CentreBike General Membership Meeting Minutes

 

Attendees: Autumn Busbee, Cecily Zhu, Andrew Artz, Christine Stephens, Tim Nebgen, Joan Potter, Michele Chernega, David Edwin Stone, Sam Anawalt, Pat Kasper, Mark Davison, Gordon Kauffman, Melissa Bopp, Trish Meek, Chip Mefford, Paul Rito

• Welcome

  • The meeting was called to order at 5:30PM
  • January minutes were approved w/ no changes
    

• Treasurer’s Report

  • Balance: $7,853.57
  • Expenditures: $303.08 from insurance and transaction fees
  • Deposits: $273.42 from membership fees
    

• UPUA & CentreBike Collaboration

  • Sam Anawalt is a junior in Energy, Business, and Finance (College of Earth and Mineral Sciences). He is also the President of the Penn State Beekeepers Club and the Director of Sustainability in Penn State’s Undergraduate Student Government the University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA).
  • UPUA would like to advocate for student cyclists and other cyclists in the borough
  • Potential UPUA & CentreBike Collaborations
    1. UPUA is currently working on legislation to support and increase student awareness of the PennDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan survey. Information on this project can be found here and the direct link to this survey can be found here
    2. UPUA is interested in funding Light Up the Night and would like to provide volunteers to help with this event. Bike lights will advertise this collaboration
    3. UPUA will work to have students join CRBAC
    4. UPUA will look into student cycling data

• Items Not on Agenda

  • We need to fill a vacancy on the executive board! Interested? Let us know here.
  • Start planning proclamations for May Bike Month
    

• Action Subcommittee Report

  • Website Updates

    • The Action Subcommittee is working on updating the website, mock-ups will be distributed to members when available

  • Bike Map & Route Signage

    • Action Subcommittee & Trish Meek held a call on Feb 6th with Mack.
    • Options to move forward
      1. Focus on creating a paper map and finding partners for funding
      2. Identify a poorly marked route and approach a municipality with suggestions for improved signage (start small!)

  • Centre Moves

    • Jeannine Lozier of Centre Moves contacted us about the upcoming Fit Families Challenge which encourages, families (broadly defined) to engage in at least 15 ‘workouts’ through April to get people moving. Centre Moves is seeking $300 of sponsorship which may be matched by other businesses and organizations.  The deadline for sponsorship is Feb 16th.
    • Motion passed to sponsor this event at the $300 level

• Community Updates

  • Winter Bike to Work Day

    • CentreBike hosted this event on on Friday, Feb 9 at the Lion Shrine. Temperatures were between 8 and 12 degrees, but 7 hardy CentreBike members shared coffee and donuts before heading to work!

  • The Bellefonte to Milesburg Trail

    • Public meeting will be held on February 22 from 5-7 at the Bellefonte Municipal Building
    • Additional information can be found here 

  • Orchard Road to Millbrook Marsh Connector

    • Open and ready for use!
    • Ribbon Cutting will be held once there is grass
      • Maybe we can propose this to kick-off Bike Month (May)

  • The Benner Springs Trailhead

    • Has been completed and is open for use
    • Additional information can be found here

  • Patton Township Recreation Advisory Committee 

    • The Recreation Advisory Committee is made up of five Township residents (Vice President Andrew Artz is one of them). The Committee advises the Board of Supervisors on improvements needed to the Township’s park system and oversees the completion of park projects approved by the Board. The Committee prepares and presents for Board approval a Township Park Facilities Plan. When adopted by the Board, the plan becomes the framework for the committee’s work on identifying specific park improvements to be included in each year’s budget.
    • Future plans to meet with PRPS, CATA, and others.
      • PA Rec and Park Society- will do blog/webinar about becoming a bike friendly business in may and will take input from CB
      • CATA- partner for bike month projects

• Upcoming Events & Call For Volunteers

   

  • Centre Gives

    • The Centre Foundation is hosting a success series to help organizations achieve their Centre Gives goals. Each session will be held at the Centre Foundation Office (1377 Ridge Master Drive, State College). Michele Chernega lead CentreBike’s Centre Gives Campaign…thanks Michele!

  • Centre Region Bicycle Advisory Committee (CRBAC)

    • Meeting was held on February 20th, next meeting will be held on

  • First Friday

    • CentreBike is interested in hosting First Friday events throughout the year. The nature of these events are dependent on what members would like to do. Events could be as simple as hosting an informational table to partnering with a local business to host a stationary bike race
    • The Action SubCommittee is accepting event ideas and will need members to volunteer at these events

  • Mother’s Day Bike Ride

    • This event was proposed to occur at Millbrook Marsh, however this is not an ideal location due to the ongoing environmental education events that month. CentreBike will plan to co-host this event in 2019 and is planning on co-hosting a Bike-In Movie this fall.

• PRESENTATION  by Timothy Nebgen (PennDOT Safety Press Officer)

  • Mr. Nebgen gave a brief overview of the 2017 Strategic Highway Safety Plan and how it pertains to bike safety in PA. Mr. Nebgen’s region covers 9 counties in the state.
    • PennDOT hopes to eliminate highway fatalities within the next 30 years by improving Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Emergency Medical Services, Legislation, Marketing, and Technology (Page iii)
    • Mr. Nebgen’s overview focused on Improving Bicycle Safety (pages 43-45)
    • Bicycle fatalities have remained relatively flat over the past 5 years, while the number of serious injuries have declined.
  • PennDOT will utilize the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan 
    1. 1. This Plan is currently being updated. PennDOT is seeking feedback in the form of this brief citizen survey
  • Communications Initiative Calendar
    • Recent Events
      • PennDOT collaborated with Domino’s in Clearfield to combat impaired driving by advertising the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s SaferRide smartphone app, which assists in finding a ride for people who have been drinking.
      • Mr. Nebgen spoke to Clearfield Elementary students about School Bus Safety
    • Upcoming Events
      • PennDOT is planning promotions for May Bike Month and Mr. Nebgen is interested in coordinating an event with CentreBike to promote bike safety.
        • Ideas included: asking Jamie Bestwick and/or Charmelle Green to be involved, partner with the local Ride of Silence, partnering with a bike store, having event at a local park or trail, and/or partner with existing CentreBike events for Bike Month
          
      • Mr. Nebgen would like to distribute bicycle repair kits to adolescent riders, new adult riders, and experienced adult riders in Centre County. CentreBike can easily assist with this. These kits are available due to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration grant.

• Additional Conversations

  • PennDOT Grant Funding

    • Information can be found here

  • Bike Friendly Businesses

    • Melissa Bopp assisted 5 local businesses with the application, however it is unknown who has submitted at this time

  • Bike Safe Driver Program

    • Melissa Bopp’s article on this program will soon be published
    • The program is still being taught at the State College High School. Autumn will contact the Bellefonte High School to see if there is interest in it being taught there. Additionally, CentreBike members are interested in creating a community-wide program.
      

 

 

---

Next Meeting:
March 12, 2018 at 5:30PM
Room 241 of the State College Municipal Building (243 S Allen St)

 

 

---