Nebraska Association Of

NEBRASKA ASSOCIATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT NAEM GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING 2:00 P.M. Thursday, April 2nd 2014 Mid-Town Holiday Inn, Grand Island NE

CALL TO ORDER Pledge of Allegiance

Review & Approve the Business Meeting Agenda

Review & Approve the December 12, 2013 Annual Business Meeting Minutes

Treasurer’s Report

Committee Reports Audit – Leroy Janssen Bylaws—Jon Rosenlund Proposed By-laws changes Conference—Whitney Shipley Legislative—Pat Gerdes Membership—Darrin Lewis Nominations—Laura Hintz Peer—Lynn Marshall Poster Contest—Mark Meints Public Outreach—Vacant

OLD BUSINESS

Survey Update – Lynn Marshall

NEW BUSINESS

Announcements:

Elections – Vice President, Secretary, Directors – Northeast, Panhandle, (West Central Resignation/new appointment)

NAEM promotional add in Fire School Magazine

2015 Public Safety Summit

For the Good of the Association

Adjourn – next meeting December, 2014, NACO conference Century Link Center MINUTES OF THE April 2nd 2014 GENERAL MEETING

The April 2nd 2014 meeting of the Nebraska Association of Emergency Management was held at the Mid-Town Holiday Inn in Grand Island NE during the Annual NAEM conference.

CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 2:00 PM. by President Lynn Marshall with the Pledge of Allegiance.

MOTION TO APPROVE AGENDA: Review of the agenda. Motion made by BJ Fictum, seconded by Bill McPherson to approve the agenda as presented. No discussion. Motion carried via voice vote.

MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES: Review of the business meeting minutes as were presented from the December 12, 2013 meeting. A motion was made to approve the minutes as presented by Kirt Smith, seconded by Brian Woldt. With no discussion, motion carried via voice vote.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Was given by Doug Fox; as of April 1st 2014 there is a balance of $11,369.03. On the 2nd of April $4,100.00 was deposited in the account from the Pay Pal account giving a balance of $15,469.03. Doug reported that, CD # 6375 in the amount of 5,800.00 matured on the 15 th of March and will be rolled over into another CD. CD # 6370 balance is $5,939.46 maturity date December 20th 2014. Doug reminded the association members that the NAEM association is a nonprofit organization and the members should have a discussion on what the association should do with the funds we currently have in the bank. With no further discussion, a motion was made by BJ Fictum, seconded by LeRoy Janssen, to approve the Treasurer’s report. With no discussion, motion carried via voice vote, with Doug Fox abstaining.

COMMITTEE REPORTS: The Chair of each committee was asked to report at the general business meeting.

 AUDIT REPORT: by Leroy Jensen; Audit of the fiscal books was conducted from January 1 st of 2013 to January 1st 2014. Leroy reported that, with a few issues presented to the board that needed to be tracked down everything looked good and the financial books for the NAEM association are in order.

 BY-LAWS COMMITTEE: Lynn stated that the suggested changes were sent out before the required 30 days prior to the general meeting date. There had been no feedback by the association members to date. The vote on the proposed By-law changes will be an up or down vote. Jon reported on the proposed changes; By-law changes sent out to the association members are Section 3.1 and (E) Student Membership. Membership status is specific to the individual for whom dues are paid and is not transferable to new or replacement employees in an organization. And section 3.1 (E) Student membership is available to any student currently enrolled in an accredited higher education program (full or part time) in emergency management and/or homeland security. A Student Member shall have no voting privileges. With no further discussion, a motion was made by Pat Gerdes, seconded by Doug Fox, to approve the proposed By-Law Changes. With no further discussion, motion carried via voice vote.

