EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING February 8, 2017 MINUTES

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1 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING February 8, 2017 MINUTES In attendance: Chris Petree, Kristin Asher, Amy Grothaus, Sue Mason, Jeannine Clancy, Dan Curley, Beth Engum, Alyson Fauske Heidi Hamilton, Monica Heil, Dave Hutton, Alex Jordan, Chris LaBounty, Sarah Lloyd, Emily Lueth, Richard McCoy, Tim Plath, Bridget Rief, Eric Seaburg, Michael Thompson, Charlie Wild, and Reid Wronski Pat Schutrop, Chapter Assistant and Recorder 1. CALL TO ORDER President Petree called the meeting to order at 11:41 a.m. 2. PRESIDENT S REPORT (Chris Petree) A Organization Chart President Petree presented the 2017 Organization Chart. New to the chart this year is the addition of the Young Professionals Committee. B. Designate Two Standing Committees As directed in the Chapter bylaws, the chapter president appoints two standing committees; Audit and Nominating. Petree appointed Mark Burch as chair for the Audit Committee and Past President Sue Mason as the chair for the Nominating Committee. No action is required by the Executive Committee. C. Committee Chairs and Duties According to the Chapter bylaws, the President is required to formally contact committee chairs and ask them if they are willing to serve another year as chair. Having done so, all of the current committee chairs have agreed to serve again as chairs of their respective committees for Petree encouraged the committees to help carry the 2017 initiatives forward through their committee efforts in D. Committee Meetings Summary A template is prepared for committees to use when submitting committee updates for the Executive Committee agenda packet. President Petree has also asked the committees to submit meeting schedules to the Chapter Assistant so that the officers can coordinate attending at least one of each committee s meetings throughout the year allowing them the opportunity to interact directly with committees members outside of the Executive Committee meetings. E. Executive Committee Meeting Schedule The meeting schedule has been set for President Petree urged committee chairs to invite other committee members to attend an Executive Committee meeting if it would be beneficial to report on a specific topic their committee is working on. F. Government/Legislative Initiatives Since the December 1, 2016 meeting where the Advocacy Training was offered, President Petree, Vice President Asher and Delegate Clancy have conversed with Margaret Donahoe, Transportation Alliance, along with Dave Unmacht and Anne Finn with the League of Minnesota Cities to discuss the Chapter s desire to become more involved in government affairs and legislative issues concerning public works. Petree said the Executive Committee has had a presence at the last couple MN2050 meetings offering them support. Page 1

2 2017 Transportation Day at the Capitol. During the January 6, 2017 conference call, the officers agreed to financially support sending members to the 2017 Transportation Day at the Capitol scheduled for February 16, Petree reached out to the Young Professionals Committee co-chairs and the MN2050 group to invite those interested to sign up through the Chapter Assistant. So far, Sue Mason, Alex Jordan, Dan Gage, Tom Eggum, and Joel Schilling have signed up. The goal is for the Chapter to have a presence at the Transportation Day, dialogue with legislators if possible, and report back their experience at the March 15 Executive Committee meeting. The Executive Committee will then discuss next steps and determine if establishing a legislative affairs committee would be beneficial. During the upcoming Spring Conference, the Conference Planning Committee is working on offering an advocacy workshop on Friday in place of the governmental updates. G. APWA Committees and Liaisons Delegate Clancy contacted Brian Van Norman, APWA Director of Chapter Relations, to find out what role the chapter liaisons play on the national committees and if the liaisons are utilized. Van Norman reported that APWA National has a number of standing committees that request chapter liaisons to serve as a link for information from the national committee back to the chapter; however, not all committees are engaged at the same level. He said the most active committees are the Center for Sustainability, Emergency Management, and Transportation. Currently, Chapter member Mark Ray, City of Crystal, is a committee member on Emergency Management; Kevin Schlangen, Dakota County, is the Fleet Services liaison; and Mitchell Hoeft, Insituform Technologies, is the liaison for the Young Professionals Network and the National Student Chapter. Michael Thompson and Sherri Buss have been participating on the conference calls for the Center for Sustainability. Van Norman was going to reach out to the other committees to see what level the liaisons are involved. Beth Engum recalled a discussion last year regarding involvement in National s Utilities and Right-of-Way Committee and she will look into it what the result was. President Petree asked if the Chapter would want to identify additional liaisons to the National committees. He asked Michael Thompson to consider making a liaison recommendation to the Center for Sustainability Committee. If the Chapter wants to be involved, Petree would suggest identifying a liaison on the Transportation Committee and Emergency Management. Dave Hutton submitted the $25 fee to the Transportation Committee a year or two ago and was notified that the committee was in the process of reorganizing. He would be willing to serve as the Chapter liaison to the Transportation Committee. Next week, Petree, Asher, Grothaus, Clancy and the Chapter Assistant will be attending the APWA Leadership Training in Kansas City. Petree would like to take the opportunity to discuss the national committees while at the training. This item will be continued at the March 15 Executive Committee meeting. 3. SECRETARY/TREASURER S REPORT (Amy Grothaus, Secretary/Treasurer; Lee Gustafson, Deputy Treasurer) A. Minutes of December 1, 2016 Year-End Meeting The minutes for the December 1, 2016 year-end meeting were presented. Dave Hutton noted that he was in attendance at the meeting, but not listed in the minutes. MOVED by Heidi Hamilton and seconded by Steve Albrecht to approve the minutes of the December 1, 2016 Executive Committee with the addition of Dave Hutton to the attendance list. Motion carried. B. Minutes of December 9, 2016 and January 6, 2017 Officers Conference Calls The officers conference call minutes for December 9, 2016 and January 6, 2017 were received and filed. C. Financial Report For months ending: January 31, 2017 Merrill Lynch $137, Financial Statements ($2,525.00) Page 2

