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Colorado Association of Stormwater and Floodplain Managers
GENERAL MEETING MINUTES
November 13, 2008, Applegate Group
Meeting Attendees
Officers:
Chair – Kevin Houck, Colorado Water Conservation Board
Vice Chair – Dave Bennetts, UDFCD (proxy for David Mallory)
Secretary – Robert Krehbiel, Matrix Design Group
Treasurer – Shea Thomas, Urban Drainage and Flood Control District
Metro Regional Representative – Deb Ohlinger, Olsson Associates
Committee Chairs:
Chris Carlson, City of Loveland, Training Committee Chair
Stuart Gardner, Colorado Department of Transportation, Website Committee Chair
Members:
Susan Hayes, City of Fort Collins
Joe Chaplin, City of Loveland
Kyle Donovan, Applegate Group
Matt Young, Applegate Group
Kevin Doyle, Michael Baker
David Hollingsworth, City of Longmont
Chris Butler, CH2M Hill
Eric Lessard, City of Loveland
The following is a summary of the interactions, comments and items discussed. While this summary is not intended to represent a complete or comprehensive account of the meeting, it is intended to reflect the salient points raised and issues for further consideration. Should the attendees believe that anything might be misrepresented or misleading, please bring this to the attention of Robert Krehbiel, CASFM Secretary.
1) Secretary Report
The minutes for the September 11, 2008 general meeting and the September 11, 2008 Board meeting were distributed. With a few typographical corrections, the minutes were approved by a motion and vote. A quorum of officers and regional representatives was present.
2) Treasurer Report
Account balances and expenditures were reviewed. The Treasurer Report was approved by a motion and a vote.
3) 2009 Budget
A majority of the meeting was devoted to a discussion of the budget. Given the current economy, there is concern about running too large of a deficit in 2009 for the organization. Workshops were shown with a $6,000 deficit ($30,000 expenses, $24,000 revenue) to balance the budget, although it is acknowledged that the leadership of CASFM wants to provide subsidized member workshops as part of its mission. The conference expenses and revenues were both shown as $85,000 so that there is no expectation to make or lose money on the annual conference. If the conference committee decides it is necessary to add specialty items for the 20th anniversary, such as shirts and coffee mugs, conference costs will be raised accordingly. Scholarships expenses are shown as $5,000, to include $2500 from CASFM and $2500 from UWRI, with revenue of $2500 from UWRI. ASFPM Foundation funding of $1000/year will be temporarily suspended and the Disaster relief budget reduced from $5000 to $1000 to help meet budget. The overall budget deficit proposed for 2009 is $16,375. CASFM currently has $31,474 in checking and $20,866 in savings.
4) Regional Representatives’ Reports
a) Denver Metro – Deb Ohlinger is planning a social in early December to look at porous pavement at the Auraria campus with a social afterward, likely at Brooklyn’s across the street.
b) Northeast – No report
c) Southeast – Danny Elsner would like to host a social in December. He is concerned that only 7 or 8 members appear interested in the SE socials. CASFM expressed support and recommended that the socials continue.
d) Northwest – John Kornfeld is planning a social December 5th to tour the Ranchmen’s Ditch Flood Control Project in Grand Junction.
e) Southwest – No activities have been held. The region is very spread out.
5) Committee Reports
a) Floodplain/CFM – 46 people took the CFM exam. With Colorado having over 300 CFMs, it was discussed that Colorado could be a state sponsored CFM program rather than going through ASFPM. This suggestion would require a lot of effort from someone. It was decided not to pursue a state chapter CFM program at this time.
b) Stormwater Quality – No report.
c) Outreach – There are currently 4 members: Brandon Luster, Ken Cecil, Ken MacKenzie and Marcia Sorensen. They are looking for additional members. The committee met October 2 and discussed the CASFM marketing brochure, recordings of technical presentations, a CFM certification drive, the CML conference and a membership drive.
d) Scholarship – No report. They are still looking for a 2008/2009 scholarship recipient.
e) Membership – CASFM has 770 active 2008 members. Membership rates have not been raised for many years. Individual membership will remain at $30. The corporate rate for membership will be raised from $150 to $200 annually. This is not retro-active for those that already paid for 2009. There is no penalty for firms of less than 7 members to register individually rather than as a corporation. The corporate membership fees were raised by a motion and vote. Checks will be received for 2009 dues. In 2010, Cvent may be used if it is successful for the annual conference.
f) Training – Suggest having training around the conference. Kevin Doyle suggested DFIRM training in a ½ day course from 2-6pm for CFM credit. There could also be a training course for the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
g) Website – Stuart Gardner discussed the difficulty of the current website conference registration. He discussed the possibility to using Cvent to manage the registration. The cost would vary depending upon the number of years CASFM would sign a contract with Cvent. The cost would be about $3000 - $3500 for a 2 year commitment. Stuart indicated CASFM could to go back to a paper mail-in system or go to the higher technology system of Cvent. If Cvent is used, it would be shown as a conference cost.
h) Community Rating System – A workshop was held November 12 in Longmont with 63 attendees. French Wetmore and Kerry Redente were the main presenters. Seven CFM credits were obtained for this workshop. The next committee meeting will be January 22 10am – noon at SEMSWA. A letter prepared by Kevin Houck and Marsha Hilmes-Robinson of comments was sent to Mr. Tom Powell, Chair for the CRS Task Force outlining comments from CASFM. A formal response is expected.
i) Conference – Dave Bennetts presented the results of the Conference Evaluations. Overall, the conference was well attended and highly rated.
6) Newsletter Update
David Mallory is looking for articles hoping for an early 2009 publication. As with last time, it will be electronically distributed and prepared by the same outside vendor as last time.
7) National Flood Programs and Policies in Review
CASFM will write a letter to ASFPM asking to work together and what assistance is requested from CASFM. CASFM can then have a continued discussion and develop an action plan.
8) Other Business – next meetings
a) January 8, 2009 at UDFCD starting at 9:00am
b) March 12, 2009 at CH2M Hill starting at 9:00am
c) May 8, 2009 at Glenwood Springs starting at noon
d) July 9, 2008 at the Sandstone Ranch in Longmont starting at 9:00am
e) September 17, 2009 in Crested Butte conference breakfast meeting
f) November 12, 2009 at Applegate starting at 9:00am