AWWA MN
SECTION
GOVERNING
BOARD MEETING
Monday
October 3, 2005
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair
Myron Volker called the meeting to order at 6:06pm.
2. ROLL CALL
Position Name Attendance Confirmed
Executive Board of Directors
Chair-elect.................................................. John
Lapointe, US Water................. Yes
Chair.......................................................... Myron Volker, Owatonna.................. Yes
Past Chair.................................................. Doug Rovang, Rochester.................. Yes
Director...................................................... Glen Gerads, Bloomington............... Yes
Secretary/Treasurer..................................... Jon Eaton, Bloomington................... Yes
Assistant Secretary..................................... Dave Brown, PCE............................ Yes
District Trustees
Northwest................................................... Troy Hall, Moorhead........................ Yes
Northeast................................................... Corey Lubovich, Hibbing................... Yes
Central....................................................... Lyle Stai, Wilmar............................ Yes
Metro......................................................... Bert Tracy, Oakdale........................ Yes
Southwest.................................................. Pete Moulton, St Peter.................... Yes
Southeast.................................................. Paul
Halvorson, Rochester............... Yes
At-Large..................................................... Jim Sadler, Maple Grove.................. Yes
Councils and Committees
Administrative & Policy (APC)...................... Yasser AbouAish, Minneapolis......... Yes
Conference (Conf)....................................... David Schultz, MDH........................ Yes
Minnesota Associates (MAC)....................... Jim Norton, SEH............................. Yes
Public Affairs (PAC).................................... Kelly Lange-Haider, CH2M Hill.......... Yes
Training & Education (TEC)......................... Karla Peterson, MDH....................... No
Water Utility (WUC)..................................... Kurt Johnson, TKDA........................ Yes
Guests:
Association
Representative.......................... Mike
Leonard.................................. Yes
AWWA
Representative................................ Nancy
Sullivan................................ Yes
TEC
Representative..................................... Stew
Thornley................................. Yes
Hamline
University...................................... John
Shepard.................................. Yes
Admin
Council incoming chair...................... Bob
Cockriel................................... Yes
3. CONSENT REPORT
MINUTES
APPROVAL:
May
20, 2005 – Board of Directors meeting
Corrections: none noted.
FINANCIAL
REPORT (Eaton)
The
2006 Section Allotment notice was received. An allotment from AWWA of $23,119
will be given in February 2006.
ASSOCIATION
DIRECTOR'S REPORT (Gerads)
As your new AWWA Director, I would first like to thank Mr. Bernie
Bullert for his outstanding service to the Minnesota Section over the past
three years. Bernie earned the respect
of his fellow Association board members by challenging the status quo. Bernie was truly a champion for change and
worked hard to improve the Association for all its members. If you see Bernie at the Minnesota Section
Annual Conference in Duluth, make sure to thank him for his efforts. Great job Bernie!
The ACE in San Francisco was a huge success. Attendance was excellent at 12,700, and the exhibit hall was sold
out with 968 booths, an 18 percent increase over 2004. The Minnesota Section breakfast was
attended by over 40 individuals and guest speaker Dave Casper was
exceptional. Several Association
officers also stopped in to say hi.
Speaking of Association officers, four candidates have come forward for
Association President-elect. They are
Mike Dimitriou, current MAC Council Chair; Nilaksh Kothari, Wisconsin Section
and current Vice-President; Michael Leonard, Georgia Section and current
Vice-President; and Curtis Truss, past Director-at-Large and past
Vice-President. The election of one of
these people to lead the Association will take place this coming February. If you have thoughts you want to share on
any of these individuals, please let me know.
I hope to see many of you at the Minnesota Section Annual Conference in
Duluth in October. Duluth is a great
host city and I am confident that the event will be spectacular. The Association has assigned Mike Leonard as
the representative to our conference.
Additionally, Nancy Sullivan, our Section representative, will be in
attendance. I’m sure you will all help
me with making Mike and Nancy feel at home.
The highlights of the Board of Directors meeting appear on the next few
pages. I truly look forward to serving
our outstanding Section over the next three years. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Enjoy the remainder of your summer.
HIGHLIGHTS BOARD OF DIRECTORS’
MEETING
June 12, 2005 – San Francisco,
California
AWARDS
Approved revisions to the Safety Award allowing the
award to apply to utilities outside the United States where different
regulatory rules apply. Also changed
the name of the award to the Wendell R. Ladue Utility Safety Award.
Approved in second reading amendments to Bylaws
Article II—Membership. Changes support
the recommendations from the Ad Hoc Committee on Membership Structure Review
approved by the Board in January 2005.
Approved revisions to the Volunteer Business Travel
Policy stating that volunteers cannot be reimbursed for using personal travel
miles, that expenses submitted more than six months after the assigned trip
cannot be reimbursed by AWWA, and that the traveler should submit his/her
expense report within 10 working days after the trip.
Accepted the 2004 Audited Financial Statements and
Memorandum of Advisory Comments.
Approved renewal of a $300,000 line of credit with
Bank One. The interest rate will be the
prime rate charged by Bank One. This is
a no fee line of credit.
Approved two bank resolutions that designate the
authorized depository institutions for AWWA, trading accounts, and authorized
signers.
Approved changes to the structure of the AWWA Audit
Committee to comply with the California Non-profit Integrity Act of 2004. The new structure will include:
A controller or Finance Director from a water utility
recommended by the Treasurer, appointed by the Nominating Committee for
Vice-President and Director-at-Large, and ratified by the Board of Directors
(four-year term). This position would
chair the committee.
One of the Board Liaisons to the Finance Committee
appointed by the AWWA Treasurer (term to coincide with the term on the Board).
One member from the Board of Directors appointed by
the Nominating Committee for Vice-President and Director-at-Large and ratified
by the Board (term to coincide with the term on the Board).
POLICY
STATEMENTS
Approved the
following policy statements:
a.
Employee Compensation
b.
Employee Training and
Career Development
SECTION
BYLAWS
Approved revisions to the following Section Bylaws:
a.
Montana Section
b.
New York Section
c.
Ohio Section
d.
OWWA, A Section of AWWA
Approved the following standards:
a.
B304-05, Standard for
Liquid Oxygen for Ozone Generation
b.
B407-05, Standard for
Liquid Ferric Chloride
c.
B502-05, Standard for
Sodium Polyphosphate, Glassy (Sodium Hexametaphosphate)
d.
B503-05, Standard for
Sodium Tripolyphosphate
e.
B504-05, Standard for
Monosodium Phosphate, Anhydrous
f.
B505-05, Standard for
Disodium Phosphate, Anhydrous
g.
C105/A21.5-05 –
Standard for Polyethylene Encasement For Ductile-Iron Pipe Systems
h.
C115/A21.5-05, Standard
for Flanged Ductile-Iron Pipe With Ductile-Iron or Gray-Iron Threaded Flanges
i.
C200-05 Standard for
Steel Water Pipe – 6 In. (150 mm) and Larger
j.
C503-05, Standard for
Wet-Barrel Fire Hydrants
k.
C517-05, Standard for
Resilient-Seated Cast Iron Eccentric Plug Valves
l.
C600-05, Standard for
Installation of Ductile-Iron Water Mains and Their Appurtenances
m.
C605-05, Standard for
Underground Installation of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Pressure Pipe and Fittings
for Water
n.
C706-96 (R05), Standard
for Direct-Reading, Remote-Registration Systems for Cold-Water Meters
o.
C903-05, Standard for
Polyethylene-Aluminum-Polyethylene & Crosslinked
Polyethylene-Aluminum-Crosslinked Polyethylene Composite Pressure Pipes, ½ In.
(12 mm) Through 2 In. (50 mm), for Water Service
p.
D100-05, Standard for
Welded Carbon Steel Tanks for Water Storage
Confirmed Oahu, Hawaii as the site for the winter
2007 Board of Directors’ meeting.
Confirmed San Diego, California as the site for the
winter 2008 Board of Directors’ meeting.
