Meeting Minutes 2015
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HWEA will be the organization of dedicated and knowledgeable professionals
recognized for preserving and enhancing the water environment in the Pacific Island Region.

HWEA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

Thursday, October 22, 2015, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Sand Island Treatment Center – Conference Room

ATTENDANCE:  
Board of Directors  
Emily Dong President
Staci Taniguchi Vice-President
Audrey Haerle Secretary-Treasurer
Lance Manabe (on phone) Delegate
Wayne Salas PWO Representative
Jon Baker PWO Vice Representative
   
Committee – Representatives  
Audrey Haerle Public Education Co-Chairperson, Rebrand Co-Chairperson
Lori Morikami Public Education Co-Chairperson
Greg Arakaki Biosolids/Co-Generation Committee Co-Chairperson
Jessica Agsalda Young Professionals Co-Chair
   
   
NOT ABLE TO ATTEND:  
Pat Markham PWO Committee
Shannon Holman Past President
John Katahira Ad-Hoc Committee
Roy Abe Ad-Hoc Committee
Wayne White Biosolids/Co-Generation Committee Co-Chairperson 
June Nakamura Board Advisory/Constitution & Bylaws Co-Chairperson 
  Board Advisory/Constitution & Bylaws Co-Chairperson
Kristie Ching Board Advisory/Constitution & Bylaws Co-Chairperson
Jon Nishimura Collection Committee Chairperson
Tina Ono Collection Committee Chairperson
Leland Lee Communications Vice-Chairperson
Mark Goodrowe Communications Chairperson
Scott McAdam Conference Committee Co-Chairperson 2015/16 Safety Co-Chairperson
Lori Kahikina Conference Committee Co-Chairperson 2015
Puna Kaneakua Conference Committee Co-Chairperson 2016
Tim Steinberger Government Affairs Chairperson
Walter Billingsley Government Affairs Vice-Chairperson
Merlita Alimagno Laboratory Co-Chairperson
Layne Otomo Laboratory Co-Chairperson
Joni Tanimoto Membership Chairperson
Edie Alipio Pretreatment/On-Site Treatment Chairperson
Quintin Beltran Pretreatment/On-Site Treatment Co-Chairperson
Dorreann Kaehuaea Pretreatment/On-Site Treatment Committee
Lori Morikami Public Education Co-Chairperson
Jason Nakata Rebrand Co-Chairperson
Jack Tano Registration Committee
Rebrand Co-Chairperson
Carol Zuerndorfer Registration Committee
Trudy Hamic Registration Committee
Roger Babcock, Jr. Research Chairperson
Carly Kaneko Safety Co-Chairperson
Mindy Yoneshige Student Affairs Co-Chairperson
Keith Miyashiro Student Affairs Co-Chairperson
Brad Takenaka Water Quality Co-Chairperson
Jay Stone Water Quality Co-Chairperson
Eassie Miller Water Reuse Co-Chairperson
Elson Gushiken Water Reuse Co-Chairperson
Susan Mukai Young Professional Co-Chairperson
Alyssa Smith Young Professional Co-Chairperson

 

 

PRESIDING: Emily Dong
RECORDER: Audrey Haerle

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Call to Order
  • The meeting was called to order at 11:47 am.
Approval of August Meeting Minutes
  • Greg motioned for approval, Staci seconded the motion, and the motion was passed.
Approval of September Meeting Minutes
  • No comments on September meeting minutes. Greg motion for approval, Kaj seconded the motion and the motion was passed.
Committee Reports

 

A.Board Advisory/Constitution & Bylaws Committee – Lee Mansfield, Kristie Ching & June Nakamura

  • Unable to attend. No report.
  • Emily: Plastic bag ban. Should we address it? Lance said WEF suggested that it is more of a solid waste issue and they do not have an official position, as we are not experts. Audrey: Can we forward it to Sustainable Coastlines? Yes, Audrey will draft a response and review with Lance.

