Last Updated on April 25, 2026
Charlestown Computer Club Quarterly Meeting
January 26, 2026 Meeting Minutes
Barb Grondahl, Chair, called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m.
About 21 members attended. They included Board officers Margaret Eng, Norma Snow Goldberg, Barb Grondahl, Jack Murnane, Rich Pellitier and Brenda Sabino.
The October 27, 2025 quarterly meeting minutes were approved.
Barb Grondahl led the Board in the briefing.
Club Membership
Current membership is 138. Annual dues were reduced to $5 as the Club has not had to purchase ink cartridges for the printers for several years now. Charlestown IT has been providing them.
Computer Lab
When using the Lab, be sure to sign in/out on the clipboard. This enables Club officers to track computer usage and identify users who leave something behind.
To create more functional space in the BR Lab, the counter along the long wall of the lab will be extended. The cabinet that the printer sits on will be removed and Ralph Wade, with the Wood Shop, will build and fit a workbench in the space. The workbench will also have a sliding shelf to store the paper cutter and space below to house the recently donated large shredder on wheels and the existing smaller shredder. Wheels will be attached to the small shredder so it can also be moved out for use.
After using the paper cutter, be sure to put the blade down and lock it in place.
Lab Computers
Corporate IT has blocked access to AOL on the lab computers due to security concerns. They are on the Erickson corporate computer network so they must comply with the same security policies. If you are using AOL Mail and want to print the email or download/print an attachment from a lab computer, a workaround is to create a Gmail account and forward your AOL email there to access it.
A request has been made to IT to pin commonly used functions to the desktop taskbar: File Explorer, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, printer queue.
Lab Printers
A major cause of printer jams is the machine overheating from printing too many sheets at one time. Another is stacking several sheets of heavier weight paper in the printer tray and printing, such as cardstock and photo paper. The feed roller may not get a good grip to pull the paper through. When printing on regular paper, do not print more than five (5) sheets at a time. With heavier paper, print one sheet at a time.
The option to print on both sides is now available from all computers. Be sure to restore it to single-side printing afterwards.
Printer paper is the Club’s biggest expense. The Club has been able to cut a bit of the cost by redeeming the Staples Rewards points it earns from recycling spent ink cartridges or obsolete computer equipment from members and other residents.
Financial Report
Jack Murnane, Treasurer, summarized the financials. The total dues paid so far for this membership year are $690. There were expenses of $506. The bank balance as of this meeting is $4,342.31.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Margaret Eng, Secretary
April 15, 2026