January 2008

Mail Ballot

RESOLUTION 2008-01: The WIYN Board approves the attached “Code of Ethics,” effective as of February 1, 2008.

RESOLUTION 2008-02:

WHEREAS the Board of Directors of the WIYN Consortium, Inc. has taken various actions and adopted various Resolutions relating to the development and construction of the One Degree Imager ("ODI") and QUOTA; and;

WHEREAS for a variety of reasons, there is confusion about the obligation and commitments of the Member Institutions of WIYN for such development and construction; and,

WHEREAS it is the sense of the Board, as adopted at the fall 2007 meeting, that a RESOLUTION relating to ODI and QUOTA is appropriate and directed that such a RESOLUTION be drafted and placed before the Board.

NOW THEREFORE, the Board of Directors of the WIYN Consortium, Inc. resolves as follows:

1. The base line budget, based on the Member Institutions' past understanding of the funding profile for ODI and QUOTA is 6.5 million dollars, including 1.5 million provided by funding from external sources.
2. The Board anticipates that the overall project budget required for completion of the project will increase beyond the baseline budget, but that the $6.5 million establishes the minimum commitment of the Member Institutions.
3. This budget includes the salaries of the project manager(s) and project scientist. The salaries have been accepted by the Board as an in-kind contribution as per previous resolutions of the Board.
4. The project manager will generate his current estimate of the total cost for design and construction of ODI and QUOTA and present it to the Board by the April 2008 WIYN Board meeting.
5. The Board will consider the overall project budget at a future Board meeting.
6. Certain Member Institutions may have already made contributions for ODI and QUOTA that exceed their pro rata share of a total project cost of 6.5 million in anticipation that the total cost may exceed 6.5 million.
7. The Treasurer, the Fiscal Officer, and the project manager will assure that all past contributions directed toward ODI and QUOTA are entered into the project accounts and will prepare an accounting of past and future contributions by each Member.

March 5, 2008

Videoconference

RESOLUTION 2008-03: The WIYN Board has reviewed the bid from the Institute for Astronomy (IfA) at the University of Hawai'i to supply controllers for the One-Degree Imager project, as well as the recommendations of the outside panel convened to review the bid and related issues on February 25, 2008. The Board authorizes the Director to proceed with negotiating a contract with the IfA on the basis of their bid, together with some of the recommended additions by the review panel. These additions should include: a service agreement for repairs for a period of up to 10 years, a time and material agreement for assistance during ODI integration and test and installation on the WIYN telescope, and assistance with the Rigiflex design.

April 4, 2008

face-to-face meeting in Tucson

RESOLUTION 2008-04: The Board accepts the Director's recommendations for salary increases for the WIYN staff.

RESOLUTION 2008-05: The Board accepts the President's recommendation for a salary increase for the Director.

RESOLUTION 2008-06: The Board authorizes the Treasurer, with the concurrence of the President, not to renew the CDs maturing on 4/23/08 and 5/27/08.

RESOLUTION 2008-07: The Board approves the short list for a new WIYN Director recommended by the search committee. The process for considering the final candidates will include a visit to Tucson and KPNO, including discussions with the WIYN staff and relevant members of the KPNO staff, followed by: a video debriefing of the staff by members of the Board; an opportunity for the candidates to extend their written records; and a telecon between each candidate and the three University department chairs. These activities will be accomplished as soon as possible, after which there will be a Board videocon to make a final selection no later than mid-May.

RESOLUTION 2008-08: No WIYN resources will be expended on new instrumentation projects prior to the end of FY 2009 without express permission of the Board.

RESOLUTION 2008-09: The Board accepts up to 140 hours of Dr. Steve Howell's time in FY 2008 in bringing QUOTA through the October T&E run as an in-kind contribution from KPNO/NOAO.

RESOLUTION 2008-10: The WIYN Board of Directors, on behalf of the entire Consortium, expresses its sincere gratitude and appreciation for the service contributions of Dr. Richard (Dick) Durisen. Dick has been the treasurer of WIYN, Inc. for its entire existence. He has put countless hours into tracking down the extraordinary complexities of our sometimes unwieldy organization. His calm in the face of turbulent and confusing situations has enabled us to weather many storms. As WIYN has grown in scope, adding new instruments, telescopes and organizational structures, Dick has held us steady, providing both institutional memory and foresight. We are deeply grateful for all his capabilities, and for his willingness to continue to provide his wisdom as a member of the WIYN Board into the future.

RESOLUTION 2008-11: The WIYN Board of Directors, on behalf of the entire Consortium, expresses its sincere gratitude and appreciation for the service contributions of Dr. George Jacoby. George joined WIYN as Director in 2000 after a distinguished career as a NOAO staff scientist. He immediately stabilized operations, leading a team that has produced some of the best on-sky performance statistics of any telescope in the world. He also persuaded the sometimes reluctant partnership to embark on the most ambitious instrumentation project ever attempted by a 4m-class facility, namely, the One Degree Imager. The crack team of scientists and engineers he assembled is now well on its way to completing a project described by the Director of a competing observatory as "inconceivable". But that is George's way - he has regularly accomplished the impossible in his term as WIYN Director, and has set an imposing standard for those who will follow him. We are enormously grateful for his contributions, without which WIYN's high current and future status in the astronomical community would not have been possible.