3 At the 2016 Fall Conference, as part of the reporting of the 2017 January 1-June 30 budget, the year-end estimate was projected to be -$25,517 due to PWX expenses; however, the Chapter actually ended up -$2,525 which is better than expected. PWX recently reimbursed the Chapter over $18,000 which will show up as 2017 revenue. The 2016 year-end audit is scheduled for February 27, An update of the audit will be provided at the March 15, 2017 Executive Committee meeting. MOVED by Sue Mason and seconded by Dan Curley to approve the APWA-MN Chapter Financial Statements for months ending January 31, Motion carried. 4. VICE PRESIDENT S REPORT (Kristin Asher) A Goals and Initiatives The 2017 Chapter Initiatives were developed as a result of the December 1, 2016 year-end meeting. The three main initiatives are: Advance Public Works Advocacy, MN2050 Initiatives, and Education and Outreach. The list was sent out to all of the committees to incorporate into their meeting discussions for There was some discussion regarding establishing a Legislative Affairs Committee, possibly tag-team with CEAM s efforts. In addition, Asher developed a list of brainstorming ideas generated during the year-end meeting that includes a short list of achievable items for 2017, such as building Chapter factsheets (i.e., what is APWA, developing press releases), ride-alongs with public and media officials, etc. A Legislative Affairs Committee could take on those tasks. APWA s advocacy staff recommended taking advantage of the connection developed with Congressman Emmer during the PWX. B. Young Professionals (YPs) Stipend to 2017 PWX A stipend will be offered to one YP to attend the 2017 PWX in Orlando, Florida. The amount budgeted is $1,500. Additional information will be sent out by March 1 so interested YPs can apply and the selection can be made at the June 9 officers conference call. The Chapter has used 40 years old and under as the age limit for members submitting. APWA National identifies 35 years old and under as the age limit which also offers a 30% reduction on the registration fee. The Executive Committee agreed to follow National s age limit of 35 years old and under for the Chapter s YP stipend. C Chapter Dinner Generally, 50 to 60 members attend the Chapter Dinner. Asher is looking at an area within a mile of the convention center that includes other entertainment options for people to do after dinner. Anyone wanting to help plan the dinner can contact Asher. 5. PAST PRESIDENT S REPORT (Sue Mason) No report 6. COUNCIL OF CHAPTERS (Jeannine Clancy) A. Delegate s Report APWA has made significant changes in its vision of public works advocacy, attributed mainly to the new Executive Director Scott Grayson s leadership. Clancy encouraged members to read the advocacy reports sent out by National. Ron Calkin s OpEd article. The article is posted in the Washington paper, The Hill, read by members of Congress and Federal decision makers daily and draws attention to infrastructure. January 2017 Talking Points provided for information purposes. Report of Activities, Best Practices, and Areas of Focus. This is an update on what is going on at the APWA National level. B PWX Update The PWX books are closed and reimbursement has been submitted to the Chapter. Once the Audit Committee has completed its audit of the Chapter s books, they will reconvene to audit the PWX books. At the conclusion of the audit, the checking account will be transferred to the Chapter and one of the officers will need to be assigned as an additional signer in the event the Chapter is successful in getting the Snow Conference in 2020 or Page 3

