Alberta Onsite Wastewater Management Association 2017 Annual General Meeting River Cree Ballroom Edmonton, Alberta Friday, February 24, 2017 CALL TO ORDER: 7:50 A.M. President Chic Shaw welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming to this early morning meeting. Introduction of Parliamentarian: Kirk Miller Introduction of current Board of Directors: Chic Shaw President Daniel Morris Vice President Charles Hallett Secretary/Treasurer Dale McLure Past President Dave Dallaire Director Rick Baxter Director Danielle Horne Director Jim Quantz Director Kirk Miller Director Quorum was declared with 66 members present. MOTION to adopt the agenda. Moved by Kraig Rakowski; seconded by Ken Wigmore. CARRIED. MOTION to adopt the 2016 Annual General Meeting Minutes Moved by Deb Aldolphson; seconded by Jason Marco. CARRIED. AOWMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2017 1
PRESIDENT S REPORT: Chic Shaw This has been a busy year for the Association and there have also been a few challenges. Some areas in the province were busy while others were slower. The industry is rebuilding in Fort McMurray; the oil sector is on the upswing. Both these are positive things. The Association had a meeting with Alberta Municipal Affairs to discuss training and enforcement. Together we re looking at expanding the Onsite Wastewater Practitioner Training Program to include a mandatory soils day. A case study for systems, virtual training and a mentoring program are also being looked at. There have also been meetings with the Alberta Safety Codes Authority about managing permits in open areas and ensuring site evaluations completed before the permit is issued. The passing of Chief Inspector Alf Durnie in September 2016 was a great loss to the industry. Alf was a key figure in the onsite wastewater industry. His influence stretched across North America and he will be missed. The Association has set up a scholarship fund at the request of Alf s family. This scholarship will provide financial assistance to students training in areas relevant to the onsite wastewater industry. The Association has continued to sponsor and host a variety of training events and trade shows this past year. To date, the Association has trained 733 people in 27 Standard of Practice Update classes, 117 students in the Installer Training program and hosted 20 Septic Sense programs for homeowners throughout the province. One of the challenges the Board faced this year, was dealing with the actions and activities of one of our Board members. The Board has removed Angus Chu from the Board of Directors and revoked his membership. Members who would like more information on this situation should come and speak to a Board member or administration. The Association Board and administration is always working for you. Please call and ask for help; bouncing ideas around is good. MOTION to accept the President s report. Moved by Len Traub; seconded by Stephanie Munn. CARRIED. AOWMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2017 2
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR S REPORT: Lesley Desjardins Lesley thanked everyone for coming and invited them to come to the trade show and stay for the sessions. The Association is trying out a convention app this year which has a lot of information on the convention. Please download and use it, then give feedback so it can be improved for future conventions. The Standard of Practice Updates are going well. There are over 1000 people who need to take the training in Alberta and beyond. These updates were a good chance for Alf Durnie to connect with members and are now providing the same opportunity for Dean Morin, the new Chief Inspector. Daniel Morris has taken over the instruction of the update classes. Lesley thanked Daniel for stepping up so these classes could continue. The Onsite Wastewater Practitioner training curriculum updates are ongoing. The Curriculum Committee is reinforcing and adding to the curriculum so new students have the tools they need to be successful as they enter the field. The Association has been working with the Land Stewardship Centre on a home owner education program called Septic Sense. It promotes the use of certified installers instead of homeowners building their own systems. The sessions are going very well and are exceeding expectations. Lesley thanked Rick Baxter for helping to present at some of the sessions. The loss of Alf was hard, but the building blocks are there which will allow the Association and industry to move forward. It helps that the Association has great leadership in the Executive Board. Chic Shaw provides excellent leadership and spends a lot of time in the communities, meeting and speaking with members and non-members. Daniel Morris has a significant role in delivering and developing the training. Charles Hallett is very engaged and very invested as the Secretary/Treasurer. Lesley thanked the entire Board for their efforts and time and the Administration team and volunteer Diane Shaw for their hard work. The Association is only as strong as its members and we are here to support our membership with resources and a voice. Please come in and see us, see what we do and look at the books and records. Let us know what your concerns and issues are, we are here to help you. MOTION to accept the Executive Director s report. Moved by Steven Hirose; seconded by Jeff Fehr. CARRIED. AOWMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2017 3
