A regular meeting of members and directors of The Western Michigan Society for Industrial Heritage was held at Coopersville, Michigan on the 17 February 2003, pursuant to notice e-mailed (12 Feb 2003) & mailed (14 Feb 2003) to the membership.

1. The meeting was opened by secretary Cok at 7:07 pm.
   
2. Secretary Cok asked Mary Chubinski to chair the meeting.
   
3. Roll call was taken. Members present: Mary Chubinski, Tom Chubinski, Philip Cok, Fred Florshinger, Ross Osterhart, Carl J. Sinke and Cindy Timmerman.
   Absent: Bob Birkholz, Duane Bowman, Tom Byle, Ed Hanenburg, Jeff DuPilka
   
4. Notice of the meeting and agenda was reviewed.
   Upon motion made (F. Florshinger), seconded (C. Sinke), and approved, the agenda for the meeting was was passed as presented.
   
5. Treasurer's Report
   Report was distributed. With the exception of interest in the amount of $0.83, treasurer Cok reported that there were no changes to the finances of the corporation for the month of January. The balance in the Money Market account as of 17 February 2003 is $656.60.
   Upon motion made (C. Timmerman), seconded (Sinke) and approved the treasure's report was accepted and is attached as part of these minutes.
   
6. Dues
   Treasurer Cok noted membership invoices need to be mailed and questioned the membership rates. Rates currently stand at $20 Individual, $30 Family, $200 Lifetime Individual and $300 Lifetime Family.
   Upon motion made (Osterhart) seconded (Sinke) and approved, dues for 2003 shall remain the same.
   
7. Minutes
   Minutes of 13 January 2003 were reviewed. M. Chubinski noted the name of the new family member was misspelled. Name should be David Paul Vago - not Vargo.
   Upon motion made (Sinke), seconded (Florshinger) and passed, the minutes of 13 Jan. 2003 were approved as amended.
   
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8. Membership
   A). Secretary Cok noted we have not formally accepted Mr. Vago's membership as the by laws had not been amended. Since the minutes including the amendment have now been approved.
   A motion was made by Sec. Cok to formally accept the family membership of David P. Vago. Timmerman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Membership now stands at 13.
   
   B). Membership development was discussed. C. Timmerman will design a membership/donation form which C. Sinke will include in the next C&M Railway newsletter. This form will also be placed on the website.
   
9. By-Laws
   Secretary Cok brought to the members' attention that the by-laws contain typographic errors and some inconsistancies.
   A motion was made (C. Timmerman) seconded (Florshinger) and approved to have Sec. Cok along with C. Timmerman review the by-laws and provide edited copies for review and approval at the annual meeting in March.
   
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10. Handicap Car Project
    A). Jeff DuPilka has replied to the Society via an email sent to Phil Cok and cc'd to Tom Chubinski. He is on a business trip and not able to attend today's meeting. In this message he presented a proposal he feels would be fair arrangement for sale of the PRR to the Society for our Handicapp Accessible Railcar. His offer stated,

    "…I agree to provide the car to the society for a total purchase price of $10,000.00. Additionally, I would like a donation letter for $4,000.00 made out to Jeff and Sheryl Du Pilka. I would agree to allow the Society to begin to raise funds utilizing that car as the focal point. I will require no down payment or in fact any payment at all until after you have obtained enough financial success that you feel you can pay for the car. Also, if for some reason this project were not to go in this direction or you were to decide another car was better suited to your needs, there would be no obligation of any kind to continue with acquisition of the car and the deal would simply fade away."

    
    B). Tom Chubinski presented a letter dated 17 February 2003 regarding Jeff DuPilka's offer for purchase of the PRR railcar. In it he outlined the history of the car and presented photos of the car in its current state.
    
    This car's official name was La Reine. It was built by the Pullman Car Co. in October 1929, as a sleeper car. Some of the original berths and ornate designs are still present. It was last used in maintenance/work team service and officially retired in October 1960.
    
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    Tom further evaluated the negative and positive points of the car.
    Negative:
    - The price is excessively high compared to cars of similar condition.
    - The car needs extensive restoration.
    Positive:
    + It currently sits on C&M property in Coopersville - no transport charges
    + It is structurally sound with good running gear (for C&M purposes)
    + The price is affordable and terms are attractive
    + While restoration costs would be high, costs fit into our proposed budget
    + The car is historically significant and with its berths and ornate trim would be beautiful once restored
    + The open end of the car would be well suited for handicap accessible seating.
    
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    B). Further discussion was held regarding the pros and cons. Most known renovation companies are out-of-state. Running gear does not meet standards for inter-state transportation to such a firm. Remodeling services on-site would be more costly. Condition of the exterior (and possibly interior) would require sandblasting prior to painting. Windows and windowsills would need to be replaced/repaired. Having the railcar on-site would make marketing/fundraising easier.
    
    C). The budget was reviewed and compared to an Ozark Mountain alternative vehicle. It was unclear to members if the Du Pilkas' offer was meant as a total price of $10,000 meaning $6,000 cash and $4,000 or if the offer meant $10,000 cash PLUS $4,000 donation. The members felt the former was a fair offer but the latter was excessive.

    A motion was made (Tom Chubinski) seconded (Timmerman) and approved to have Don Clock evaluate the PRR car to see how much work they could do and at what price in addition to the handicap equipment. And use this info to further evaluate the Du Pilkas' offer.
    
    Secretary Cok was charged with clarifying the offer and also to request a bid from West Shore Services for renovations as well.
    
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11. Publicity
    A). Further publicity has been holding pending the decision on a railcar.
    
    B). Fred Florshinger suggested moving the PRR car to the siding adjacent the hardware store if the Du Pilkas' offer is accepted.
    
    C). Fred will provide Phil Cok the website address for plan views of PRR cars.
    
    D). Cindy Timmerman will prepare a news release to announce the annual (March) meeting.
    
    
12. Next meeting will be held Monday, 17 March 2003 at the Coopersville Farm Museum, 7:00 pm and will also be the Society's Annual Meeting. Sec. Cok will prepare and mail advance notice to current members in the requisite 10-day period.
    
    
13. A motion was made (Sinke) seconded (Osterhart) and approved to adjourn the meeting.
    
    Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm.