Minutes of SWANA Rocky Mountain Chapter Monthly Board of Directors
Meeting
17 November 2009, Benedict’s Restaurant, 8181 E Arapahoe, Greenwood
Village, CO
ATTENDANCE:
Present: Kathy Andrew, Debby Barton, Cameron Beul*,
John Briest, Stephen Gillette, Jerry Henderson, Neil Nowak, Tom Schweitzer,
Dick Sprague, Cathryn Stewart, Tom Strickland**
Absent: Curt Ahrendsen
Others present: None
- Attendance Notations:
- * - Member arrived after meeting called to order
- ** - Member had to leave before call was adjourned
- *** - Individual joined via telephone conference call
Minutes are in the order of the agenda and not necessarily in order
of discussions.
CALL TO ORDER: Meeting called to order by Stewart
at 9:23 am as 10 of 12 directors present.
MINUTES:
8 October 2009 Annual Member Meeting Minutes had been previously
emailed. Strickland/Sprague moved/seconded to approve the Annual Meeting
Member Minutes for 8 October 2009. Motion carried unanimously.
ADOPTION OF AGENDA:
There were no additions or changes to the agenda, so the meeting
continued following the agenda provided on 10 September.
TREASURER:
Gillette stated that as of 31 October 2009, there was a balance of
$17,449.33 in the checking account with one outstanding check not yet
cashed for $90.50 and one PayPal deposit not credited prior to 31 October
by the bank for a total checking account reconciled balance of $18,833.25.
Savings balance is $19.754.28. The e-loan to National still carries
at $17,364.30.
There are some 2009 annual meeting bills and income
still outstanding. In particular, one sponsor had sent a check for
$500 to the treasurer but the check has not been found nor has it yet
been reissued. In addition, a bill for the lanyards and supplies ordered
from National was received after 2 November 2009 and no notice had
been given on the cost as in the past no charges for the supplies were
made.
In addition, the bill for the three exams has yet to be received.
One other income source for two individuals’ attendance as well
as their sponsorship has not been received as they were unable to attend
due to work emergency. One other bill is outstanding which is a reimbursement
to Dick Sprague for IB related expenses to attend WasteCon.
Barton
had reviewed the treasurer records and had reconciled all the deposits
and withdrawals. She had emailed the resulting audit and recommended
annual financial report for national. Sprague/Andrew
moved/seconded to accept the financial audit. Motion carried unanimously. Gillette
provided a recommended 2009-2010 budget for the Board members. Andrew/Sprague
moved/seconded to accept the 2009-2010 budget as presented by the treasurer.
Motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS and ASSIGNMENTS:
Membership: Andrew reported we have 164 members
listed by National since July however 11 are suspended and there is
one new member that has not yet paid his dues or at least his dues
have not yet been credited. National is currently allowing membership
including number assigned without requiring dues payment for the first
30 to 45 days. Discussion held that this may not be a good idea as
a person may get member benefits for a short time, not pay their dues
and the state chapter that allowed a member rate will not receive any
portion of dues for the non paying member.
The actual membership (paid)
stands at 154 with 104 public membership, 16 consultants, and 42 other
private sector type members. The National goal has been a 4% membership
growth although last year the membership was static. Sprague will send
the Board more information about the membership goals for national.
Discussion held that 4% for the Chapter would equal about 6 to 7 new
members.
Discussion held on how to conduct a membership campaign based
on benefits gotten for dues. Among the ideas was to obtain list of
facilities that were not represented by SWANA membership and do “cold
calling” to invite. There was some resistance from some members
that this is a sales call and probably would not be welcome.
Further
discussion held on showing the chapter’s display board at various
state organization meetings such as CAFR, Colorado Public Works, CCI,
CML, Rocky Mountain Association of Environmental Professionals, and
similar.
Further discussion held on offering reciprocity of membership
registration fees for attendance at annual meetings. Another opportunity
may present itself with the ability to invite non SWANA members to
a very important discussion on landfill gas regulatory impacts that
must be in place by 31 March 2010. Items needed to continue with the
discussion is to find the SWANA display board and development of a
fact sheet or brochure for the state chapter or obtaining the National
brochures, provided there is no charge for the brochures (!). Beul
offered to help develop an invitation concept for the first technical
meeting as part of a membership campaign.
Technical Program/Meetings:
Discussion held on whether to host a webinar type activity in conjunction
with National. Sprague stated that the cost would be $2000 which
would allow up to 50 tie-ins with unlimited number per tie-in provided
an attendance roster is maintained for the purposes of CEU. Consensus
was this was a bit costly for a small chapter such as Colorado.
Topics
considered for technical sessions included e-waste, Tired of Tires,
Final Cover construction with CQA and final covers, and status of
geotechnical work group. The topic that held that the biggest interest
and perhaps the topic with the biggest impact on landfill operations
is greenhouse gas issues and EPA reporting requirements. Nowak, Beul,
Barton, and Schweitzer will work on developing the program for 19
January 2010. Consensus was to look at e-waste or tire issues for
the second quarter.