Secretary/Treasurer s Report: Charles Hallett Once again this year, the Association is in a strong financial position. The report being presented at the AGM is from August 1, 2015 to July 31, 2016. In the last fiscal year, the Association had: An income of $788,208.00, expenses of $786,289.00 which left a surplus of $1910.00. This surplus of $1910.00 plus interest income of $2355.00 equalled a total surplus of $4265.00. $37,000.00 has been set aside in GICs to be added to the Staffing, Institutionalization and Training Development funds. As of July 31, 2016 the Association had: $172,849.00 in the Operating account. $184,636.00 in Savings and GICs of which $57,500.00 is for Institutionalization, $47,785.00 for Curriculum Development, $47,361.00 for Additional Staffing, leaving $31,990.00 unallocated. There is $61,697.00 in accounts receivable, $1428.00 in interest receivable, $955.00 in capital assets and $11,160.00 in prepaid expenses. Payables at the end of the fiscal year were $79,421.00. $153,646.00 is allocated to be spent on funds and as such is shown as a liability. Retained earnings were $199,658.00 The assets, liabilities and equity balanced out at $432,725.00. A member asked why the surplus is so low, that s not a lot of money saved. The Association did save a lot of money by putting it into funds such as staffing, institutionalization and curriculum development. This money has not been spent, but has been set aside for use in future fiscal years. There was a question from the floor about the Research Expenses on the Statement of Income and Retained Earnings sheet. Why was there $38,796.00 in 2016 and none in 2015? In 2014 the Association received $50,000.00 from CMHC to start up the project and provide the administration for the test site for the B128.3 at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre for Excellence. There were no expenses in 2015 as the balance of the project was paid out at the end of the project in 2016. AOWMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2017 4
MOTION to accept the Secretary/Treasurer s report. Moved by Len Traub; seconded by Ken Wigmore. CARRIED. BYLAW CHANGE: In order for a change to the bylaws to take effect, there must be a 75% of the members in favour. If I bylaw uses the word should rather than the word shall, then the bylaw is a recommendation not an absolute. It is proposed to amend the current Bylaw 5.1 with the following addition: 5.1.3 The demographic on the Board of Directors should include representation from the following groups: installers, academic/engineer or other professional, safety codes officers, supplier/manufacturer, pumper, designer and developer or the general public, to ensure all onsite wastewater disciplines are represented. Change - Reason - Addition To ensure that all aspects of the onsite wastewater industry are represented on the Board of Directors, thus ensuring consideration of all onsite wastewater stakeholder groups. Motion to accept the bylaw change as proposed. Moved by Charles Hallett; seconded by Arnold Groot. DISCUSSION: It was suggested that each Board of Director tell the meeting participants what their scope of work is, so the voting membership can see what representation is needed on the Board. Chic Installer/Designer Daniel designer, trainer Charles former Environmental Health officer/regulator, former installer and currently Health/Safety/Environment Coordinator with Western Camp Services Dave supplier, installer Danielle distribution, designer Jim farmer, installer Rick Safety Codes Officer Dale consultant, designer, maintenance Kirk developer Kirk called question. CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. AOWMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2017 5
NEW BUSINESS: Alf Durnie Scholarship The Association was asked by the Durnie family to start a scholarship fund for education and research. Donations have been coming in from members, non-members, and companies and there is just under $5,000.00 in the fund at this time. It will be an annual scholarship for a student going into a relatable onsite wastewater field. A steering committee has been created to see how the fund will increase and the parameters for how the scholarship will be awarded. It is hoped that the first scholarship will awarded in September 2017. The committee members are: Lesley Desjardins Executive Director, AOWMA Charles Hallett Secretary/Treasurer AOWMA Stephanie Munn Durnie Family representative Tyler Wightman Director Corporate Strategy and Communications - Safety Codes Council During convention, the Association will be holding a 50/50 draw with tickets being sold on Friday night at the banquet. The draw will take place that night as well, with half