by James Poinsett, Secretary

• Rex called the meeting to order.
• Bob Vanderbei showed the club the gif he made using his photographs of the Moon occulting Venus.
• Rex then showed pictures from the field trip to the US Naval Observatory.
• The roof on the north side of the observatory has been finished. We are advised not to lean a ladder against the roof, if you need to clear snow off the roof use a step-ladder and broom so you don’t damage the roof.
• Mike Mitrano talked about enlarging the flap at the south end of the observatory to enable adding additional equipment to the mount with the HB refractor. His request for $600 for parts and labor was approved by the board.
• The C-14s have been swapped. The new one is mounted, balanced and is running. Some minor alignment may need to be done. Rex will place an ad on Astromart to sell the original C14.
• Suggestions are being taken for equipment to add to the south mount at the observatory.
• The lock has been moved to the first gate.
• John and Gene are going to winterize the observatory on Dec 9^th.
• On January 9, the closest conjunction of Venus and Saturn for a decade will occur.
• On May 9^th, there is a transit of Mercury across the sun. Plans will be made to view it with the HB refractor making it one of the few telescopes to view transits in 3 different centuries.
• It was noted that the club should start making plans for the August 2017 total solar eclipse.
• There being no further business the meeting was adjourned.