Minutes of MSSL Board of Directors Meeting 7/15/21

Meeting called to order at 10:20 by Speaker Dan Krepich.

All the board members were present along with Commissioner Bob Fuhrmann.  Two guests, Steve Baranick and John Sennet were in attendance.

OLD BUSINESS:

1. John Sennett was asked to leave the meeting since the board was going to discuss judicial matters. John left the meeting. The board then discussed judicial matters for the approximately 90 minutes.
2. The board discussed the draft wording presented by the speaker on a procedure for filling vacant board positions when the full membership is not playing. The draft procedure reads as follows:
   If a board member resigns mid-term, the board of directors may select a member in good standing, to fill the open position for the remainder of the current term, without a vote by the general membership.
   A motion was made by the speaker to adopt the procedure. The motion was seconded by Ted Bennett and the motion passed by a unanimous vote of 7 to 0.
3. The speaker announced that Ed Nichols is resigning from the board effective at the end of today’s meeting since he is moving out of state. A motion was made by Ted to replace Ed with Mike Trice since he was next on the list in highest number of votes. The motion was seconded by Ed and passed by a unanimous vote of 7 to 0.
4. Bob Fuhrman updated the board on the progress of the maintenance on the fields at Wheatfield Park, the status of the new signs and the results of the meeting held at BLD on July 7, 2021. With respect to the maintenance on the fields at Wheatfield not much has been done. Some minor improvements like spraying weed killer and reseeding have been done on field one, but the overall conditions of the fields are still poor. The new signs are ready to go. The results of the meeting at BLD were very positive and Bob indicated that we are just waiting on the call from them which could come any day now.
5. The discussion on students encroaching on field 2 during games is deferred until the next meeting since school is currently not in session and Jeff was not able to coordinate with anyone yet.
6. The board discussed and accepted the final version of the league privacy statement as drafted by Robb Braun. The statement reads as follows:
   It is the commitment and practice of the Menifee Senior Softball League (MSSL) to keep all league member’s personal information private from all parties outside of the MSSL. MSSL member’s personal information is and will only be used for regular league business, with the primary purpose being to allow team managers to establish and maintain regular communications with their team members.
7. The board discussed the responsibilities for the Chief Umpire, League Secretary and League Publisher. Bob Curley agreed to take on the League Publisher position. Bob will create an index of current league procedures. Bill French will take over as the League Secretary. Ed Nichols agreed to coordinate on the Chief Umpire position.
8. The board discussed planning for the fall season which is scheduled to begin on September 7, 2021. In developing the fall season schedule we will need to consider the holidays, number of teams and fall tournaments. Bob will send out an email to the membership under the assumption that we will be playing the Fall Season at Wheatfield Park. We may move to BLD at the beginning of the spring season. If we do move to BLD in the spring, we will likely need to collect an additional fee at the beginning of the spring season.

NEW BUSINESS:

1. The board also discussed potential league rules that may need to be updated prior to the start of the fall season. Based on the discussion the board identified 2 potential rules which may require change as follows:
   • Each batter starts with a 1 ball 1 strike count
   • Play 2 innings at a time for the first 4 innings
   The board discussed the need to survey the membership to determine whether to keep these rules in place or revert back to the 0, 0 count and playing one inning at a time. Ted agreed to send out an email to survey the membership. The board will discuss the results at the next board meeting. The board also discussed the need to encourage managers to ask players if they need a pinch runner. Don’t just pinch run for them.
2. Bob announced he has T- Shirts with the MSSL patch for sale. Bob also said he has name tags for the roster boards.
3. Next meeting is scheduled for August 17, 2021.
4. At this point Bob motioned to adjourn. Bob C seconded the motion, and the vote was unanimous. The meeting was adjourned at approx. 1:15 PM

Bill French

MSSL League Secretary