December 2004 Board Briefs

AMSA Board Briefs - December 2, 2004

December 2, 2004

Board Asked to Endorse NACWA for Member Outreach
[Board Ballot Is Available by Clicking on This Link (http://www.amsa-cleanwater.org/private/leadinfo/briefs/NACWABallot.doc) (DOC) – Action Please by December 8]
AMSA’s Board of Directors is asked to endorse the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) as the potential new name for the Association. This action would redirect the Board’s September 2004 endorsement of the American Clean Water Council to NACWA – and allow the National Office to proceed with outreach to Association members in advance of a February 2005 membership vote.

A November 12, 2004 memorandum to the Board made the case for this action, citing the following compelling reasons for proceeding as recommended:

National Association of Clean Water Agencies contains the terms identified as desirable by the membership (i.e. “clean water” and “agencies”) and replaces the word “council” with “association”.

The resulting acronym (NACWA) can be pronounced, but is not identical to that of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) in acronym or pronunciation.

Internet searches have confirmed that there is no similarly named group, business or organization (within or outside of the water sector).

Interested and available members of the Board of Directors convened by conference call on November 23, 2004 to discuss this proposal in greater depth – and concluded the call in agreement that NACWA warranted serious consideration by the Association’s membership. Subsequent outreach to committee leadership and member agencies has also indicated strong support for NACWA.

All members of AMSA’s Board of Directors are asked to complete the ballot which follows these Board Briefs and forward it to the National Office no later than Wednesday, December 8, 2004. Should you have any questions, or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Ken Kirk (202/833-4653 or kkirk@amsa-cleanwater.org or Paula Dannenfeldt (202/833-4654 or pdannenfeldt@amsa-cleanwater.org). Many thanks for your prompt and thoughtful attention to this matter.

Strategic Planning Committee to Meet via Conference Call
AMSA’s Strategic Planning Committee will meet via conference call on December 15, 2004 from 1:30 – 3:30 pm Eastern Standard Time, to review and discuss potential changes to AMSA’s governance documents identified by a Working Group of the Committee. The Working Group, which met in Denver in early November, reviewed both the organization’s Bylaws and the Policies & Procedures of the Board of Directors. All issues identified and revisions recommended will be forwarded to the members of the Strategic Planning Committee in the near future for their review prior to the December 15 conference call. At the conclusion of the Strategic Planning Committee’s deliberation, proposed revisions will be brought before the Board of Directors for review and consideration.

Reminder: Nominating (Officers) Committee Seeks Interested Candidates
AMSA’s Nominating Committee (Officers) is currently seeking expressions of interest and/or nominations for AMSA Officers for the 2005-2006 term beginning in May (see 11/24/04 e-mail from Shalina Baker-Parker). Because AMSA policy provides for the succession of officers, the role of the Nominating Committee is limited to the selection of a nominee for the office of Secretary. Because no two officers may serve from the same federal region – and the new officer nominee’s term of Board eligibility has to continue through 2009 in order to ascend to the presidency – Board members from Regions I, II, IV, V, VI, VIII, and X are eligible for consideration. The Nominating Committee (Officers), chaired by Thomas “Buddy” Morgan (332/206-1607 or tmorgan@mwwssb.com) is requesting that nominations be made prior to January 21, 2005.

Leadership Center 2005 Class Filled to Capacity
The February 13-25, 2005 residential session of the Water and Wastewater Leadership Center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill has reached its full capacity of 30. Application packages for the 2005 session of were distributed in July by AMSA, and other joint venture organizations, with a December 3, 2004 application deadline. If you, or a staff member, have an interest in securing a spot at the Leadership Center, please contact Lisa Headley at the National Office (202/833-3692 or lheadley@amsa-cleanwater.org) to be added to the wait list and/or reserve space for a future session.

Winter Conference Registration Underway
AMSA’s 2005 Winter Conference, Sustainable Systems, will be held February 1-4, 2005, at the Westin La Cantera in San Antonio, Texas. The conference agenda will explore ongoing and emerging management issues affecting public utilities across the nation. With Sustainable Systems as the conference theme, the sustainability concept will be applied to a variety of management challenges, such as the public utility workforce, security, infrastructure and the environment. A detailed agenda for the conference will be posted on AMSA’s web site this week, and registrations are already coming in. Board members are encouraged to reserve hotel accommodations now by calling the Westin La Cantera, 210/558-6500 to ensure the special room rate of $175 single/double. The special conference rate will be available until January 7, 2005.

Joint AMSA/WERF Session Planned to Examine Research Needs
The National Office staff continues to coordinate with WERF to prepare for the upcoming AMSA/WERF joint meeting on research needs on January 31, 2005, just prior to AMSA's 2005 Winter Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Building on a successful March 2004 WERF workshop – which included participation by many AMSA members – the session will be designed to prioritize the WERF research agenda for the coming year and discuss the research needs of AMSA's members. WERF is in the process of selecting an independent facilitator to lead the meeting. In the next few weeks we expect WERF to finalize an agenda for the meeting. The meeting will likely consist of a plenary session and several topical breakout sessions that generally parallel AMSA's technical committees. The meeting is open to all AMSA members and the National Office is planning several outreach efforts to the membership over the coming weeks to encourage their participation.