting was called to order by Jim Serene at 5:30 pm.  A quorum was present, and the meeting was ready to proceed with business.

An annual membership renewal notice was sent to the listserv on May 1^st and resulted in 2 new memberships and 6 renewals. There are 54 current CentreBike members (dues paid within the past 12 months).

Recap of Friday coffee events in May:

• May 1^st – Allen Street Gate; information table set-up all day and staffed with volunteers answering questions; Dan from PSU Transportation Services was great at drawing in people on bikes; tire pump was available which was appreciated by many cyclists
• May 8^th – Old Main Steps; PA Dept Transportation event – Jamie Bestwick attended, unfortunately press coverage was lacking
• May 15^th – The Bicycle Shop
• May 22^nd – FreezeThaw Cycles
• May 28^th – State College Borough Building

Centre Gives campaign in May netted a total of $1,348.58.

Ride with the Mayor on May 16^th had the best turnout ever. The leisurely ride was very enjoyable.

The CDT interviewed Jim Serene about CentreBike and posted a great article on May 17^th.

In the National Bike Challenge, the CentreBike group is currently #16.

Website:  A request was made to add a “DONATE” button on the front page where it’s very obvious.  And as a follow-up to the harassment issue on Brush Valley Road that garnered lots of attention, Paul Rito will post advice on what to do if you’re harassed by a motorist while cycling.

Bike Fest / Nittany Stage Race – Sunday, Aug 2^nd

• Andrew Artz invited CentreBike to organize and host a family-friendly bike festival during the Nittany Stage Race on Sunday afternoon. Anna met with Andrew and outlined a tentative plan to utilize Nittany Avenue between Burrowes and Fraser St which will be closed off for the Criterium race. A Steering Committee was formed with Jim & Brucie Serene, Anna Morrison, Paul Barsom and Alan Stoekl – they plan to meet on June 15^th. Volunteers will be needed to organize and help with this event.

Trish Meek asked CentreBike to consider signing on to the Census Project’s letter. Paul Rito moved to support Trish’s request to sign the letter; Paul Barsom 2^nd. All in favor.

Discussion of CentreBike’s priorities for the coming year:

• Encourage more people in the State College area to get involved in cycling
• Organize rides ending in social events, i.e., gathering at Otto’s
• Work on improving biking infrastructure to increase Bike Friendly Community status from Bronze to Silver
• Encourage more local businesses to pursue Bike Friendly Business status by offering assistance with the application process and small tools that might be needed
  • Brian moved to provide up to five $100 gift certificates from local bike shops for companies applying for BFB status to purchase small tools; Anna 2^nd. All in favor.
  • Melissa Bopp offered her students to help companies with the application process

Melissa Bopp distributed a presentation of “Data on Centre County Bikers” showing results of a PSU survey about how faculty, staff and students travel to campus and what influenced their travel choices. Melissa offered to email a copy of the presentation to anyone interested – please send a request to her at:  mjb73@psu.edu.

There being no further business to come before the meeting, it adjourned at 7:15 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Joan Potter, Secretary

 

MINUTES of CentreBike General Meeting

April 13, 2015

Meeting held at the State College Borough Building

Present:

• Jim Serene, President
• Anna Morrison Nelson, Vice President
• Paul Barsom, Treasurer
• Joan Potter, Secretary
• Brian Dempsey
• Jean Bemis
• Allan Stoekel
• Brucie Serene
• Cliff Kanz
• Henry Margusity
• Nan Moschella
• David Whitmarsh
• Laura Brown

The meeting was called to order by Jim Serene at 5:30 pm.  A quorum was present, and the meeting was ready to proceed with business.

Anna Nelson reviewed plans for the Friday coffee events planned for May:

May 1^st – Allen Street Gate

May 8^th – Old Main Steps; PA Dept Transportation event w/ photo opportunity

May 15^th – The Bicycle Shop

May 22^nd – FreezeThaw Cycles

May 28^th – State College Borough Building

CentreBike will partner with the Light Step Right Step Festival on May 1^st from 6-8:00p at the Sydney Friedman Park. Jim would like to see this festival become an annual event on the first Friday in May to kick-off Bike Month. Anna is compiling a list of places to advertise and will send out an announcement of activities. Food trucks will be offering a variety of options. Music will be playing from 6-7:00p (Anna will create a playlist); tables will be available for all the cycling groups to distribute information; Brian Dempsey & Paul Rito (League-certified cycling instructors) will offer bike safety demos; and Jamie Bestwick may be able to arrange BMX demos. From 7-8:00p a bike-oriented movie will be shown. A public performance license is required to show a movie. Brian will contact Centre Region Parks & Rec to inquire if they have an umbrella license we could use. Lauren is checking with Americorp to see if they can help with the cost. A motion was made by Brucie Serene to approve spending up to $150 for the movie license if needed; 2^nd by Henry Margusity.

