GPA Board Meeting Minutes

Date: September 25, 2002

Location: Jekyll Island Hotel in Jekyll Island, GA

Members in Attendance
Gary Cornell
Alex Ikefuna
Pat Chapman
Brian Shuler
David Sutton
Larry Vandenbosch
Tom Sills
Paul Forgey
Bill Ross
York Phillips
Denise Abboud
Eric Linton
Frank Neal
Phil Clark
Dan Reuter
Jerry Weitz
Debbie Miness, ex officio

Others in Attendance
Paul Farmer, Executive Director of APA

Call to Order
President Gary Cornell called the meeting to order at 4:48 p.m. and a quorum was declared.

Approval of Minutes
Secretary David Sutton noted that the minutes of the June 28, 2002 board meeting in Macon had been electronically distributed, and passed out hard copy to those requesting. On motion of Alex Ikefuna and second of Bill Ross, the minutes were approved. Dan Reuter requested that future minutes reflect the correct spelling of his last name. Due to the large number of items on the Board agenda, President Cornell called for a report on Nominations and Elections and the appointment of Board vacancies to the handled as first and second tems.

Nominations and Elections
Bill Ross recognized the members of the nominations committee and thanked them for their work. Bill noted that three people had answered the committee’s call for interest in the first election for the position of President Elect. Jerry Weitz, Eric Linton and Frank Neal had submitted letters of interest and were all thanked for the strong interest. He noted that this made the nominations committee work quite easy, as all three statements of interest had been accepted and all names were placed on the ballot. It was noted that 261 valid ballots had been received, and that this was the largest number that had ever voted in a GPA election. Ray White was thanked for his work in tabulating the votes. Jerry Weitz was elected President Elect.

Board VacanciesPresident Cornell informed the Board that he had received a letter of resignation from Vice President for Programs Denise Abboud effective at 5:00 p.m.

Friday at the close of the GPA conference. He also noted that the District 4 position was open, and with the election of Jerry Weitz to President Elect, that the position of Vice President of Legislative Affairs was also open.

The floor was opened for the position of Vice President for Legislative Affairs. Dan Reuter expressed interest due to his function an ARC, and Jerry Weitz made a statement of support for Dan and a motion to elect him to the position. York Phillips suggested Alex Ikefuna, who respectfully declined.

It was noted that this was a one-year appointment and it was for the role as defined by the by-laws. This officer would work closely with a committee and is encouraged to develop a platform for legislative action. Upon call to question, Dan Reuter was appointed by acclamation.

It was noted that this action had created a Board vacancy in District 3. It was unanimously decided to defer action on a District 3 appointment until the next Board meeting.

President Cornell opened the floor for the position of Vice President for Programs, noting that he was aware of interest on the part of York Phillips, Eric Linton, and Sian Llewelyn. Denise spoke of York’s experience in Florida and expressed her support of York for this important position. Eric Linton withdrew his nomination. Gary distributed the resumes of Sian and York, and made a statement of confidence in Sian’s skills. Bill Ross made a statement of support for York, noting that with his experience that he knows what work effort this job will take. Upon call for question, York Phillips was elected by acclamation. It was noted that Sian might be considered for the unexpired term in District 3.

The floor was then opened for the position of District 4 Director. Tom Sills placed the name of Tracy Dunnivan into nomination, and noted that he had spoken with her and that she would accept the nomination. Denise Abboud seconded. Eric Linton then nominated Paul Soudi from Villa Ricca and made a statement of support. The nomination was seconded by Alex Ikefuna, and upon call for question, Paul Soudi was elected.

It was then noted that York Phillips election to Vice President for Programs had created a vacancy on the board in District 10. Action on this vacancy was deferred until the next board meeting.

A lengthy discussion ensued on whether the by-laws called for a Board member to actually reside in the District that they represent, or whether someone working in the district could also be considered. Jerry Weitz stated that the bylaws did not state that someone must reside in a district in order to represent it, and Denise stated that she felt this should be a requirement and that the bylaws should be changed. Phil Clark made a motion that the bylaws amendment pending a vote of the membership the next day be revised to include a requirement that the address of record of the individual must be within the district that such district director represents. The motion was seconded and approved.

Program Committee
The floor was deferred to Denise Abboud and new V.P. for Programs York Phillips.

The October 2003 GPA Conference has been scheduled for the Marriott in Savannah for 23-25th. Hotel rates had been negotiated to start at $149. It was noted that for future conferences that the program committee would seek to solicit proposals two years in advance. Denise commented that these ideas were good, but that conference site selection by the general membership was simply not practical due to cost constraints and many other issues affecting conferences not understood by the general membership. York was encouraged to form a new programs committee, with suggested guidelines being developed for future conferences.

Denise noted that 2002 conference attendance had greater registration than any previous GPA Conference. First Fridays were alive and well due to Georgia Tech. Michelle Wright was coordinating the Planners Luncheon series. It had gotten off to a slow start this year, but recent participation had greatly increased.

The 2003 Spring Conference has been scheduled for one and one-half days at the Foundry Inn in Athens on March13 and 14. Initial booking arrangements have been made but no contract signed. It was suggested that this time might conflict with APA national (APA National is March 29 to April 2nd in Denver, Colorado).

The programs committee report closed with a discussion on conference speakers compensation. This had been reported as an issue for this conference due to the large number of non APA/GPA members attending and asked to present. The Programs Committee was asked to look at this area for some type of future policy. GPA’s use of APA National and APA Division speakers had held speakers compensation down on many earlier occasions. Paul Farmer clarified APA policy on this matter.

President’s Report
Gary welcomed Debbie Miness as a liaison to the Board of Directors from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

President Cornell reported on his recent attendance at the Chapter Presidents Council. Gary had a number of important issues to report to the Board, but due to the hour, briefly covered a few: 1) the GPA Board needs to undergo a strategic review based on the APA national model; 2) APA policy drafts were now out and available for review; 3) Chapter Services need to be assessed; 4) Georgia’s potential for Basin Advisory Board Councils; 5) need for GPA membership recruitment effort; and 6) briefing on annual schedule of Board and Executive Committee Meetings. Gary promised more details on many of these issues at the next Board meeting.

Noting the time of 6:25 p.m. and pending scheduled events, President Cornell declared that unaddressed issues would be carried forward to the next Board meeting, and he declared the meeting adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted,

David J. Sutton, AICP
Secretary