Chapter News Updated: August 01, 2008

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DID YOU KNOW....
Your planning commission, city council, board of zoning appeals, or other citizen planner group can become members of the Minnesota only chapter of APA? For a group fee of $150.00, these members will receive the chapter newsletter and will be able to attend Conference at the member fee. They will also receive any of our emailings having to do with such events as the Brown Bag Lunches. If you are interested in signing up your group, please contact Peggy Schmid at mnapa_admin@tds.net.

BOARD MINUTES

BOARD MINUTES

JULY 11, 2008 12:00 PM

MINNESOTA CHAPTER—AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION

Golden Valley City Hall

Board attendance at the meeting included Carolyn Braun, Lance Bernard, Gordon Hydukovich, Dan Meyers, Jen Zierke, Kate Garwood, Sam Woods, and Peg Schmid.

Call to Order

As we did not have a quorum, Carolyn noted she was calling the meeting as a Committee of the Whole. 

1.  Minutes from June Meeting 

Sam moved to approve, Lance seconded.  Minutes approved.

II.  Treasurer’s Report

It was noted that finances must be adjusted to accommodate the increased need for more money in the PDO budget, to cover the CM costs for conference. Lance said that he would do some adjusting of figures to cover the CM costs.   Dan so moved, and Jen seconded.  Financial report accepted.

III.  Old Business

A.  2009 National Conference.  Carolyn and Dan reported that all was going ahead on schedule.  They were to have a conference call on July 17 with National.  Suggestions were given to Dan concerning businesses from Minnesota which might wish to sponsor the conference.

B.  2008 Duluth Conference.  Peg gave a short report on the progress on the 2008 conference.  The fee reduction given to presenters was discussed.  That has been settled for this conference, but it was suggested that we approach that subject again at the November meeting.  Kate reported that all session proposals had been approved by National for CM credit, so we will be having 60 sessions with CM credit.  Kate also discussed how to make it easier to submit the proposals next year, to avoid all of the issues she had with the online submittals.  She also suggested in the future for the state conference, the committee start work even earlier than they did this year, and that perhaps we should also have some sessions that are not CM approved.  National will be monitoring, so we must make sure the sessions are in the program and are presented as Kate submitted them.

C.  Mini conference 2009.  Peg gave a report on the two sites that were still being pursued.  The consensus was that between the Arboretum and the Northland Inn, perhaps the best choice was the Northland Inn, for convenience of location, and convenience of the package they provide.  Lance moved and Jen seconded to contract with the Northland Inn for the conference on Sept. 17, 2009.  Motion carried.

D.  Website.  Lance reported that he met with Eric Schmid, and they worked up a list if items that need to be addressed, including a less cluttered Home Page, more links, a better events calendar.  The possibility of having each member maintain his own info in the directory was discussed.  Also, a blog type page, to allow members to post questions was also discussed.  New software will need to be purchased, and a webmaster still needs to be found to handle the daily maintenance tasks.  Kate moved and Jen seconded to go ahead with the updates and improvements to the website.  Motion carried.

IV.  New Business

A.  and B.  Kate asked for approval to move ahead with purchasing DVD’s to be rotated among the districts and to be used at conference.  It was agreed that 4 DVD’s will be purchased, for 400 dollars, at this time.  Kate will adjust a rotation calendar, to begin after conference, and it will be up to the district directors to set up times to hold a viewing session in their districts.  Something will need to be worked up to have all attendees submit an evaluation, to prove their attendance at the sessions.  Jen moved and Gordon seconded the purchase and use of the DVD’s.  Motion carried.

C.  Consideration of Partnership.  Kate reported that Lorman (an education provider approved by national for CM credits)  would like to form a partnership with our chapter to provide workshops periodically for CM credit.  It was suggested that she pursue more information concerning what they would offer, but the consensus was that this would likely be a good partnership. 

V.  Reports

A.  Jen and Kate, as district directors for Metro, have already initiated some sessions and ideas for AICP members in the Metro district.  No other directors had reports.

B.  Faculty Liaison – No report.

C.  Student Director.  Sam has sent out his survey and is pleased with the responses he is getting.

D.  Citizen Planner Director.  Gordon Hydukovich has been appointed to this position and will work with Steve Reckers to continue the work that Steve has begun.  Steve will continue working on the conference in Duluth to carry out the plans he and GTS have formed for the potential attendees at conference. 

E.  Committee Chairs – No reports.

Meeting was adjourned at 2 PM.

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BY MARK GRIMES, AICP

The brown bag lunches have been a successful way to get a group of planners together to discuss or learn about a specific topic. Do you have an idea of a topic that could be covered in about an hour? If you do, consider holding a brown bag lunch. It is easy and fun and any member of MnAPA can do it! I have put on numerous brown bag lunches and it is quite simple. The following are my suggestions:

1. Select a planning-related topic that can be presented in about an hour. You can be the presenter yourself, or line up someone else to present a subject. In fair weather months, it could be a picnic with a short tour. (As chair of the program committee of MnAPA, I would like to know in advance of the proposed brown bag so call me at 763-593-8095 or e-mail at mgrimes@ci.golden-valley.mn.us.)
2. Choose a date. Find a date that does not conflict with other events frequented by planners, such as the Sensible Land Use Coalition lunches. No one day of the week is better than any other.
3. Find a location. Usually about 15-25 people will show up at a brown bag lunch. They can easily be accommodated in a City Hall conference room. It is important to get the room for free. MnAPA will not subsidize the lunches. Free parking is a plus but not required.
4. Advertise. This is done through this newsletter, the MnAPA website, and the MnAPA membership e-mail list—all free methods of advertising. Write up a short announcement of the brown bag lunch (topic, location, and details). Send it to the "Planning Minnesota" newsletter editor, Jill Mazullo (newsletter@mnapa.com), about 6 weeks prior to the event to be sure it gets in the newsletter. Also, e-mail the announcement to the MnAPA webmaster, Megan Sauer at webmaven@mnapa.com. Ask her to put the announcement on the web site and send out an e-mail notice to the membership 3-4 weeks prior to the event, and again about 7-10 days prior to the event. Encourage visitors—they may decide to become MnAPA members because of the brown bag lunch!
5. Lunch. There are several options here. First, tell people to bring their own lunch (a true brown bag). Fewer may attend because not everyone wants the hassle of fixing lunch or buying their own. Second, select a site that serves lunch. For example, a brown bag was held next to the cafeteria at the Minnesota Capitol. In that case, people paid to go through the cafeteria line or brought their own lunch. Third, provide a box lunch for those who call in advance. This is the most work because it involves taking orders and paying out for the lunches. Require that people call in advance (2-3 days) to order the lunch. Those who order a lunch must know they will have to pay you for the lunch at the brown bag session. If you order lunches, keep it simple and don't get too specific about choice, but you may want to offer a vegetarian option.
6. Ask people to RSVP. This gives you an idea of the attendance. Presenters need to know how many handouts to make. If you only had a few people signed up, you could cancel the event if necessary. When people call, you can get their lunch choice if need be.
7. Keep to the schedule. The brown bag lunch should start at noon and end no later than 1:30 p.m. People appreciate knowing the time commitment.
8. Host it outside the metro area. Even if only a handful of planners show up, it is worth the effort to meet and share lunch and a good topic. Call your District Director (listed on page 8) and get his or her support for the event.
9. Be creative. A brown bag breakfast is also possible. It could start at 7 or 7:30 a.m. and end by 9:00 a.m. You could charge a few dollars for donut, bagels, juice and coffee.
   
    

Send your news to Jill Mazullo for inclusion in the next issue of Planning Minnesota.

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