Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes - 20 May 2016 [Archived]

Teleconference

Attendees:

• Vint Cerf, Chair
• Paul Andersen, Vice Chair
• John Curran, President & CEO
• Timothy Denton, Secretary
• Aaron Hughes, Trustee
• Bill Sandiford, Trustee
• Bill Woodcock, Trustee

Scribe:

• Thérèse Colosi

ARIN Staff:

• Nate Davis, COO

ARIN Counsel:

• Stephen M. Ryan, Esq

1. Welcome & Agenda Review

The Chair called the meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. EDT. The presence of a quorum was noted.

2. Consent Agenda

1. Approval of the ARIN Board Minutes of 19 April 2016. (Exhibit A)
2. Informational Document – Working Draft of NANOG Partnership Agreement (Exhibit B)
3. Appointment of ARIN’s IETF Reporter. The ARIN Board of Trustees appoints Cathy Aronson as ARIN’s IETF Reporter for 2017.

It was moved by Aaron Hughes, and seconded by Tim Denton, that:

“The ARIN Board of Trustees approves the Consent Agenda, as presented.”

The Chair called for any objections. There were no comments.

The motion carried with no objections.

3. ARIN Policy Matters

At their meeting on 19 May 2016, the ARIN Advisory Council recommended that the ARIN Board adopt the following policy and changes to the ARIN Number Resource Policy Manual (NRPM).

A. Adoption of Recommended Draft Policy ARIN-2015-3: Remove 30-day Utilization Requirement in End-User IPv4 Policy. (Exhibit C)

The President stated the policy went through a last call period, it was well considered by the community, and therefore the AC has recommended adoption by the Board. The policy was extensively discussed during the last call period, with potential improvements that could have been made, but there was consensus to move the draft policy forward. Revisions can be made at a later time.

Bill Sandiford joined at this time (1:06 p.m. EDT).

It was moved by John Curran, and seconded by Aaron Hughes, that:

“The ARIN Board of Trustees, based on the recommendation of the ARIN Advisory Council, and noting that the Policy Development Process has been followed, adopts Recommended Draft Policy ARIN-2015-3: Remove 30-day Utilization Requirement in End-User IPv4 Policy.”

The Chair called for discussion. There were no comments.

The motion carried unanimously via roll call vote.

B. Adoption of Changes to the ARIN Number Resource Policy Manual (NRPM). (Exhibit D).

The President explained the purpose of the revision was to make existing language more clear.

It was moved by Bill Woodcock, and seconded by Bill Sandiford, that:

“The ARIN Board of Trustees, based on the recommendation of the ARIN Advisory Council, and noting that the Policy Development Process has been followed, adopts the changes to the ARIN NRPM as presented.”

The Chair called for discussion. The Chair asked if the reference to ‘current policy’ meant policy in effect at the time of the request, and was there a possibly of it being misunderstood. The President stated the wording indeed meant at the time of the request, and not at the time an organization merges. Bill Woodcock asked if ‘current policy’ was applied at the time the request was submitted, or when staff was processing the request. The President stated that in cases where the request is in process during a policy change, the staff processes the request under the most favorable policy conditions. He further stated that, in this particular case, the registration services team would not be changing how they process requests, as this truly is an editorial change for clarity.

The motion carried unanimously via roll call vote.

4. Adoption of Changes to the ARIN Bylaws

(Exhibit E)

At the Board’s last meeting on 19 April 2016, the President noted that the final Bylaws change language would be posted with a 15-day notice before the next Board meeting, so that the changes may be adopted at that time. The President provided a brief history of the process of these changes, noting they had been discussed at three previous Board meetings.

It was moved by John Curran, and seconded by Timothy Denton, that:

“The ARIN Board of Trustees adopts the changes to the ARIN Bylaws, as written.”

The Chair called for discussion. There were no further comments.

The motion carried unanimously via roll call vote.

5. Fee Schedule Higher-Tier Phase-In

(Exhibit F)

The President noted that a slide deck had been provided regarding the matter. He explained that ARIN was tasked to phase-in the higher fee categories, per feedback during ARIN 37, for large organizations who saw a large increase in fees. He stated that the 2016-2017 approved budget did not include revenue from the higher-tier categories since the revised fee schedule was adopted at the same meeting as the budget during the December 2015 Board meeting; and, inclusion of the higher-tiers was an addition made at that meeting. The additional revenue from the higher-tiers would have been a windfall in that budget period. Not receiving it did not impact ARIN’s anticipated financial results. Thus, the higher tiers can be phased-in, and deferred, until the next year to allow the largest organizations to plan for the increase.