4 C. History Committee: Dave Hutton, Chair Applying for the Chapter Award for Journalism for the 70 th Anniversary Video. Due March 1. Held first meeting at the History Museum Library which is the repository for all city records. Hutton plans to write an article on the library for the website. Doing research on some Executive Committee forefathers: o George Shepherd, the first APWA member representing Minnesota. Ross Bintner found Mr. Shepherd s grandson. o Hugo G. Erickson Award which was named after a Minnesota member. Committee member Tom Thompson s grandfather followed Hugo Erickson as Minneapolis Public Works Director and he will arrange an interview with him. The committee would like to have a session during the Fall Conference to present historical research to the members. Planning an historical project tour this summer. 7. DIRECTOR/COMMITTEE CHAIR REPORTS A. Regional/County/State Director: Bridget Rief i. Membership & Special Events Committee - Jason Sprague/Mark Kasma, Co-Chairs The committee is looking at organizational group membership openings and looking for ways to get those openings filled. Getting ready to publicize the sponsorship renewal and signup program. Outreach Feed My Starving Children event at Chanhassen location on March 16. B. Outstate Director: Reid Wronski i. Outstate Committee Reid Wronski, Chair First meeting was in January. The goal is to establish regional areas and have some regional meetings with APWA helping to facilitate those meetings and members reaching out to non-members. Have identified 15 regions to reach out in Mostly likely start with Troy Nemmers in the Fairmont area, and John Rodeberg facilitating a meeting in the Hutchinson area. ii. Awards Committee Sarah Lloyd, Chair; Richard McCoy, Vice Chair Excellence in Snow & Ice Control Award submitted for the City of Woodbury (was due on February 1) Currently, tracking 17 additional National award submittals. Due March 1. PACE Award nomination is due June 1. Petree added that plans are being made to do an environmental service project in the local Brainerd Lakes area again during Thursday afternoon of the Spring Conference that would meet the criteria for the 2017 PACE award. The PACE entry can include a number of service projects. The next award cycle happens in early September for local awards. The committee is receiving Life member notifications and these members will be recognized at the 2017 Fall Conference. C. Vendor/Contractor Director: Heidi Hamilton i. Communications Committee Charlie Wild, Chair The committee continues to push out the use of the social media tools. Looking to YPs to help with content and encourage members to retweet information of interest to the organization. The purpose of the committee is to support all of the Chapter committees and committees are encouraged to get in touch with the committee to place information on the website, etc. The Chapter Assistant is the website content editor now and website updates should be sent to the Communications Committee, with a copy to the Chapter Assistant. Page 4

5 MN2050 group would like to break up the MN2050 videos into 30-to 40-second segments to post on social media to drive traffic to the MN2050 group. They will look to the Communications Committee for assistance in getting them posted. D. Superintendent Director: Dan Curley i. Environment and Sustainability (E&S) Committee Michael Thompson, Chair; Sherri Buss, Vice Chair No longer looking for committee members. The committee s first meeting is next week. Intend to set both spring and fall dates for the Adopt-a-Highway cleanup events. The target is to have at least 15 volunteers at these events. Once those are scheduled, Thompson will prepare an article for posting on the website. Will discuss the 2017 initiatives. The main topic will be on advocacy and focusing on partnering with the Minnesota Cities Stormwater Coalition and others as organizations prepare for the MS4 stormwater permitting. Ron Leaf and Pete Willenbring will lead this effort. Will identify a candidate for the Chapter liaison to APWA s Center of Sustainability. E. Manager/Engineer Director: Tim Plath i. Education & Training (E&T) Committee Monica Heil, Chair; Tim Plath, Vice Chair PW 1020 Instructor Vacancy. The Chapter solicited letters of interest to fill this instructor vacancy, replacing retiring Gary Brown. Four letters were received. Gary Brown, Chris Petree and Heil interviewed three of the applicants and concluded that Will Manchester, City of Minnetonka, fits the criteria and is recommending him for the position. The Executive Committee is in consensus with the recommendation. Mr. Manchester will shadow Mr. Brown and join the NHCC staff in The E&T Committee has established its meeting schedule for 2017 and their first meeting is February 16 where the focus will be the 2017 Fall Workshop offerings. The writing course will be offered again. The UUCIS and Public Works Leadership Academy are underway. Dave Hutton and Paul Pasko will take over facilitating the UUCIS for Chris McKenzie, who has taken a new position with AE2S. The committee is looking for outstate locations to offer the UUCIS program (such as Hutchinson or Fairmont). The E&T Committee will need to know of any champions willing to host outstate by April for the scheduled year. Reid Wronski will bring it up with his Outstate Committee. F. Consultant Director: Andy Brotzler i. Diversity Committee Alyson Fauske, Chair The STEM Expo held at the Minneapolis Public Schools occurred last week. Committee members that attended had good encounters with students. Ideas to continue to draw students attention at these types of events: Offer some type of give away to draw students or have a prize drawing (give away a die-cast snowplow, etc.). Plan some type of activity. Promotional material. A pamphlet was developed for STEM by the City of Maplewood and has not been used. If space allows, think about getting equipment on the floor at the event. Establishing the scholarship criteria with the goal of having a draft ready for their April meeting. Looking to branch out to other technical colleges to partner with to promote APWA and advertise opportunities in the public works field. Page 5