Website Update:  Anna announced the new website is live.

Brian suggested adding “Complete Streets” discussion to future agenda to present to all municipalities.

Allen Stoekel suggested making car bumper stickers referencing 4 foot rule. Another suggestion was yard signs, similar to the watch out for motorcycles signs that are frequently seen.

Reminders:

• The Centre Region Bike Plan public meeting is Wed, April 15^th at COG office. Open house is 5-8:00p with presentation at 7:00p.
• The National Bike Challenge starts May 1^st. Regardless of what team, workplace or school an individual registers with, everyone with a zip code in the Centre Region will automatically be grouped in the CentreBike local challenge.

There being no further business to come before the meeting, it adjourned at 6:55 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Joan Potter, Secretary

 

MINUTES of CentreBike General Meeting

March 17, 2015

Meeting held at Videon Central, 2171 Sandy Dr, State College, PA.

Present:

• Jim Serene, President
• Joan Potter, Secretary
• Anna Morrison Nelson
• Paul Rito
• Brian Dempsey
• Lynda Crow
• Brucie Serene
• Sarah Pollock
• Cliff Kanz
• Ed Jenkins
• Henry Margusity
• Andrew Artz
• Cindy Petrick
• Jean Bemis
• Mark Higgins
• Garnet Ninosky

The meeting was called to order by Jim Serene at 5:30 pm.  A quorum was present, and the meeting was ready to proceed with business.

Jim welcomed everyone in attendance and introduced a guest, Garnet Ninosky, who is the Safety Press Officer for the PA Department of Transportation. Garnet announced a press event being organized for May 8^th in front of Old Main or at Pattee Library with the focus on bicycle safety. Local media will be invited and she asked CentreBike to encourage members to attend for a photo opportunity.

Old Business

Website – Anna Nelson gave an overview of the new website and said it will be ready to go live very soon.

Winter Bike to Work Day – The event organized by Anna Nelson on February 13^th was well attended in spite of the bitter cold. Coffee was provided and a great photo of all the riders was taken on Old Main steps. Anna has recommended promoting more “bike to work days” every Friday in May and offer free coffee for cyclists at a different location each week. Suggestions are Allen Street Gate, Old Main Steps, the Bike Shops, the Borough Building, and the IST bridge on Burrowes. Anna will follow-up with more details via email.

Announcements

Megan Tuttle is resigning as Vice President of CentreBike and Anna Nelson has agreed to step in as VP. All in favor.

Light Step Right Step Festival – Lauren Muthlers, an Americorp member organizing the event on May 1^st, has asked if CentreBike will partner with them to kick-off Bike Month. The event theme is “Alternative Transportation” and is tentatively scheduled to be held in the Sydney Friedman Park. They hope to have music and food trucks, and other event ideas include a bike clothing fashion show and valet bike parking.

Keystone Transportation Funding Coalition [http://keystonetransportation.org/]– Contacted CentreBike to request we become a member of their Coalition. There is no financial obligation. Their goal is to secure a “comprehensive, long-term, multimodal solution to PA’s transportation funding needs.”

New Business

Discussion of May Bike Month events –

May 1^st:  Brian has reserved a table for the Allen Street Gate on May 1^st to kick off Bike Month. Volunteers from CentreBike, NMBA and SC Cycling are needed to staff the table from 8:00a-5:00p, and the bike shops will be contacted to provide bike repairs. This will be a coffee stop for commuters. The Light Step Right Step Festival will begin at 5:00p. The National Bike Challenge kicks off.

May 3^rd:  Linden Loop Bike, Run or Walk

May 8^th:  PA Dept of Transporation Bicycle Safety event will take place on Old Main steps. This will also be a coffee stop for commuters.

May 10^th:  Mothers Day Ride

May 15^th:  National Bike to Work Day. Commuter coffee stop

May 16^th:  Ride with Mayor Goreham

May 22^nd:  Commuter coffee stop

May 28^th:  Commuter coffee stop

May 31^st:  Bestwick Foundation’s “Bike for Life” Ride

Andrew Artz, a member of the Penn State Cycling Club, is the organizer of the Nittany Stage Race planned for August 1^st-2^nd in State College. He gave an overview of this multi-event cycling tournament that will include criterium, time trial and road race elements, and all proceeds will go to the Bestwick Foundation.

Paul Rito mentioned that he will register CentreBike to host a local challenge in the National Bike Challenge again this year, which starts on May 1^st.  Regardless of what team, workplace or school an individual registers with, everyone with a zip code in the Centre Region will automatically be grouped in the local challenge community.

There being no further business to come before the meeting, it adjourned at 6:50 pm, and was followed by a social hour.

Respectfully submitted,

Joan Potter, Secretary