Minutes of Board Meeting

Holiday Inn, St. Cloud

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Meeting called to order by President Richter at 11 p.m.

Roll call showed all directors present.

Motion Brennan, seconded Rademacher, carried, to approve the minutes from the previous meeting as mailed.

There were 43 dedicated baseball people in attendance.

Reinstatement of teams was first order of business. A motion by Roufs, seconded Rademacher, carried, to reinstate the Dumont Saints to be eligible to play in the Land O’Ducks Wood League, starting with the 2008 season.

Motion Hartmann, seconded Barry, carried, to reinstate St. Michael to be eligible to play in the North Star League, starting with the 2008 season.

Motion Rademacher, seconded Kreger, carried, to reinstate the Benson Chiefs to be eligible to play in the Land O’Ducks Teal League, in the 2008 season.

Mike Nagel, president of the Corn Belt South League, along with fellow members from Bird Island, Sacred Heart, Granite Falls, and Milroy appeared before the board as they were requested to do by the state board.

The reason for them being there was to answer questions on action their league administered denying Milroy membership for the 2008 season.

Nagel explained that the league vote was 4-1 in favor of Milroy, however, the Corn Belt has a rule that a new team must be approved by a unanimous vote the first year to be accepted as a full member.

Nagel stated that all teams that voted were notified to attend this meeting in case the board had questions of them. Willmar and Raymond did not show up.Nagel also stated, he favors the unanimous league rule, but when a team is denied from playing, they should know how the vote went down, and what the reason was.

Nagel then asked the board for any guidance they could offer to solve this action. Whatever they would decide he would go along with and see that it was carried out.

After many questions, a motion by Forsman, seconded Hartmann, carried, to reinstate Milroy to play in the Corn Belt South League in 2008. The Corn Belt South League over-ruled by the MBA.

Next order of business was team reclassification. Plato Blue Jays came before the board to present their case on why they should remain in Class “C.”

After many questions, motion by Kreger, seconded Brennan, to keep Plato in Class “C.”

Voting for: Barry, Kreger, Rademacher, Brennan, Forsman, and Zellmann.

Voting against: Hartmann, Roufs, Richter. Motion carried 6-3.

Sauk Rapids Cyclones came before the board and stated their case on why they should remain in Class “C.”

Again, many questions were asked. A motion by Barry, seconded Brennan, that Sauk Rapids stay in Class “C.”

Voting for: Hartmann, Barry, Kreger, Rademacher, Brennan, Forsman, and Zellmann. Voting against: Roufs and Richter. Motion carried 7-2.

Rosters from Plato and Sauk Rapids will be monitored throughout the year; should we see a lot of player movement, teams could be reclassified at any time.

Tate Cunmins addressed the board on radius eligibility. Cummins lives in Lakeville, teaches in Medford, and would like to coach and play in Owatonna.

The distance from Lakeville to Owatonna is 45 miles. At the present time, he is on the Austin roster, where he has played the last 10 years. After a lengthy discussion on why and why not, a motion by Forsman, seconded by Roufs, to deny his request.

Voting for the motion: Roufs, Brennan, Forsman, Zellmann, and Richter.

Voting against: Hartmann, Barry, Kreger, and Rademacher. Motion carried 5-4.

John Gerads secretary of CMUA umpires came before the board. He stated their membership is around 40, with some members having 20 years of experience. They work high school, amateur, and college games. They run clinics during the year, giving the younger umpires a chance to learn the proper procedures.

He would like to work with the MBA committee, should they select any CMUA umpires for the state tournament, and he would see that they are well-qualified.

Jeff Jonckowski, representing the Chaska-Shakopee tournament committee, addressed the board giving a broad outline on what is taking place at the two toumament sites.

They are working on a number of programs, as well as face-lifting their parks.

Prior Lake will be their choice for a third site.

At this time, they are selling advance tickets for tournament games at $6. This ticket will get you into a game plus a $5 rebate at a restaurant you will find listed on the back of the ticket.

Motion Brennan, seconded Forsman, carried, to place an ad in the MSHS Baseball Coaches Handbook at $150.

After many years of operating with no (criteria) on reclassifying teams, the board came up with the following format:

(Effective January 1, 2008 season, the Class “C” Champion and Runner-up will be reclassified to Class “W” for a period of two years. Third year, teams may appeal to be reclassified.)

Starting with the 2006 State Tournament, any team in the final (4) two out of three years will also be reclassified to Class “B” for a minimum of two years.

Twins Fest will run the weekend of Jan. 25, 26, 27. The board will have a booth set up, stop in and see us,

Next meeting of the MBA will be March 8 and 9. It will be at the Holiday Inn, St. Cloud. The meeting March 9 is a Sunday, this is for all league officers or anyone interested.

League material will be handed out, and the new rule book will be gone over.

This is a meeting everyone should attend. Both meetings start at 1 p.m.

League secretaries: All state forms are now posted on the web site, so make yourself aware of this, you will not get any forms from me. If you have questions give me a call.

Being no further business, a motion by Kreger, seconded Brennan, carried, to adjourn. Adjournment at 4:45 p.m.

Bob Zellman

Secretary-treasurer

MBA