Continue
the discussion from the June 11, 2005 Board Special Session on AWWA governance
and structure.
DISTRICT
REPORTS
NW District
(Hall)
The
dates for the 2005 NW District Water Operators’ School will be November 29 to
December 1. The Best Western at Thief River Falls will be the site of the
school. The agenda has been finalized recently. The keynote speaker for the
Operators’ Breakfast will be Scott Anderson from the City of St. Louis Park
speaking on Projecting a Positive Image.
The school also features training mini-sessions at the vendor show and a tour
titled Examination of Engelstad Arena
Water Operations. A number of excellent topics are set for this year’s
technical program. Part of the school will be specialized into split sessions,
one for larger surface water systems and one for small systems. Variable Frequency Drives for Wells and Filter Optimization are two of the
topics that will be cover in the technical sessions.
Detroit
Lakes hosted a Drinking Water Institute for area teachers from Monday, June 27
to Wednesday, June 29. Jarrod Christen of Detroit Lakes was very involved in
the program. Some of the Detroit Lakes students that Jarrod has inspired to
become involved in environmental issues presented to the teachers. The Drinking
Water Institute was well attended.
NE District (Lubovich)
Nothing new to report.
Central
District (Stai)
The
Central District annual one-day school school will be held at St. John's
University, Collegeville, MN on October 26, 2005. Some of the topics on the
agenda are: well siting issues, GSOC update, the new Hutchinson membrane filter
plant, water operator liability issues, the Small Water System Training
Program, a DNR water conservation update, and robotic tank inspections.
There
were 66 registrants for the Central District's School which was held June 8 -
10, 2005 at Ruttger's Bay Lake Lodge, Deerwood, MN. The evaluations received
from this school were again very positive. The dates for next year's school
will be June 7 - 9, 2006 and it will again be held at Ruttger's Bay Lake Lodge.
Metro
District (Tracy)
The
Metro District Education Committee is finalizing plans for the 2006 Spring
School. Dates are Wednesday, April 5
through Friday April 7, 2006, at the Ramada Airport Inn and Thunderbird
Convention Center, 2201 E. 78th St.
Bloomington, Minnesota
55425-1229, 952-854-3411. Registration fees will be $135.00 ($170.00 at
the door or after March 24, 2006). Carol Blommel from Apple Valley will be the
new Metro District Trustee and Education Chair for the 2006 Metro school. Next scheduled Metro Education Committee
meeting: Wednesday, September 21, 2005, 10 a.m. Progressive Consulting
Engineers, 6120 Earle Brown Drive, Suite 629, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota 55430-4102, 763-560-9133.
SW District
(Moulton)
The
Southwest Section has scheduled a fall school meeting for October 12, 2005 at
the Redwood Falls Area Community Center. Registration is $25.00 per person if
you pre-register or $30.00 at the door. Registration is from 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
with the program scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM sharp (remember that
"better late than never Peterson").
The
tentative program includes filter performance and evaluation, OSHA rules on
fall protection and trench safety, the MDH will supply an update on happenings
within the Department and MDH staff will review proper sampling techniques and
care of those samples.
Certification
exams will be given at 1:00 PM for those who have made the proper arrangements.
Please contact Noel Hansen at 651-215-0762 or at noel.hansen@health.state.mn.us
please remember applications need to be submitted 15 days prior to the exam
date.
An exam review was held on
September 22nd from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon at the Mankato office of the MDH.
SE
District (Halvorson)
A
meeting was held August 23 in Rochester to plan the S.E. District Fall One-day
water school. Attending the meeting
were Myron Volker, Owatonna; Dean Huschle, Northfield; Bob Keiper, Winona;
Dennis Duchene, Faribault; Wylie Rindels, Rochester; and Paul Halvorson, MDH. This year the school will be held on Friday
October 28, 2005 at the American Legion in Faribault. Topics to be covered include: Legal Liabilities of Cities, Safety Audits, Personal Protective
Equipment, Emergency Response, New Rules for Gopher State, Hydrant Repair and
Chlorine Safety. Registration will be
$25, $30 at the door.