May 16, 2008

Videoconference

No resolutions were passed.

May 21, 2008

Videoconference

No resolutions were passed.

July 30, 2008

Videoconference

RESOLUTION 2008-12: The WIYN Board accepts the accounting presented by the Treasurer at the July 30 Board videoconference (included in the minutes of the meeting) as the most accurate assessment of the total costs and cash flow of the QUOTA/ODI project currently available.

We note that several aspects of the project, notably software, have not undergone full cost reviews, so these figures will need to be reviewed again in upcoming meetings.

This resolution does not oblige partners to make contributions beyond what has been approved in previous Resolutions. However, we encourage the member institutions to explore all opportunities to cover the increased estimated cost to completion (ETC) of the project, including contingency (a total cost of $10.5M). Member institutions will report their situation in a Board meeting to be scheduled in September 2008.

In the event that the QUOTA/ODI project can be completed for less than the current ETC, any contributions from a WIYN partner in excess of that partner's share of the true cost of the QUOTA/ODI project will be rolled over to cover that partner's share of other Board-approved WIYN expenses, unless otherwise approved by both the Board and the partner.

In the event that the QUOTA/ODI project must be cancelled, unspent contributions can be returned to the contributing partner or rolled over into other WIYN commitments at the partner's discretion.

September 9, 2008

Videoconference

RESOLUTION 2008-13: The Board accepts a liability of $7.8M for the combined ODI/QUOTA project through December 31, 2008. We note that this sum does not represent the best estimate for completion of the project (which is likely to be significantly higher), but does allow the project to continue on its project work schedule through the end of calendar year 2008.

The Board will schedule an additional meeting in December 2008 to consider the future of the project. Prior to this meeting, the WIYN Director and ODI/QUOTA Project Manager will convene and report on reviews of the software and the plan for integration and commissioning of the instrument and also provide a firm cap of total project cost (including appropriate contingencies) based on these and other reviews.

At the December meeting, the Board will either agree to the cost cap and to a detailed payment plan from each partner, or order a stop work on the project until such a cost cap and payment plan can be agreed upon.

RESOLUTION 2008-14: The partners agree to contribute toward the ODI/QUOTA project through December 31, 2008 as follows. These contributions are not commensurate with the usual partner shares. Prior to the end of calendar year 2008, the Board will agree to a plan to resolve the discrepancy in shares over time.

• Yale: to provide $370K by Oct. 1
• UW: to provide $200K by Oct. 1 $170K by Nov. 1
• IU: to provide $218K by Oct. 1 $50K by Dec. 15
• NOAO: Agrees to forego payment during FY08 on resources provided to WIYN up to a total of $200K to be repaid by WIYN by the end of calendar year 2008.

October 28, 2008

face-to-face meeting in Indiana

RESOLUTION 2008-15: The Board charges the Director to accept WHIRC as a general use instrument under the terms of the MOU and congratulates Margaret Meixner and STScI and Ed Churchwell of Wisconsin for completing the instrument successfully.

RESOLUTION 2008-16: Authorize the Director to order a single filter, appropriately chosen, using TSIP money, for the purpose of carrying out tests on the focal plane of ODI.

November 10, 2008

Teleconference

No resolutions were passed.

December 8, 2008

face-to-face meeting in Dallas

RESOLUTION 2008-17: The WIYN Board authorizes the Director to increment from the current FY09 budget of $2,092,000 by $150K in shares proportional to telescope time to enable him to hire two new scientists for development of the ODI pipeline, software and queue and to purchase associated computer hardware.

RESOLUTION 2008-18: The WIYN Board agrees that the partners will contribute $136,275 that was borrowed in 2008, in shares proportional to telescope time.

December 18, 2008

Videoconference

RESOLUTION 2008-19: The WIYN Board authorizes the WIYN director to complete the ODI project by February 1, 2011, as reflected in the project manager's latest Estimated Time to Completion spreadsheet, appended to the minutes of this Board meeting.

Total cost of the project is not to exceed $11.16M, which includes a $900K cash contingency. The total cost includes at least $500K of in kind contributions from NOAO, to be made on or after December 1, 2008.

The Board stipulates that the Director must request authority from the Board to expend any amount in excess of $10.26M for completion of ODI, with that request put forward in sufficient detail to allow the Board to evaluate the justification for the need to use the contingency.

The Director will arrange for monthly financial management reports for the ODI project and the observatory as a whole based on budget and actual expenditures beginning in January 2009.

Last modified: 03-Apr-2020 15:02:37 MST