Salem Bicycle Club
Board Meeting Minutes
October 8th, 2025
Call to Order-Present-Terry Robbins, Juan Lopez, Tim Newman, Ken Freeman, Robin Robbins, Debbie Miller, Steve Budde, Mike Jaffee, Jim Miller
Approval of Minutes-The September 2025 Board meeting minutes were approved unanimously
Safe Routes to School Donation Request- Mike Jaffee, Transportation Planning Director for Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governors presented his budget and SBC Donation request for the 2024-2025 school year for Salem-Keizer Safe Routes to School Bicycle Safety program. There are 8 total sessions planned in 6 schools this school year, including 6 schools for Bicycle Safety for grades 3-5 and 2 schools for Learn to Ride for grades K-2. He reported that the program has been very successful and Salem-Keizer schools continue to support the program. All 70+Salem-Keizer Physical Education teachers have now been trained for Bicycle Education and expressed optimism about program growth.
SRTS has had to borrow bikes from Cycle Oregon again and won’t be able to continue to do that through their Jump Start Program. The Jump start Program is just intended to get programs started for 1-2 years, until they can get their own bike fleets going. One trailer of Cycle Oregon bikes will be available only until the end of this school year and no more after that. Two trailers will be needed for the larger schools in the spring and so SRTS needs to fund another trailer by then to carry on with the scheduled program.
Purchasing and fitting one bicycle trailer and 48 bikes with 150 helmets is estimated to be a total cost of $40-42,000 dollars. Mike noted that they had already secured $32,000 in funding from the school district and transit district, leaving them up to $10,000 short of their goal for the first trailer. The Donation request for Salem Bicycle Club is for $10,000 to help complete their funding.
He mentioned receiving $32,000 in funding from the school district and Transit District, which will be used for salaries and equipment. Mike also submitted a grant request to the Rotary Club for $25,000 to purchase a second trailer and discussed potential fundraising through Salem Bike Vision. The group discussed bike shop discounts for recent purchases and the voucher program, with Mike emphasizing his commitment to the program as part of his career legacy. Debbie suggested exploring grant opportunities with Cycle Oregon, and Mike agreed to consider this option, noting that Cycle Oregon provides community grants for bike safety programs.
There was lengthy discussion by the board with the major objections to full funding being that our club has never had such a large donation before and concern from some about the reaction of members. The board discussed a $10,000 donation request with mixed opinions. Steve, Ken, and Debbie supported the full donation, citing its alignment with their mission and potential for long-term impact. Robin, Colin, and Terry expressed concerns about the large amount and its impact on members, suggesting a smaller donation might be more appropriate. Tim supported the full donation and noted the board's previous donations and the program's success, while Juan remained neutral on the amount. Ultimately, Robin proposed allocating $6,900 from SBC’s $10,000 budgeted donation funds and an additional $1,100 from Ironman grant receipt for a total of $8,000 to the Safe Routes program. It was discussed that a separate donation to an organization like NW Hub might be considered to support this program. Robin also suggested that we might consider further funding next year for the program depending on the Monster Cookie success and any other donation requests that might come up. The board approved Robin's proposal with a unanimous vote, agreeing to allocate $8,000 for the program and potentially explore additional funding opportunities for NW Hub.
Treasurer’s Report- Robin Robbins reports that our total assets are $34,742.81 with $19,555.65 in the Operations account that includes the $10,000 that was allocated from the CD that was cashed in for donations as well as the current CD which is $15,187.81.
Rides Committee Report- Terry Robbins reports rides are scheduled through the end of the year. The rides committee discussed on line registration for club rides and suggested to go ahead and implement and recommend that riders register but do not require it. Registration will start in January. Terry will put in an article in Spokes regarding the ride registration. Some committee members noted that long rides are not popular and suggested shorter rides be built in as an alternative to the shorter rides, much as has been done with our Independence Suver ride route.
Membership Update- Tim Newman reports current membership is at 253. 36 members have dropped but we gained 46 new members
Safe Routes to School Update- Debbie Miller reports that the first session at Highland Elementary was just completed. Only 2 volunteers from SBC were involved at that school but more are signing up. The next school is Lee Elementary and then there will be no more schools until January.
Spokes Update- Colin Benson reports we had greater than 50% openings last issue and he really appreciates contributions from members for content and always would like more.
Board Nominations- no new board candidates have stepped forward to fill Julie’s position but other board members are willing to stay on in their current roles.
November potluck- Tim Newman reports that the theme will be Thanksgiving and the club will provide hot cider, coffee, and sparkling water. The guest speaker will be Ken talking about the 50th Anniversary Monster Cookie plans and possible jersey plans
Next Meetings- October 22nd Monster Cookie Planning Committee Zoom mtg 6:30 PM
November 8th Annual Swap meet, Potluck, and elections at Painters Hall 5 PM to 8 PM