Annual Meeting:
Recap and Feedback: Overall reception
was good for the setup and results. Consensus was to hold the next
annual meeting in September with idea of looking to Eagle County
first. Chaffee County might be an alternative.
Some changes to be
considered will include a 2 minute presentation from each vendor
present and have a presentation from the folks involved with the
tour (perhaps the luncheon talk before going out on the tour). Discussion
held on offering a tutor session for folks interested in taking a
certification exam.
Strickland commented that perhaps we should consider
the Monday-Wednesday before the annual meeting as a time to have
a certification class with the chapter paying the travel, lodging
and per diem costs for a certified instruction to come to the annual
meeting location.
Scholarship: No requests have been received by
Henderson. Comment made to include scholarship offering in the first
technical session brochure. The website needs to be updated for scholarship
contact information.
Nominations: David “Juri” Freeman
has indicated interest in serving on the board and had hoped to be
present at the meeting today but was called away for work. He will
be invited to the December conference call. Verification on status
of dues payment will be made.
Legislative: On the federal radar are greenhouse
gas laws and regulations. State legislature not yet in session but
there are rumors of various related solid waste bills.
International Board: Sprague reported that even
though there was an economic downturn, National SWANA was able to achieve
all budget goals even though WasteCon attendance was down. New year’s
WasteCon is co-located with APWA in Boston, Massachusetts in August.
The mid-year IB meeting will be held in Banff, Alberta in conjunction
with the Canadian SWANA Annual Meeting. Discussion held that the amount
of dues refunds ($5,800 last year for 154 members equals about $37
to $38 per member) is low yet fees and charges continue to increase
to the chapter and the membership.
Web site/Webmaster: Strickland stated we do not
have a current contract and we may want to review other options before
signing a new contract. He requested that if any member had contacts
for potential service contracts to contact him as soon as possible.
Newsletter: Henderson is hopeful at getting the
newsletter out by 31 December therefore wants all articles and photographs
by 1 December. The following articles and assignments were discussed:
- President’s
Corner – Stewart
- Annual Meeting Recap – Henderson
- Scholarship – Henderson
- January Technical Program – Beul
- New Member Profile (Juri
Freeman) – no assignment given pending
resolution of membership status
- Treasurer report and audit status – Gillette
- Legislation (Greenhouse
Gas) – Nowak
- History project – Sprague
Road-E-O: No activity at this time. Strickland
had to leave after giving his report.
OLD BUSINESS:
Bylaws review: The annual member business meeting
in October 2009 authorized up to $1200 for attorney fees. Sprague has
contacted the attorney that attended the annual meeting and the cost
per hour is higher than Barry Sharnoff, the national SWANA legal counsel.
Sprague and Barton asked for consensus of the Board to send the bylaws
and recommended changes to Barry Sharnoff for the state review with
proviso of 4 hours of work as indicated by previous e-mails. Board
members gave consensus. Barton will forward bylaws and proposed changes
to National with request for review.
SWANA History Project: Sprague is working with Mark
McMullen to get some additional information. He plans to be completed
by 31 December 2009 with whatever he is able to find.
Air Quality Guidance Document Stakeholder: Stewart
and Briest will be meeting with Air Quality the beginning of December
to develop guidelines for a stakeholder participation on guidelines.
Charles Johnson, solid waste unit leader will also be asked to participate.
NEW BUSINESS:
2009-2010 Roles: Stewart asked each board member
present to give input on what goals and activities they wish to be
involved with this next year. Input will be sought from Ahrendsen and
Strickland during the December meeting.
One comment was made that we
should try to involve more members in some of the training plans and
activities.
- Henderson will continue with newsletter editor
and scholarship. Sprague volunteered to help Henderson with the Scholarship
to provide a second.
- Sprague stated he will be stepping down as IB
director after WasteCon in 2010. He will also be wrapping up the
Chapter history and will continue for this year as the meeting photographer.
- Beul indicated
an interest in the position of secretary next year and is interested
in helping with the technical sessions and annual meeting.
- Stewart stated she will be stepping
down as president at the 2010 annual meeting.
- Andrew indicated she is hoping to see a 100% email
list for all members as she has about 10 left for postal office delivery.
Schweitzer is available to help as needed.
- Briest will help in areas as needs
arise and will continue as the past president for one more year.
- Gillette will continue as treasurer and manage the details; empower others
to participate and get involved.
- Nowak will help as needed and is willing
to continue as the private sector legislative liaison.
- Barton volunteered
to be the public sector liaison. Barton is willing to continue as
secretary for another year as she is comfortable writing detailed
minutes.
- Andrew will continue in the membership committee, sending
out emails, hoping the last few snail mails will convert to email,
and will assist as needed in other areas.
Annual Progress and Annual Financial Report: See
discussion under treasurer as report will be forwarded by Barton.
Next
Board Meeting: The next Board meeting will be a telephone conference
call on 15 December 2009 beginning at 7 am.
ADJOURNMENT:
With nothing further to discuss, Gillette/Briest
moved/seconded to
adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned 11:18 am.
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Barton
Secretary
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