GOVERNING BOARD MEETING
Tuesday, October 1, 2002
7:30am to 10:30am
Cragun's Resort, Brainerd, MN

 

1. CALL TO ORDER
John Thom called the meeting to order at 7:37am.

2. ROLL CALL
Present: Glen Gerads, John Thom, David Schultz, Bernie Bullert, Jon Eaton, Steve Schneider, Rob Renner, Troy Hall, Bud Krause, Bill Spain, Myron Volker, Scott Anderson, John Lapointe, Gerry Mahon, Doug Rovang, Ben Mason, Stew Thornley, Yasser Abouaish, Karla Peterson, Bob Cockriel, Al Lamm.

Absent: Bert Tracy, Larry Grafenstein, Kelly Lange, Don Christianson.

3. MINUTES APPROVAL (written May 2002 minutes provided)
John Lapointe had corrections to the minutes.

A motion to accept the corrected minutes was made by Schultz, second by Spain, and approved unanimously.

4. FINANCIAL REPORT - Eaton (written report provided)
The report, financial statements, and balance sheet were reviewed and discussed.

The administrative services contract term is from August 1 to July 31. The contract must be renewed or re-bid each year (at the May meeting). The chair and/or secretary/treasurer are the administrative services contacts.

The State of Minnesota now deposits money electronically.

A motion to accept action items 1-3 in the written report was made by Bullert, second by Gerads, and approved unanimously. Item 4 was held for either old business or until the next meeting.

5. ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR'S REPORT - Bullert (written report provided)
Bullert introduced Rob Renner, the Nation AWWA Association Representative. The written report was reviewed and discussed. Items discussed in more detail were efficient utilities and the AWWA's goals.

Bullert asked for a voting recommendation for the next AWWA National vice-President at Fridays meeting. Bullert also asked if there was a nomination for the National Director-at-Large position. None was given. A suggestion was made to consider nominating a female next year.

Bullert requested assistance answering four questions about National AWWA Strategic Planning. He would like to do this at Friday's Board meeting. It was noted that the section strategic plan was last done

A motion to accept the report was made by Anderson, second by Volker, and approved unanimously.

6. DISTRICT REPORTS

A. NW District (Hall) - Next school is scheduled for December 3-5.

B. NE District (Krause) - Next school is scheduled for International Falls, April 9-11, 2003.

C. Central District (Spain) - One-day school is coming up at St Johns University on Oct 30. The next 3-day school is set for June 11-13, 2003, possibly at Cragun's.

D. Metro District (Tracy) - Steve Schneider stated the next school is planned for April 1-3 (Tues-Thur), 2003 at the Thunderbird.

E. SW District (Grafenstein) - No Report.

F. SE District (Volker) - Oct 25 is the next one-day school in Austin. The SE district is planning the next school for March 26-28, 2003 in Rochester.

The Board expressed concern that SW district trustee has/is not attending the board meetings. Thom, Gerads, and Lamm will get together to discuss possible actions.

A motion to accept the district reports was made by Krause, second by Anderson, and approved unanimously.

7. COUNCIL/COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. Administration Council - Lapointe (written report provided)

1. Finance - Given during Financial report.
2. Fuller Award - Chair Bullert is ready. The award is will be presented at the banquet.
3. Thompson Award - Chair John Hill is ready. The award will be presented at the banquet.
4. Meritorious Service - Chair Nagey is ready. The award will be presented at the banquet.
5. National Awards - Mahon is looking for opportunities for promote section members for national and international awards. Bullert mentioned some award candidate deadlines.
6. Nominating (Director) -
7. Nominating (Chair-Elect) - Two candidates have volunteered, Myron Volker and Doug Rovang.

B. Public Affairs Council - Lange (written report provided)

1. Public Information
2. Publications - Gerads reviewed the written report.
3. Water for People - The section budgeted dollars are for donations to WFP Administration in Denver, CO. Typically, the Minnesota Section has donated an amount to the WFP general fund (so administrative costs can be covered) and another amount to the silent auction at the ACE. All the money raised from the raffles (schools, golf holes, etc.) goes directly to Guatemala (our adopted country). Scott Anderson recommended sending the 2002 budgeted $1500 to WFP Administration/Denver. Motion was made by Anderson, second by Bullert, unanimously approved. John Lapointe discussed Rotary and its application to WFP.
4. Membership - Bullert stated the membership was at 957 as of the end of July. Karla Peterson discussed the student chapters, UOM chapter of MEESE (Minnesota Environmental Engineers, Scientists and Enthusiasts) and St Cloud Tech College chapter of WWAM (Water and Wastewater). Gerads and Peterson will discuss these student chapters at a future meeting.
5. Scholarship - Two awards are ready to be presented at the banquet.
6. Gimmicks and Gadgets (Action Now)