6 G. City Engineer/DPW Director: Steve Albrecht i. Public Awareness Committee (PAC) Russ Matthys, Chair The committee s 2017 action plan is to coordinate educational materials what s in stock, what s available for career fairs, etc. Also talked about approaching APWA National about possibly paying a licensing fee to use its educational materials enabling Chapter members to print out the materials for events. The goal would be to have the materials readily accessible on the website. Delegate Clancy offered to initiate this discussion with APWA staff. Creating a checkout system for the banners. The banners also need to be updated, especially before the Spring Conference. The PAC will coordinate providing updated content to SEH to make new banners. Upcoming STEM events: Normandale College May 12 Century College May H. Conference Planning: Jupe Hale/Kristin Asher, Co-Chairs i. Committee Report a. Spring Conference (May 10-12, 2017) The theme is leaning toward diversity-equity. Thursday afternoon will be the volunteer service event at the Gull Lake Recreation Park planting seedlings. Friday morning - the topic will be focused on advocacy with Andrea Eales, APWA National s Director of Government Affairs. Consider providing some type of event sign-up for electronic devices. I. Young Professionals (Alex Jordan, Chris LaBounty, Emily Lueth, and Eric Seaburg, Co-Chairs) i. Committee Report Held first meeting with the Student Chapter and Young Professionals to coordinate efforts. Internally, the YP co-chairs are looking at how to better work younger members into committees and help them feel comfortable attending committee meetings. To start, the YP co-chairs will attend the various committee meetings to understand the purpose for each committee and therefore help prepare YPs who are interested in getting more involved. The challenge out to the committees is to how to include YPs in their efforts. The Public Awareness Committee recently met and discussed how to engage younger members and get them involved. The YPs have about 200, members and non-members, on their list. About 20 to 30 of those are active. Asher recommended starting by sending them an invitation with the volunteer opportunities as well as the possible legislative affairs opportunities. Plan to tour the Washington County Public Works facility before the end of winter. Getting ready for the graduating students and summer events. The Executive Committee discussed the possibility of the YP co-chairs following one of the Chapter directors and getting involved in outreach, etc. so they can get some experience. President Petree shared his story of when he started getting involved in committees and recommends helping infuse YPs into committees and enabling them to understand how the association works. ii. Student Chapter WSB is hosting a Student Chapter networking event on February 21 offering opportunity for members to meet students interested in the engineering field. New Student Chapter officers are announced: Angela Cao, President; Alec Thompson, Vice President; Lauren Hagen, Secretary; and Joseph Dunlap, Co-chair. J. MN Update The MN2050 is looking for next steps now that the asset management report and the videos are completed. They want to be a part of what APWA is doing in the area of legislative issues. A meeting is scheduled on February 14 with its full association/partner members and they want to discuss what their partners main issues are and what direction to go next. As a representative from the YP Committee, Alex Jordan attended the MN2050 meeting and they welcome the young members to get involved with them. Page 6

7 Delegate Clancy reported that APWA is starting an asset management training and certification program with the Australian APWA Chapter kicking off the training with the Canadian Public Works Association. More information can be found on the CPWA website ( If the training goes well in Canada, Clancy recommended looking into partnering with an asset management organization. Beth Engum added that the Institute of Asset Management (IAM) offers a one-year membership for free and as a member, it offers resources and content available on its website. The Metropolitan Council does have an IAM membership and is willing to share IAM s data with the Chapter. K. Volunteer Coordinator Report: Beth Engum Opportunities are on the website, and if those needs are filled or additional volunteers needed, chairs should contact Engum. 8. OLD BUSINESS No new business. 9. NEW BUSINESS Heidi Hamilton will be leaving Kraus Anderson and going to Stantec. Her change in employment will not affect her Director-Vendor/Contractor status on the Executive Committee. 10. ADJOURNMENT President Petree adjourned the meeting at 1:02 p.m. APWA-MN Chapter s Mission: To advance the theory and practice of the design, construction, maintenance, administration, and operation of public works facilities and services. Dated: March 15, 2017 Respectfully submitted, Amy Grothaus APWA-MN Chapter Secretary/Treasurer Page 7