The
S.E. District Three-day Water School will be held Thursday thru Friday
March 29-31, 2006 at the Ramada Hotel
and Conference Center in Rochester: http://www.ramadarochester.com/
.
The
Southeast District will have a planning meeting for this school in December.
Trustee-At-Large (Sadler)
Gimmicks and
Gadgets submissions will be present at the Duluth conference.
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE
REPORTS
Administration
Council (AbouAish)
Written
reports provided via email for Awards, IT and Membership committees after
meeting. Refer to “Consent Reports
Submitted After Meeting” for reports.
Committee Reports
Verbal
report provide by AbouAish at meeting.
Email report provided after meeting.
Refer to “Consent Reports Submitted After Meeting” for written report.
The Finance Committee met on September 1,
2005 at the Bloomington Water Treatment Plant. Barb Woolsey (chair), Dave
Peterson, Dave Brown, and Jon Eaton were present. Karl Streed was absent.
The section financial status and investments as of July 31, 2005
were reviewed.
Action items from the May committee meeting were
reviewed and board action noted.
The committee reviewed the proposed 2006 budget line
by line. The committee did not recommend any changes but did have two
suggestions. First, the committee recommends an additional policy stating “The
Secretary/Treasurer shall utilize the free ACE registration given to the
section by AWWA to attend to Section business and volunteer at the annual
conference.” It is understood that the primary purpose of the
Secretary/Treasurer attending and volunteering at the AWWA-ACE is to attend to
section business. This would eliminate the need to discuss and vote on the item
every year. Second, the committee suggests additional money be spent to improve
the Section web site. This tool (the web site) presents an image of our
section, should contain the section information and history (bylaws, policies,
procedures, mission/vision, business plans, event schedule, minutes, award
histories, etc), and should be the major communication tool with our members. A
professional graphic designer / web artist should be considered to present our
Section image and make the site organized and easy to utilize.
The
income/expense gap discussion and planning needs to continue at the committee
and board levels. At the current pace, all financial goals will be achieved in
two to three years. Program spending (either existing or new) must begin to
pick up so the section does not overshoot its goals. The Finance Committee will
review the section investment strategies with our Wells Fargo Investment
representative to assure our needs and goals are aligned.
Items
for the next committee meeting will include records management and an annual
review the bylaws, policies, and procedures that apply to section finances.
Action Items:
1. Approve the
2006 budget as presented
2. Approve the
policy stating “The Secretary/Treasurer shall utilize the free ACE registration
given to the section by AWWA to attend to Section business and volunteer at the
annual conference”
Past
Section Chair Doug Rovang met with District Trustees at the May Section Board
meeting to select and review eligible candidates for nominees for MN Section
AWWA Chair Elect. They resumed their
deliberations through electronic communications during late July and early
August, and in early August submitted the names of two nominees to Section
Secretary Jon Eaton in accordance with Section Bylaws. The two outstanding Section members
nominated were: Scott Anderson of St.
Louis Park and Yasser AbouAish of Minneapolis Water Works. Please see the Conference issue of the
Breeze or Conference Program for additional information about these two
Section
Director and Trustee-at-Large are not due this year so Glen Gerads had no
nominating responsibilities.
Conference
Council (Schultz)
The conference committee
is ready for a great conference at Duluth.
John Crooks and the program committee put together a fine program for
this year.
The
MNAWWA Board of Directors voted to have the annual conference back at Duluth
and the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC) for the next three
years. We are in the process of
securing contracts. The 2005 MNAWWA
Conference we sold out all of the vendor space had to turn down several
exhibitors. We have secured more conference
and exhibitor space for the following three years to fulfill our need to grow
the conference.
If
you have any comments on how to better the Annual Conference please feel free
to contact me at 320-605-1059. Your
input is valued.
