members at annual meeting last night.
(Photos © Adams Carroll)
At their annual meeting last night, Bicycle Transportation Alliance staff and board members shared a recap of 2009 and laid out goals for 2010. The night was also marked by an airing of grievances by several veteran members who were not satisfied with how the BTA handled the firing of their former executive director Scott Bricker.
About 60 members showed up to the meeting, which was held at a pub in Northwest Portland. The event began with updates on the BTA’s work from staff members.
Bicycling transforms communities by reinventing transportation and offering solutions to the universal challenges to health, livability, and the environment.
— Draft of BTA’s new vision statement
Programs manager Stephanie Noll said the BTA plans to expand their Safe Routes to Schools offering next year to high schools and universities and that the organization hopes to get 12,000 people involved in their annual Bike Commute Challenge. Volunteer coordinator Michael O’Leary recognized six ‘Volunteers of the Year’.
Following O’Leary, BTA Finance Director Roopal Patel — a former auditor with international consulting firm Deloitte and Touche — shared the organization’s financial picture. For 2009, Patel said the BTA estimates they’ll bring in $1.55 million. Of that $1.55 million, 37% ($577,600) comes from government contracts (like Safe Routes to School funding), and 32% ($497,300) comes from membership dues. On the other side of the equation, Patel said the BTA will have an estimated $1.45 million in expenses in 2009. “Wages, taxes, and benefits” accounted for 58% ($829,000) of their expenses. A chart that listed expenses by category revealed the following spending breakdown:
-
Advocacy – $273,400
Education – $474,850
Outreach – $215,840
Fundraising – $273,400
Administration – $207,450
Patel said the BTA will end 2009 “on a positive note” with an estimated income of $100,000. The organization is set to undergo a full audit this coming spring.
“We have everything in place. The bonfire is stacked. Money is what will help set it on fire.”
— Michelle Poyourow
After the financial update, Michelle Poyourow went through a list of the BTA’s advocacy accomplishments this past year. She cited a record level of regional funding for walking and biking projects, a successful culmination of their bicycle boulevard campaign, and their improved relationship with the Portland Police Bureau (which, according to Poyourow, resulted in the creation of a Community Policing Agreement and a new bike traffic law police training video). Poyourow ended her presentation by saying that the most important focus for 2010 will be funding.
“We have everything in place. The bonfire is stacked. Money is what will help set it on fire.”
“It’s been painful and hard. I’ve had lots of sleepless nights over it myself, but I think we did the right thing and we’re ready to move forward.”
— Mary Roberts, BTA Board Chair
Following Poyourow, Board Chair Mary Roberts addressed the elephant in the room — the firing of Scott Bricker. Saying the decision was made “extremely thoughtfully, seriously, and slowly”, Roberts acknowledged that “It has not been easy” and added that, “No board member wants to do this willingly. It’s been painful and hard. I’ve had lots of sleepless nights over it myself, but I think we did the right thing and we’re ready to move forward.”
On that note, Roberts unveiled the BTA’s new vision statement. Roberts said they feel they’ve already achieved their current vision — “Opening minds and roads to bicycling” — so it was time for something new. Here it is:
Bicycling transforms communities by reinventing transportation and offering solutions to the universal challenges to health, livability, and the environment.
Up next was the Q&A session, and not surprisingly, questions about Scott Bricker were on several people’s minds.
Former BTA board vice-chair and one of the organization’s most veteran members and largest individual donors, Mark Ginsberg, did not mince his words. With a noticeably animated tone, he said, “We still haven’t heard why Scott was fired. It’s not O.K. to not address this… The way it happened so abruptly… It just didn’t feel right. I don’t need a response, but you need to hear that from old members like us.”
Mary Roberts said discussing the Bricker decision is “A moral and ethical issue” and that the BTA would never share details of what exactly happened. “I invite all of us to take the high road on this. You will never know the details, nor will we share them.”
Roberts Ginsberg then took a straw poll of the room, asking members if the BTA’s silence on Bricker is “O.K. with them”. Many people in the room clapped (it wasn’t clear if they were clapping for Ginsberg or for the BTA).
But that didn’t stop others from expressing concerns about the issue. Another veteran BTA member, Richard Marantz (who was recognized as a BTA Volunteer of the Year for 2008) said, “Unless someone can tell me what failures there were, it just doesn’t sit right with me that this can’t be explained… People want to know what the hell is going on!”
not happy with how Bricker’s firing
was handled.
After the meeting, Marantz told me he remains concerned. “The fact that they can’t articulate the reason [that Bricker was let go] is very unsatisfying to me.” Marantz said it’s not just the Bricker situation, but that “It’s in a context” of similar decisions by the BTA in recent months. He also mentioned how the BTA was similarly mum when they abruptly fired former government relations and public affairs staffer Karl Rohde.
Member Stephen Upchurch stood up to lend support to the BTA’s handling of Bricker. “I’m on the board of another non-profit and we’ve had to let people too… Think about how you’d feel if people were discussing details of your situation in public.”
Member Margaret Weddell, a former board member of the Community Cycling Center, wondered whether or not the BTA had a clear enough vision to be able to hire a new leader. BTA board member Stephen Gomez replied, “I feel confident we have a very clear direction and we can use that direction to go out and hire a new director.”
Bridge Pedal — a 20,000+ person event ride of which the BTA is a primary beneficiary — founder Rick Baumann, who’s worked with the BTA’s five previous executive directors on various projects since the mid 1990s, said the abrupt way the Bricker firing was handled, “Shakes me to the core of understanding who you are.” In response, Roberts said that the decision was not abrupt and that it was reached after a six month process.
Beyond dissatisfaction from members about the Bricker situation, the BTA finds itself in a precarious situation. They’ve got to find the right leader, but it’s still not clear exactly what type of advocacy organization they are/want to be. What will their new “aggressive” and “bold” style look like? Will it jeopardize their existing political/bureaucratic relationships? Will they focus statewide, on Portland metro, or both? Suffice it to say, 2010 will be a very interesting year for the BTA.