It was moved by John Curran, and seconded by Bill Sandiford, that:

“The ARIN Board of Trustees adopts the Phase-In for the higher-tiers of the ARIN Fee Schedule, as presented.”

The Chair called for discussion. The Chair noted that the larger tier companies were not primarily objecting to the fees but rather to the timing of them, and this delay may smooth the way toward collecting the larger fees. The President stated that objections raised during ARIN 37 were in regard to insufficient notice in light of the rapid increase for organizations in the higher fee tiers.

Aaron Hughes asked to have a cover letter added to the invoice, or to make phone calls to the affected organizations. The President stated that an announcement would be posted on ARIN’s website and phone calls would be made to the organizations. The COO also informed the Board that staff was planning on sending said organizations an email which would provide a historic record of the waiver action. He sought the Board’s thoughts on that approach. There were no objections.

The motion carried unanimously via roll call vote.

6. Proposed Draft External Grant Program

(Exhibit G)

At the Board’s last meeting on 19 April 2016, the President noted that he had received guidance from the Board regarding this matter, and would return with an updated process. The President presented a draft of the program to the Board. The President stated that no Board action was necessary, but was looking for a show of support in order to incorporate this approach into the budget planning process.

The Chair asked about the timing of the proposal and if it would affect decisions regarding ARIN’s budget. The President stated that the FinCom consistently meets in October, and any recommendations would be done in time prior to the budgetary process.

The Chair asked where the program information would be held. The President stated that he was working on an internal procedures document, where it would reside, but the external grant program document would also be posted on the ARIN website.

It was the sense of the Board to proceed with the proposed External Grant Program.

7. Update on IETF Trust

The President stated that, previously, the Board had approved up to $2M to the IETF for a sufficiently large trust to fund its operations to include the IETF contract protocol registry services to IANA. It was the sense of the Board to do so in conjunction with the other RIRs. The President stated that ISOC had done a good job of making clear that the trust was to be specifically entailed for support of the IETF, and had a clear commitment regarding access to the funds. However, he noted concerns that the RIPE community had expressed reservations on the structure of the trust, in particular that the funds remained within ISOC and under the control of ISOC Board of Trustees. Theoretically, the funds could be used in unexpected ways in support the IETF. The President was holding to the position that ARIN would not contribute without coordination with other RIR contributions. The Board agreed.

Bill Woodcock supported the endowment, in principle. He was disappointed that the Board was doing so before there was a trust established for ARIN. He noted he had been advocating such for years, and that it was a matter the Board may want to discuss. Bill also agreed that there was a structural problem with an organization controlling trust money for purposes for which its own money is also spent.

The Chair noted that the governance structure could be improved should it proceed as-is; but a more fiscally sound practice should be encouraged.

It was the sense of the Board to proceed in coordination with the other RIRs in this matter.

8. IANA Numbering Services SLA

(Exhibit H)

The President stated that the ICANN/RIR agreement had reached a final conclusion. ICANN’s attorneys conceptually had no objections and were readying the version for signature. ARIN had performed its legal review, as did the NRO EC. There had been 5 public comment periods as well. The President stated that there was a good chance that within the next few weeks, and likely by the time of ICANN’s meeting in Helsinki, that ARIN would be asked to enter into this agreement. He asked the Board specifically to approve ARIN to do so.

It was moved by John Curran, and seconded by Bill Woodcock, that:

“The ARIN Board of Trustees authorizes its President to execute, in coordination with the other RIRs, the “Service Level Agreement for IANA Numbering Services” with ICANN.”

The Chair called for discussion. The Chair suggested an amendment to add ‘at such time as is appropriate’. Bill Woodcock seconded, and it was changed without objection.

The new motion reads:

“The ARIN Board of Trustees authorizes its President to execute, in coordination with the other RIRs, the ‘Service Level Agreement for IANA Numbering Services’ with ICANN, at such time as is appropriate.”

The new motion carried unanimously via roll call vote.

9. Legal Update

Counsel stated that there was no legal update at this time.

10. Any Other Business

The Chair called for any other business. There were no comments.

11. Adjournment

The Chair entertained a motion to adjourn at 1:45 p.m. EDT. The meeting was adjourned with no objections.