Hingham Little League
Board Meeting Agenda
Monday, March 26, 2007
7:00 PM
Meeting Facilitator: Ed Anderson
Invitees:
Board Members: Laurie Berlinguet, Tim Driscoll, Melissa Flanagan,
Joe Higgins, Skip Jenkins, Patrick McCullom, Elliot Sherman, Tony Viola, Andy Wheeler

Invited Guest: Rich Magner
I. Call to order – 7:19 pm
II. Approval of minutes from last meeting –Tim Driscoll Approved and to be posted
III. President’s Report – Ed Anderson
• District Meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 29, 2007
o Review of Intl Congress items
• Background Checks
o Process has started. ChoicePoint is working well, looking into uploading from database to cut some time
• Little League International Congress 2007
o April 13-16, 2007 in Houston
o Agenda items discussed where variances of how we are operating. Ed will take our ‘proxy’ on the items to the meeting as discussed. We are in general agreement as a Board on the proposed changes.
IV. Treasurer’s Report – Rick Linehan – No report, Rick not able to attend.
• Current Balance
• New Revenues
o Chevrolet Corp has donated 0 and equipment for the season
o Registration checks are still coming in
• Current Expenses
• Finance Subcommittee
V. Umpires Report – Rich Magner
• Wrap up of initial umpire meeting on March 21
o 82 kids showed up – quite a high level of interest
o Rich and Mark Igo reviewed rules as much as possible
o 35 candidates are returning, and 50 new ones
o Rich proposed a plan to give a game a week to the veterans for Majors
o Need only 25 of the 50 more; expecting some to drop off
• Rules review
o Clarification needed on mercy rule/15 run rule. If there is a 10 run per inning rule, it could impact a game that was 13-1 in 6th inning, and a team scores 10 runs, it could kill a rally! It could be remedied if we waive the 10 run per inning ruling in the 6th inning.
 Motion subsequently made to amend the 10 run rule in Majors and Minors, to read ‘except for the 6th inning”. Vote taken and PASSED. Rules to be amended
o Minors – End of play rule in Minors (14) – regarding play at third base. Could be simplified if the rule was adjusted to use Dead Ball rule and omitted from Minor league.
 Motion made to eliminate the End of play rule for Minors (elimate from third bullet down). Vote taken and PASSED . Rules to be amended
o Pitch count rule – should be agreed to by scorekeepers and discussed with umpires. Umpires do not count pitches.
o Discussed having some of the extra younger umpires as pitch counter.
 We could do this for a small fee (/game), would cost us 00
 Rich will get feelers out there, and address it at the meeting. Consensus was this could be a good idea to include as many kids as possible.
 Rich would like schedules as soon as possible; to be finalized by Board at April 9th meeting.
o Rich needs clickers. Shirts (we have 30 new ones, will need more for the extra umpires), for an additional 0. Purchase was approved, will also be looking at a new set of equipment as well.
• Next umpire meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 11
• Additional Rules review
o Discussed a few other items re: pitching rules, pitch counts, posting results, etc. As for posting results, we agreed that we will add ‘failure to post scores may result in a forfeit for the winning team. At a very minimum, report the score and pitch counts” to the rules. This applies to Majors and Minors levels.
o Need to adapt for Majors that top team in each division will have a playoff bye.
o Strike bullet in 14 re: base coaches and move to section 15.
o All Star selection – three players for top two teams in each division, then every one of the others get 2.
o Motion made to approve the changes as revised; PASSED. Ed will distribute the finalized version prior to managers meeting.
o Ed will update the version of the rules and we can meet/approve them at the next Board Meeting.
VI. Managers/Coaches Report - Skip Jenkins
• Tee-Ball Managers Appointment and Approval
o There are only 5 interested on the list, plus 2 returning (7, need 7 more).
o Motion made to accept appointment of these 7’s, PASSED.
o Will continue to work the list; Skip to distribute the list of players
• Paperwork for Managers
• Managers Training/Orientation
o Rec is available April 4; will look for other options for one of the schools that could accommodate more Managers and Coaches (within the next 2 weeks).
o Agenda is being made
o Still working on a guest speaker
• One manager will be dropping out from Farm and another is making replacement. Vote taken and Passed to approve.
• Majors, Minors, and Farm are all set
VII. Player Agent – Kevin McNally (Ed reported in Kevin’s absence)
• Wrap up of major and minor league drafts
o All done, went fairly well
• Scheduling farm and tee-ball draft
o Need to figure out location and night
o 6 years olds playing Farm League
• Finalize number of teams for Farm League and Tee-Ball
o Numbers of players per team
• Volunteers needed for draft
• Refunds for players who have withdrawn
VIII. Playing Fields Update
• Rec Department Fields
• All set. Preseason prep on fields is in progress
o Haley
o Hersey
o Kress – inquiring about mound modification
• School Fields
o South
o PRS (Farm – 6 games)
o Foster (Farm – 3 games)
• Practice Fields
o Bradley Woods
o Middle School
o Central Fields
• Scheduling of practices is going to be an issue, should we mandate the times?
o Rec will let us know about availability
o Preschedule of the practice times and notify managers was discussed
o Skip will put together a proposed slate of times for practices as a fair way to get started. Clearly field availability will be an issue this season
o 1 hour per team, 2 teams per night, 2 fields

• Other Options for Tee-Ball
o Mainly at Middle School
• Storage for Hersey, Kress, and other fields
o Shed for Hersey
o Need a box for Tball equipment at Middle School
o Green Metal Box for Kress
 Spoke with Rich, we should go for a 10 x 15 model.
 Needs to be presented to Rec on 4/5
 Rec board probably needs a picture on the plot plan/site sketch as discussed
• New PAL/Lynch Fields
o Field House
o Field Update
o Concessions Committee
o Joint Planning Committee (with HYF)
 Being formulated on how to approach
 2 from each Board requested to get things started
• Andy and Tony will assist for ongoing operations
• It was noted that the concessions concept will need a significant amount of attention from HLL and the cross committee. This will evolve and be an important role.
IX. Playing Schedules
• Opening Day festivities will be April 29
• We will start the season on last Sunday of vacation, April 22nd. Not ideal but this is what we have to work with.
X. Sponsorship Update – Melissa Flanagan
• Existing Sponsor Renewals – coming in
• All set for Majors and Minors, and will be distributed
• New Sponsors – several are being signed on for Farm.
• Remaining Openings - will be closing out as soon as possible
o 2 Tball and 5 Farms are remaining
o Great job Melissa, Laurie, and Tony!
XI. Equipment and Uniform Update – Bill Ford
• Uniforms – most are all set, based on final sponsorships
• Baseballs – ordered and on the way
• Pitch Counters
• Umpire Gear

• Discussion ensued regarding the ordering of the uniforms without an approval from Board vote for the expenditure. We discussed further, Ed will forward the order information to all Board Members.
XII. ASAP Update – Owen McConville – No report
XIII. Other Topics
• Team Photos for Next Season – Melissa Flanagan
o Captive Photo - They have come down on prices, however there were issues. Sponsor plaques were part of the agreement to renew the contract. They still want a 1 day event, and not all that flexible
o Called 4 other vendors
o ActionPhotos – have responded well. They have a minimum cost per player, but pricing package is a good deal.
o Will follow up next week and report at next meeting.
• Playing Rules Review for Farm and Tee-Ball
• Opening Day
• FAQ Section of Web Site
• Summer Baseball
• New Signs for Haley/Hersey Field Scoreboards
XIV. Adjournment – Meeting adjourned at 10:12 pm
• Upcoming Board Meetings
o April 9
o April 23
o May 7
o May 21