MAP Executive Board Meeting

01/14/05

 

Attending:

Ellsworth: Jim, Noel, Jean

Augusta: Maureen, Beth, Matt, Doug, Fred, Hughe

 

December Minutes: Accepted as revised earlier

 

Presidents report - to be integrated throughout the meeting.

 

Treasurer’s Report

Approximately $18,500 in balance

Spent   $100 sea dogs

$500 NNECAPA

$250 Newsletter

Report unanimously accepted.

 

Newsletter

·        Next deadline January 21, publication Feb 11

·        Spring deadline of April 8 will be close to the annual meeting and should not be late.

·        August Newsletter

Promoting the fall meeting/workshop - MMA or GrowSmart Maine October 19th 2005

 

January Newsletter

·        Awards - Noel will speak with David Galbraith about the awards process.  Need to have an announcement in the next newsletter.

·        Jim - CEDS article and Health Article (Growsmart ME and NNECAPA)

·        Doug - will write an article on insurance ratings.  Maine Building codes have been found weaker than other states and this increases insurance rates, regardless of claims history.

·        Matt/Maureen - Legislative issues

·        Tom Martin - Slovakia, Eric Galant - Denmark

 

NNECAPA Meeting Update

·                    Planning Committee meeting at Maureen’s home in December

·                    Came up with topics

·                    Follow up meeting late January

·                    Local Hose Committee meeting Jan 18 in Bar Harbor

·                    Fred sent in the deposit

Topics

·                    Legislative

·                    Performance Zoning

·                    Sprawl in Rural Areas

·                    Outdoor Lighting

·                    Comprehensive Planning

·                    Communicating smart growth

·                    Real Regional Planning

·                    MDI - Mobile workshops

 

Noel will email the full topic list to the executive board

 

Maureen - discussion of attracting headliner presentations

·                    Neil Rolde  - interrupted forest - history of Maine, environment

 

Fred – asked for a budget for NNECAPA 2005.  Noel and Maureen are working on the budget.

 

Jim - asked about MAP involvement in AICP exams.  Jim can link MAP website to the APA / AICP website.

NNECAPA has a professional development officer - we can refer people to him/her

 

Growsmart Maine Model Town Project - Beth DellaValle

·                    Growsmart Maine has written several foundation grant proposals to fund a study on Model Towns

·                    GSM will send out an RFP in the spring to towns - implementation of smart growth programs and policies - should be a mix of process and outcome.

·                    Examples - ordinances, fiscal policies,

·                    Committee has created some criteria for evaluating proposals

·                    Plan to hire someone to run this starting March 1

·                    Looking for additional partners - DEP, SPO, Conservation Law Foundation, MAP (Beth), Craig Freshly (Chair), Jack Kartez

Discussion of MAP involvement

·                    general support for involvement

·                    the representative shares information back and forth

·                    Move to have Beth represent MAP - passed

·                    Jim - suggest MAP help to  publicize the process

 

Trails for a Healthy Maine

·        Jim described the THM bond

·        Questions: How much money?

·        Competition with LMF

·        Maureen - moves that we endorse the Trails Bond, seconded

·        Jim will write a letter of endorsement and send it to executive board and THM

 

Membership - Matt Nazar

·                    have a number of new memberships - some may become next year memberships as they had already paid for the year.

·                    Rich Roedner has added planning board members

·                    Jim has updated the web site with the new membership list

·                    Matt will send updates to Jim (note that there is a new planner in Biddeford)

Web site - call for more RFPs to post to the web site.

Seadogs Annual Meeting – time to start promoting the event, planning awards and finding the next executive committee.

Other

 

Rich -concerned that a link on the Membership page was not working correctly, also need to remove reference to the calendar year.

Carl and others started a discussion of planning board training

·                    Beth - primary focus should be professional planners, but we might collaborate with others to offer planning board training

·                    Current Training opportunities

·                    MMA offers training.  MAP might be able to augment MMA Training, work with Regional Councils,

·                    Training is no longer available in Southern Maine.  MMA asks people to come to Augusta, which many resist. 

·                    Some law firms offer training to communities for whom they work.

·                    Maine Bar Association - also offers training

·                    Maureen - believes that towns that have planners should ask them to provide training for the planning boards.

·                    What MAP probably cannot do

·                    Maureen and Noel - MAP does not have adequate resources to lead on this. 

·                    What Map can offer

·                    Matt Nazar - we might go to the MAP List serve to see whether any planners would like to lead this effort.

·                    Beth - if we decide to do something, we should do some research to see whether there is interest and who is already offering training.  We can also look into what kinds of training the planning boards want.

·                    Hugh - is already doing some research on what training opportunities are available. He will inform the Executive Board about   Carl may also have some research.

·                    Matt will look into RPC training programs.

·                    Beth - asked Maureen to write a newsletter article about how she provides training.

·                    Jean - also interested in helping out.

 

Adjourned at 12:10 PM

 

Legislative Committee Meeting

MAP Legislation on Restore Municipal Authority ...

·                    dimensional standards

·                    Sen. Mills submitted legislation

·                    A lawyer is working on the language

·                    Matt will speak with Rep. Koffman

 

 

Respectfully submitted, Jim Fisher