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Nebraska Section AWWA Board Minutes
March 15, 2004

Meeting was held on March 15, 2004 at Columbus Council Chambers. Meeting began at 9:30 a.m. Present were: Kevin Tobin, Chuck Thomerson, Kristine Ranslem, Rob Pierce, John Miriovsky, Lash Chaffin, Dave Jundt, Rich Koenig, Bruce Dvorak and Dennis Watts. Motion made by John Miriovsky to approve the January 15, 2004 minutes; seconded by Bruce Dvorak. Motion approved by all to accept the January minutes.

Treasurer's Report

Kevin Tobin gave the treasurer's report. Motion to approve treasurer's report was made by Dennis Watts; seconded by Bruce Dvorak. Motion approved by all.

Director's Report ­ no report.

Committee Reports

• Audit ­ no report.
• Awards ­ Rob Pierce reported that Steve Kelley is in the process of mailing awards applications to AWWA members.
• Budget ­ included in treasurer's report.
• Cross-Connections ­ Report given by Rich Koenig. Rich is looking to order new AWWA M14 manuals for upcoming cross connection seminars. Dates are set up for the program; topics are not set up. Rich will visit with Kevin Tobin about using SRF funds to buy M14 manuals.
• Education ­ Chuck Thomerson gave the report for Mike Wentink. Six seminars were held in January and February. These were joint seminars between AWWA and the League of Municipalities. The next video teleconference is scheduled for November 4, 2004; topic not known at this time. The teleconference is scheduled during the annual fall conference. It was brought to the board's attention that an ADHOC committee should be formed to check into how to best use SRF funds.
• Fall Conference ­ no report.
• Fuller Award ­ no report.
• MAC ­ no report
• Membership ­ no report.
• Nominations ­ no report.
• Public Information ­ no report.
• Publications ­ no report.
• Research ­ no report.
• Safety ­ no report.
• Scholarships ­ no report.
• Small Systems ­ National requested we send them the introductory video developed for small system board members. It was a joint project shared by the Village of McCool Junction, NE, League of Nebraska Municipalities, Nebraska Rural Water Association, Midwest Assistance Program, Nebraska Section AWWA and Nebraska Environmental Training Center. The Small Systems Committee submitted this project as an entry for a potential award, which we will receive at the National Annual Conference in Orlando, FL.
• Student Activities ­ Bruce Dvorak brought up that students meet twice a month. If systems have plants or projects you feel may be of interest to students, please contact Bruce as students would like to possibly tour these.
• Water for People ­ no report.
• Water Utility Council ­ no report.
• Young Professionals ­ The first meeting is set for late March. He would like to see a social event at the fall conference geared towards Young Professionals. Bruce also is looking for more operators to become more involved with Young Professionals.

Old Business

1. Board briefly discussed the strategic plan. Larry Andreasen was unable to attend this meeting. This will be addressed at future meeting.
2. The 2004 budget was approved with one amendment to the budget. That amendment was to change the public information budget from $1,000 to $1,500. John Miriovsky made the motion to approve the amendment, seconded by Dennis Watts. Approved by all.
3. Discussed proposed registration fees for annual conference. The current $65 fee has been in place for as long as board members could recall. The board felt due to the increased expenses incurred in the fall conference, we should raise the conference fees to $75 or $80.

New Business

1. Water conservation commercial proposal on NTV ­ Lash Chaffin discussed the specifics of the TV commercial proposal. We looked at a 30-second promotional video by NTV. It was felt this would be good advertising for AWWA. The board voted to put a maximum of $1,500 towards commercials.
2. Next item was the Regional Meeting of Section Officers, April 30 through May 1, 2004. This meeting will be held in Rapid City SD. It was mentioned this is very good training for new officers and we would like to see as many people attend as possible.
3. Paid Staff Memorandum of Understanding ­ Kris Ranslem brought up that Carolyn contacted her about possibly having a set annual fee instead of an hourly rate. Kris felt we should have a committee review this. The overall consensus was that the $10,000 budget is about all that can be afforded at this time, so will not go over this amount.
4. Discussion was held on the change in the bylaws regarding whether an audit or review needs done every three years. John Miriovsky clarified the wording in the bylaws. The sections that have changed are 6.4 and 8.5; these will be published in the Wise Water Words and voted on at the annual fall conference.

Dennis Watts made motion to adjourn the meeting. Kevin Tobin seconded, all approved.

Submitted for approval April 23, 2004 by Michael Wentink, NSAWWA secretary.

Next scheduled NSAWWA Board Meeting is May 20, 9:30 a.m., at the Fremont Municipal Building, 400 E. Military Ave.

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