the money raised going into the scholarship fund. Alberta Wilbert Sales is holding a raffle for a free tank. Tickets will be on sale at their trade show booth for $5.00 per ticket. The draw will take place on Friday night and all money raised will be donated to the scholarship fund. ELECTIONS: The Board heard the membership when it was asked why there aren t more nominees for Board positions. The nomination committee has worked hard to find new people, however was unable to find any interested parties. Finding new people to join the Board will be an ongoing process. The voting protocol has been changed for this year. All nominees will be posted. Voting members will check in with the Administration where they will be checked to be sure they are a member in good standing. Once they have been confirmed, they will be given one ballot to vote for President and second ballot to vote for Directors. The voter will take their ballots behind a voting screen to cast their votes and bring their ballots back to the Administration table to be deposited in the ballot box. The non-member scrutineers for the 2017 election were Garth Millan, President of WCOWMA- BC and Kent Watson, Soils Instructor. AOWMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2017 6
There are five open positions for the 2017 Board of Directors: President Director 2 year term Director 2 year term Director 2 year term Director 1 year term PRESIDENT NOMINEE: Chic Shaw o Nominated by Len Traub o Seconded by Debbie Adolphson o Third by Mario Bedard MOTION to close nominations for President. Moved by Len Traub; seconded by Deb Adolphson. CARRIED. Len spoke on Chic s behalf noting that Chic started out on his own and knows the industry. He noted that Chic doesn t need this position, he is dedicated to the industry, which you need to be and Chic is. Chic Shaw retains his position as President through acclamation. DIRECTOR NOMINEES: Arnold Groot - Installer o Nominated by Taras St. Jean o Seconded by Darren Pawluk o Third by Tom Lowie Nicole Paggett Permitting and Inspections o Nominated by Daniel Morris o Seconded by Justin Quinton o Third by Jim Quantz Bob Boersema General Contractor, Designer, Installer, Supplier o Nominated by Ken Wigmore o Seconded by Jim Quantz o Third by Dale McLure Dave Dallaire Supplier o Nominated by Dale McLure AOWMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2017 7
o Seconded by Arnold Groot o Third by Jeff Fehr Kraig Rakowski Pumper, Maintenance Provider o Nominated by Stephanie Munn o Seconded by Dale McLure o Third by Emile Beaudry MOTION to close nominations for Directors. Moved by Jeff Fehr; seconded by Cliff Yak. CARRIED. The three Directors with the highest number of votes will be given two year terms. The nominee with the fourth highest number of votes will be given a one year term. Nominees voted in for a two year term are: David Dallaire Kraig Rawkowski Bob Boersema There was a tie for the one year Director position between Nicole Paggett and Arnold Groot. There is no by-law that states what should happen when a tie results. Nicole and Arnold were asked if one would consider conceding, however neither said yes. There was no time to re-vote, so the decision was made by a coin toss which Nicole won. Nominee to hold a one year Board of Directors position: Nicole Paggett ACTION: Create a bylaw that states how a tie between nominees will be resolved. MOTION to destroy the ballots. Moved by Charles Hallett; seconded by Steven Hirose. CARRIED. Out-going Board members, Jim Quantz and Danielle Horne, were thanked for their time spent on the Board and given a token of appreciation. Kirk Miller was thanked for presiding as Parliamentarian at the AGM. MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 9:44 AM. Moved by Dale McLure, seconded by Stephanie Munn. CARRIED. AOWMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2017 8
MOTIONS: MOTION to adopt the agenda. No new business from the floor to add to the agenda. Moved by Kraig Rakowski, seconded by Ken Wigmore. CARRIED. MOTION to adopt the 2016 Annual General Meeting Minutes Moved by Deb Aldolphson, seconded by Jason Marco. CARRIED. MOTION to accept the President s report. Moved by Len Traub, seconded by Stephanie Munn. CARRIED. MOTION to accept the Executive Director s report. Moved by Steven Hirose, seconded by Jeff Fehr. CARRIED. MOTION to accept the Secretary/Treasurer s report. Moved by Len Traub, seconded by Ken Wigmore. CARRIED. Motion to accept the bylaw change as proposed. Moved by Charles Hallett, seconded by Arnold Groot. CARRIED UNANYMOUSLY. MOTION to close nominations for President. Moved by Les Traub, seconded by Deb Aldolphson. CARRIED. MOTION to close nominations for Directors. Moved by Jeff Fehr, seconded by Cliff Yak. CARRIED. MOTION to destroy the ballots. Moved by Charles Hallett, seconded by Steven Hirose. CARRIED. MOTION to adjourn the meeting at 9:44 AM. Moved by Dale McLure, seconded by Stephanie Munn. CARRIED. ACTION ITEM: Create a bylaw that states how a tie between nominees will be resolved. AOWMA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2017 9