B.    Board of Certification of Operating Personnel in Wastewater Treatment Facilities – Kevin Nakamura

  • Unable to attend. Emily emailed Eassie and has not heard back from him.
C.    Biosolids/Co-Generation Committee – Greg Arakaki & Wayne White
  • Greg will send in CEUs the board for approval.
  • Wayne said that CEU approval process has changed, the BOC wants to itemize certain classes to avoid repetition. This may not be feasible. It is critical that we have someone on the BOC to help explain the logistics.
D.    Collection Systems Committee – Jon Nishimura/Tina Ono
  • Unable to attend.
  • Emily: Collection System Conference announcements posted online
  • Lance: Waiting on response from keynote speaker from EPA, may find a new speaker before they send out the final program.
  • Exhibitors have registered, they are mostly ready.
E.    Communications committee – Mark Goodrowe & Leland Lee
  • Unable to attend. No report.
  • Received lots of emails regarding PWC.
F.    Conference Committee 2016 – Scott McAdam & Puna Kaneakua
  • Unable to attend.
  • Meeting next Thursday.
  • Taryn requested a contact because she has not received financial statements lately.
G.    Government Affairs Committee – Tim Steinberger & Walter Billingsley
  • Unable to attend. No report.
H.    Laboratory Committee – Merlita Alimagno & Layne Otomo
  • Unable to attend. No report.
  • A replacement has not been found, Greg recommended Barney from CCH.
  • Jon to follow up.
I.    Membership Committee – Joni Tanimoto
  • Unable to attend. No report.
J.    Pretreatment Committee – Quintin Beltran & Edie Alipio, Dorean
  • Unable to attend. No report.
K.   Public Education Committee – Lori Morikami & Audrey Haerle
  • Beach clean-up set for Nov 22nd at Sand Island State Recreation Area.
  • SI PWO committed to dispose of trash either in dumpsters or will bring a truck.
L.    Research Committee - Roger Babcock, Jr.
  • Unable to attend. No Report.
M.      Safety Committee – Scott McAdam &Carly Kaneko
  • No report.
N.     Student Affairs Committee – Mindy Yoneshige/Keith Miyashiro
  • Unable to attend. No Report.
  • Preparing for scholarship announcement, will be posted soon.
O.    Water Reuse Committee – Eassie Miller & Elson Gushiken
  • Unable to attend. No report.
  • Emily: Eassie is looking for a replacement.
P.    Water Quality Committee – Jay Stone & Brad Takenaka
  • Unable to attend.
  • CEUs to be addressed by PWO.
Q.    Young Professionals Committee – Susan Mukai & Jessica Agsalda
  • Alyssa moved to Sacramento so Jessica is taking over for her. Puna is the Secretary and, Mark will be the Co-Chair.
Board of Directors Items  
   
·Secretary/Treasurer's Report: Audrey Haerle  
o   Account Balances as of 10/22/2015  
ML Conference Checking $288,230.52
Bank of Hawaii $2,688.69
Petty Cash $50.00
CD Investments $100,000.00
TOTAL: 390,969.21
   
   
   
Total Income $78,520.32
Total Expenses $90,868.43
Rolling Balance ($12,348.11)
  • The rolling balance was so low last month due to paying out AWWA, we paid them late so the payment for FY 2014-2015 ended up in FY 2015-16. However we normally we run negative at the start of the year.
  • Found some small errors in budget categorization and requested that they are fixed.
  • Taryn is doing bookkeeping for us but has potentially found a replacement. The candidate must get approval from corporate first. They are familiar with Quicken.
  • 1 year CD investment has matured, Stefan of Merrill Lynch recommends renewing it another year. The rate is 0.65%.
  • Will transfer more money from the ML account to the Bank of Hawaii account to accommodate for WEFTEC expenses. $10,000 was transferred last time but

$15,000 might be better now especially if Taryn is transitioning out and PWO reimbursement is another $8,000.