Monday:
6:00
p.m. Board of Directors Meeting, Bay Room, Hawthorn Suites – Pizza
Tuesday:
8:00
a.m. Board of Directors strategic planning meeting, Bay Room- No Breakfast
11:00
a.m. Golf Tournament
7:00
p.m. Board Dinner at Pickwick, Walk or ride??
Meet at the Inn on Lake Superior 6:45
Wednesday:
8:00
a.m. Opening session
11:30
a.m. Vendor Show
12:00
p.m. Past Chairs luncheon, Bellisio’s
4:00
p.m. MAC Social
6:00
p.m. Harbor Boat Cruise
Thursday:
8:30
a.m. Sessions start
12:00
p.m. Awards Luncheon
5:30
p.m. Banquet Social and train ride, The
Depot
7:00
p.m. Banquet Dinner
Friday:
7:00
a.m. Board of Directors meeting, The Inn on Lake Superior, Breakfast
8:30
a.m. Sessions start
11:00
a.m. Brunch
Duluth Conference Committee Meeting
Schedule
Monday:
6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. MNAWWA Board Meeting, Hawthorn Suites – Bay Room
Tuesday:
8:00
a.m. MNAWWA strategic planning meeting,
Bay Room Hawthorn Suite.
7:00
p.m. MNAWWA Board Dinner, Pickwick
Restaurant
Wednesday:
7:00 a.m. - Water Utility Council Meeting, Breakfast, Lake Room Hawthorn Suite.
7:00
a.m. – MAC Committee Meeting, Breakfast, Hawthorn Suites – Bay Room
Thursday:
7:00 a.m. – Education Committee Meeting, Breakfast, The Inn on Lake Superior
7:00
a.m. – Young Professionals Committee Meeting, Breakfast, Hawthorn Suites - Bay
Room
7:00
a.m.- Membership Committee Meeting, Breakfast, Hawthorn Suites – Lake Room
4:00
p.m. – Young Professionals Social, Hawthorn Suites – Bay Room
Friday:
7:00 a.m. – MNAWWA Board Meeting, Breakfast, The Inn on Lake superior
7:00 a.m. – Public Information Committee Meeting, Breakfast, Hawthorn Suites –5th Floor Meeting Room
7:00 a.m. – Research Committee Meeting, Breakfast, Hawthorn Suites – Bay Room
The Inn on Lake superior meeting room is located on 3rd floor, next to the out door pool.
Bay Room- Hawthorn Suits is located next to the hotel lobby.
Lake Room – Hawthorn Suites is located on 5th floor of the hotel.
Manufacturers
Council (Norton)
The meeting was called to order by Council Chair Jim Norton at
9:00 AM on September 16, 2005, in the Conference Room of Northern Waterworks,
1694 91st Avenue N. E., Blaine, MN.
Attendance
MAC members present at the meeting were
Jim Norton, Dave Scheerer, Tony Belden, Tom Mumm, Ron Vasko, Todd Bredesen,
Bernie Bullert, and Heath Picken.
Minutes
David Scheerer, MAC Secretary, presented the minutes from the
April 15,2005, MAC meeting. Tom Mumm made the motion to accept the April 15,
2005 minutes. Ron Vasko seconded the
motion. Motion passed.
MAC Roster Review
Jim Norton stated that Jerry Ackerman has retired from Plant & Flanged Equipment Co., and that with his retirement, Jerry has resigned his seat on the MAC. Jerry served as a Distributor member of the Mac. Jim Norton asked MAC members for suggestions for a person to serve as a new Distributor member of the MAC. Jim Norton reported Dustin Bremness and Rod Ganther, both long time employees of Plant & Flanged Equipment Co., are the new owners of the company. Tom Mumm volunteered to contact Dustin and Rod to discuss the possibility of one of them joining the MAC as a Distributor member. Jerry Ackerman also served on the MAC as the David B. Morris Scholarship Endowment Fund work group chair. Jim Norton asked for a current MAC member to volunteer to serve as the Endowment Fund work group chair. No one stepped forward. No action was taken at this meeting to name a new Endowment Fund work group chair. Jim Norton suggested that this topic be put on the agenda for the October MAC