C. Small Systems Council - Christianson (written report provided)

1. Ambassador
2. Mentorship

D. Training Council - Thornley (report in the Breeze)

1. Education - Jarrod has stepped down. Stew is looking for a new chair. Elementary Ed / Drinking water institute is progressing well and is scheduled for Rochester next year. Thornley is looking for other funding sources and is investigating other grant opportunities. Rovang saw a water environmental program on TV that was sponsored by the State Lottery; Thornley will investigate the possible funding source. Stew was congratulated on receiving a national education award.
2. Management - Abouaish distributed a handout with the 2003 school preliminary program topics and schedule. A second handout was distributed with a summary of 2002 school. Mason commented that the school is an excellent general management type course and asked Renner if AWWA National could help market this school.
3. Safety - Thornley told the board that Anderl is recruiting members for the committee.
4. Research - One-day distribution conf was held in Bloomington. AWWARF was a co-sponsor. A 3-day Surfacewater conference was held in Fargo, ND in mid-May this year. Approximately 120 people attended the conference. The conference was so popular that South Dakota wants to participate next year.

E. Manufacturers Council - Mason (written report provided) - 110 Golfers have signed up for the golf tournament. All the WFP hole sponsorships were sold. A scholarship fundraising will be on a couple of holes. A raffle will be held for 2 sets of two Twins tickets for Saturday's game (face value is $25/ticket). If the game is not held, the winners will receive the face value. The proceeds are for the endowment fund.

1. Social - Tony Belden coordinated tomorrows October Fest.
2. Exhibits - A survey will be distributed to the participating vendors requesting information on how to continue to improve the show.
3. Endowment (David B. Morris Scholarship Fund) - Mason requested further direction of the committee. The board commented that the fundraising and distribution of funds should be the major functions of the committee. Bullert thought the scholarship was also to subsidize or pay for some small systems to attend the fall conference (hopefully to increase membership). Eaton stated the board approved the working fund amount, which was set at 5% of the market value (in the budget). The funds would allow the committee to purchase and raffle items to generate more money.

F. Water Utility Council - Cockriel (written report provided)

1. Energy
2. Legislative Affairs - The council is not using Ewald for legislative services. The League of Cities will keep MnAwwa informed at no cost, and offer or participate in additional member training as requested. Bullert commented about future issues. Cockriel distributed a recommendations regarding WUC membership. The board will address the issues at Fridays meeting.G. Conference Council - Rovang (written report provided) - The council is ready for the fall conference. Ewald has not performed any duties since June; this is a complete volunteer effort again. Rovang thanked all the people who arranged/coordinated the conference. Door prizes have changed to gift certificates. Three (2x$25 and 1x$50) will be given away after each session (Wed morning, Thur morning and afternoon, and Fri morning). Current conference registration is 176 plus approximately 100 vendor people covering 48 exhibits for a total of 276;15-30 walk-ins are expected. A sign up sheet for professional development hours / ceu's will be posted.
1. Conference Program - Concurrent sessions are scheduled for Thursday
2. Conference Spouse - Brenda Spain is ready to lead the guest program.
3. Conference House - The conference program has changed away from the folders to a singe booklet.
4. Conference Local Arrangements - Schultz talked about Top Ops and changes to conf schedule.
5. Reception at ACE - The committee will look for space other than the conference hotel in Anaheim, CA.

A motion to accept the council reports was made by Volker, second by Hall, and unanimously approved.

8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

A. 2003 Conference (Hall) - Item will be held until the Friday meeting.
B. Association Services (Thom) - written report provided in finance report
C. DNR permit fees for the Drinking Water Institute (Thom) - No response from DNR.
D. Utility assessment to generate income (Thom) - Item will be held until the Friday meeting.
E. Vice-chair position (vice chair to chair elect to chair to past chair) (Thom) - Item will be held until the Friday meeting.
F. National Awards (Bullert) - Bullert read possible national awards. No recommendations were given. The board members are to think of candidates for next year.

A motion to accept the unfinished business reports was made by Anderson, second by Volker, and unanimously approved.

9. NEW BUSINESS
The board discussed who can attend the Tuesday evening appreciation dinner at the conference. Gerads motioned that the council chairs, board members (district trustees and executive board members), and the past director, in years when the new Director takes over, can attend the Board dinner. Bullert second the motion, and the vote was unanimously approved.

Schultz proposes monetary gifts for Top Ops contest up to $500. The motion to accept the recommendation was made by Schultz, second by Volker, and unanimously approved.

Gerads, Abouaish, Bullert, Tracy, and Thom will be attending the 2002 Regional Officers meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON on November 1-2. The 2003 Regional Officers meeting will be held in Duluth, MN and is tentatively scheduled for November 7-8.

10. WINTER BOARD MEETING - Friday January 31, 2003 in Moorhead, MN. The specific meeting location will be announced in December.

11. ADJOURNMENT
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Hall, second by Schultz, unanimously approved. The meeting ended at 10:45am.


Respectfully Submitted,

Jon B. Eaton
Secretary/Treasurer



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