MEETING MINUTES FOR CNYR SCCA, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 7:10 p.m. by R.E. Ed Leubner.
R.E.REPORT: Ed welcomed all to the October meeting and started by asking for a motion to accept the September 9, 2015 meeting minutes as they appear on our web-site. Mike Donofrio so moved, Mick Levy seconded, motion carried.
Ed said that he had recently visited the new racing facility in Palmer, Mass with Jon Coffin. He said it was like a roller coaster with up to 190 feet of elevation change. Little exists in the form of paved areas and there are no garage facilities. NER has run an event there.
Ed discussed the fact that NER has around 2,700 members and divides their activities into three basic groupings, SOLO, Club Racing and Rally Cross, with each having separate meetings vs. a single meeting for the entire region. They also operate with separate budgets for each group and appear to average from 100 to 110 members in attendance per group meeting.
The members were reminded of the upcoming Mini-Con in Saratoga, NY on Nov. 14th. Roger Johnson will be there to discuss SOLO track layouts. There will also be a Safety Steward Training seminar.
Various fees apply depending on the venue members plan to attend and vary from $40 for lunch on Sat. to $100 for dinner Sat.
ASST. R.E.REPORT: Mark Bizzozero was absent. Jim Quattro said Mark wanted fellow members to know that he attended our recent SOLO event and enjoyed it and also thanked Jim Quattro for letting him borrow his car for the event.
TREASURER REPORT: Jay Cartini said we currently have an adjusted bank balance of $5,360.29 with little to be added to that until our spring, 2016 SOLO season starts up. The Rally Cross program basically broke even for the season which was an improvement. Jay said our main source of revenue for the winter will be from member dues. He will be sending out bills for our SOLO sponsors early in 2016. Jay said there are still some outstanding SOLO bills and he is waiting for the statements along with weekend membership statements.
Suggestions were asked for regarding potential equipment purchases and ideas for additional income such as sponsorship logos for our SOLO van/or/trailer plus Jay would gladly accept any unsolicited donations from members to go toward equipment for the various region programs.
SECRETARY REPORT: Bob Holcomb mentioned he had the 2016 tentative southeast SCCA race schedule if anyone was interested. Other than that he had nothing new to add.
ACTIVITIES REPORT: Ted Barbuto was absent but it was agreed that we need to finalize the date for our annual January awards dinner, which had been tentatively discussed as Sunday, January 24th at our Sept. meeting. There may be a conflict with Rally Cross on this date and Jim Quattro will check on that.
SOLO REPORT: Scott Newton said our last 2 events went well. The Cherry Valley Enduro on Sept. 27th allowed each participant a total of 3 runs of 5 laps each. Kyle Rashford had a slight off track excursion but all issues with that were deemed repairable. The Oct. 11th Cherry Valley event had 33 entrants and no incidents. It was noted that 16 of those entrants were weekend memberships.
Scott said he had heard, unofficially, that the Cherry Valley facility is for sale and an eye will be kept open for information regarding that. The karting track near Ogdensburg, NY was also rumored to have been sold recently.
Scott mentioned that Jay Cartini finished our 2015 SOLO season running G Street in the top 10.
Scott will be sending out an end of season survey requesting feedback on likes, dislikes, scheduling, etc.
He is also researching the cost of a trailer to hold our SOLO equipment, including size needed, type of construction, etc.
RALLY CROSS REPORT: Jim Quattro said we need new banners for Rally Cross.
Jim has a double event planned for the weekend of Oct. 24th and 25th. Saturday the 24th will be at the Walczyk farm located in Weedsport and is due to start at 3 p.m. and run until 12 midnight. Sunday the 25th will be held at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park and is due to start at 8 a.m. and run until 3 p.m. Rumor is that NER and WDC regions are sending numerous entrants for the event. Jim said that it is a divisional event and the last of the NE Rally Cross series for the season, which has seen around 11-15 average attendees or a total of around 35 competitors.
Ed Leubner asked that Jim get as much information in as possible regarding the event for to put on our web site newsletter.
Jim mentioned he had 2 old helmets to dispose of, one of which may belong to Lee Hidy and date back to his days of running National SOLO events.
F&C REPORT: Mick Levy said he recently attended an event at Lime Rock, with New York Region folks and it had some good racing. There was also a Drifting event which was somewhat de-clouded when it started raining mid-day.
Mick also discussed the repaving at Watkins Glen, where some turns appear widened, the turn 8 gravel trap cut back and numerous changes in the pit area, all giving speculation that NASCAR may decide to run The Boot in the future.
For 2016 the SCCA Majors will be the end of June and the Six Hours on July 4th weekend. Further dates listed as they become available. Mick also said he will be snow birding Jan, Feb & Mar of 2016.
Ed Leubner said you can still pull results from the Runoffs at Daytona from the SCCA web-site.
CNYRP: Jim Quattro said that CNYRP has been awarded Super Dirt Week for 2016 but must have the dirt oval completed by Memorial Weekend of 2016 to get financial aid from the state. Supposedly the paved areas will be completed by summer and should be available for CNYR SOLO events.
Jim said that Glen Donnelly has a goal of getting the grandstands for the dirt oval completed by winter.
Jim said he is promoting a Rally Cross event for August, 2016 at the facility and there is a tentative date of Sept., 2016 for the road course to be paved.
Naming rights for the facility have been given out to an energy company based in Europe with a Texas based home in the US.
OLD BUSINESS: Ed Leubner asked Rex Franklin if he had heard any more from anyone interested in the SOLO van and Rex said he now has 2 individuals interested in it although neither has seen it as of yet, so no price has been established.
NEW BUSINESS: Ed Leubner asked that any information, articles, photos, etc. for our newsletter be sent in by Oct. 21st at the latest.
Rex Franklin said he will have the names of candidates for office at our Nov. meeting.
Our November meeting is schedule for Wed. the 11th, which is Veterans Day. Ed Leubner checked with the American Legion and our meeting will still be held at their post on Cypress St.
ADJOURN: Lee Hidy moved the meeting be adjourned, Rex Franklin seconded, motion passed, meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m.
Submitted by:
Bob Holcomb, Secretary