  • Some people had questions regarding the reimbursement form and process so it will be reviewed.
·President Report: Emily Dong
  • The new website email system was not reaching everyone so we have had to work out some kinks. We have to send 100 emails at a time, it cannot send all 500 at once
  • Operators Study Session Program will be restarted in January.
    • Results for the paper exams have not been released yet but the

electronic exams were passed.

·Vice-President Report: Staci Taniguchi
  • Reached out to AWWA and ASCE dinner regarding joint luncheon. They will respond with their preferred dates. We are considering early Dec.
  • Lori Morikami recommended a speaker from DOH.
  • WEFTEC report highlights:
  • Aerobic granular sludge is a hot topic. New in US but Europe (Netherlands) has been using it. It saves space. Potential speaker for future conference.
  • Attended leadership day. NYWEA presented. Staci will follow up to get their financial policy.
  • Attended Women in Water Networking Breakfast
  • Students YP meeting – Paul is very supportive, he has an article in newsletter coming out. Awards taskforce.
  • Water Leadership Institute, accepting applications for 2016.
  • YP Summit coming up in February San Diego
  • AWWA can pay for the second attendee
  • Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT)
  • VOW – Unified message to public about water and infrastructure issues.
  • WEF awards taskforce.
  • See attached report for more info.
  • Staci is interested in improving our media via educational videos for public outreach.
  • YP meeting: We should try to get a member on the national committees because they often pull YPs for other committees. However, this may require travel.
  • We should refocus on awards and possibly add a committee to reignite recognition for members.
· Federation Matters: Delegate, Lance Manabe
  • Membership dues increasing. Investment in MAs is improving so we should take advantage of it.
  • New committees, Lance nominated for WEFMAX committee.
  • Lance will be on the stormwater committee/working group to improve participation from that industry.
  • Will look into awards and will create small committee to handle WEF awards since we may not be utilizing them
  • Board of Trustees – experienced members that help keep continuity and guide new members. Will look into creating on for HWEA and how it is written into the Manual.
  • See attached WEFTEC report for more details.
· PWO Matters: Jon Baker and Wayne Salas
  • Punahou tour:
  • Math class 5-7 twice a week. Not eligible for CEUs because it is grant money.
  • 100 people (1st graders plus one parent). Children were really impacted by seeing the “disposable” wipes in the screens.
  • WEFTEC bumped into Rep Ty Collins, Honouliuili district. He is interested in wastewater issues and considering speaking at a future event.
  • Considering doing another shorter video geared towards the public. SI has recently received new audio-video equipment so it is possible to do a PSA.
    • One operator dropped out of WEFTEC within hours of leaving so a replacement was found (Gary). Might be good to have a fifth alternate next time, they can share hotel room and fundraise more.
    • Should change policy for attendance (payment, barred from competing next year, etc.) but plan for last minute changes like sickness.
    • Scaffolding will remain at SI for practice, labs set up, pump will be available Nov-Jan for practice (rental pricing and logistics need to be approved).
    • Packets ready to go out, people will have to sign up to practice and sign waivers
  • $100 per event.
  • Fundraising will continue.
  • Did a walk-through of lab event since we did not have as much experience.
·Past President: Shannon Holman

o Unable to  attend.

Old Business
  • None.
New/Miscellaneous Business
  • None.
Internet Inquiries
  • None.
Next Meeting:
  • Thursday, Nov 19 at 11:30 am
Up-Coming Events:
  • Beach Clean Up – Nov 22, 2015 (tentative date)
  • Collection Systems Conference – December 4, 2015 (Call for Papers)
  • Pacific Water Conference – Feb 2 - 4, 2015
  • Annual Golf Tournament – Feb 5, 2015
  • PWC Community Service event – Feb 6, 2015
Up-Coming Webcasts

Interactive Knowledge Exchange (IKE)
2015-10-28

Evolving Perspective of Nutrients – Pollutant to Resource
2015-11-05

Meeting adjourned at 1:07 PM.

 

Audrey

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Contact Info

Hawai‘i Water Environment Association
PO Box 2422
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96804
General Inquiries: info@hwea.org