 CONFERENCE COMMITTEE: Whitney welcomed everyone to the conference and reported the NAEM conference starts at 08:00 on the 3rd. the agenda is set, no changes were made to the conference agenda. Whitney ran through the agenda with all the activities and speakers that have been lined up for the conference. Whitney pointed out that this year’s conference has a social media under tone. Many of the speakers will be talking about social media and social media will play a part and run throughout the conference. NAEM conference outline as follows: Electronic Engineering to host Hospitality suite, Social Media presentation by Tom Erickson of Johnson County KS, Key note speakers for the Colorado flooding and the Wayne Tornado, Follow up to Social Media presentation by Amanda Bicknell of FEMA region VII, National Weather Service presentation, Red Cross presentation, and United Way 211 presentation. Thursday night vendor sharing hospitality event, the awards luncheon will be held on Friday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. with door prize drawings. Whitney talked about the possible need to raise the budget for the conference as it is becoming more and more difficult to put the conference together with the current budget. Costs for conference centers, hotels, speakers, foods etc. are all going up. If the board wants to get national speakers to the conference it takes more funding than what we have been spending. Whitney asked the association members to give some thought to how they would like the conference to go and the direction in which the conferences committee should proceed in the coming years. Lynn recognized and identified the conference committee members for their efforts.

 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: No Report.

 LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE: Pat reported on legislative bills from this session, Pat reported legislation and bills on the floor has been very active in the last week as this session comes to a close with only 9 days left as of this report. Pat provided a spreadsheet for and discussed the following bills (LB 390 allows citizens to maintain their guns during a civil emergency. Pat reported several amendments have been added to this bill, 399 is a carryover bill from last session that proposes some provisions for the use of an amber flashing light for volunteer members of a public safety or crime prevention organization after being approved by a law enforcement agency, 664 Provide immunity under the Engineers and Architects Regulations during an emergency, 666 was introduced to make some provisions in regard to Civil Air Patrol and providing funds to aid during emergencies, 741 introduced to require School Boards shall develop a policy relating to tornado drills within the school district that will require a minimum of 3 drills per year, how to respond when the threat is imminent, shelters, etc., 752 this bill was introduced to make changes in assault provisions for all public safety workers and not just law enforcement, 772 would allow the Adjutant General to expend up to $25,000 per event without an emergency proclamation by the Governor currently it is set at $10,000, 820 would allow for the Governor to execute a compact on behalf of the state with other states legislative bodies for wild land firefighting services, etc. It gives authority to the State Forester to act as the compact administrator. It also allows for volunteer firefighters to be covered under workmen's compensation. The Emergency Management Act already allows for this to occur, 889 would provide an additional $250,000 in FY 2014-15 General Fund to assist with the training of EMT's and EMR's and $ 110,000 for continuing education for EMT's and EMR's, 911 would adopt the Nebraska 911 Act and create the Next Generation 911 Advisory Council, 930 would require an operator's presence at an excavation under the One-Call Notification System, 931 would adopt the Nebraska Mental Health First Aid Training Act, 945 would provide procedures for aid to local jurisdictions from the Governors Emergency Fund, 954 revisions in the amber light usage law-Doesn't affect the Emergency Management Worker portion of the current statute, 981 would change Commercial motor vehicle provisions relating to falsified information, medical exams, texting and use of handheld mobile telephones, and 1082 would make a provision to utilize certain all-terrain vehicles as an acceptable emergency use vehicle).

 MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: Darrin discussed the membership; as of April 2nd 2014 NAEM has 100 members with expectations that this number will go up as additional people sign up for the conference. Darrin stated that if you used the web tool to sign up for the conference, and did not pay the membership dues at that time and wanted to continue to be a member, members can still pay dues for this year at the registration desk for the conference. Darrin reported that there has been discussion at the executive board meetings on adjusting membership dues, as well as changing the membership due date from April to April to January to January, this way by the time the conference comes around in April it is clear on who is or is not a voting member of NAEM. The Executive board will have further discussion on this topic in the future.

 NOMINATION COMMITTEE: Laura identified positions up for nominations and elections. Laura gave a brief outline of the criteria that members must meet to hold the positions up for election. The area directors for the Panhandle and Northeast are up for election as well as Vice President and Secretary of the association. Laura encouraged the members to step up and run for these positions as well as recommend or nominate individuals for the open positions this year. Laura discussed the Awards nominations and that the board takes a lot of time reviewing and considering each nomination. Nominations are based on the information provided on the nomination sheet so if someone is nominating an individual for an award they really need to paint the picture on the nomination form as well has have the information provided specific to the award criteria. Laura discussed the longevity awards and how individuals receive the 2, 5, 10 year pins ETC. a year after they have served that anniversary date.  PEER GROUP: Lynn discussed things the Peer group is working on, things like a recent e-mail sent out by an individual requesting specific information about the Emergency Management functions across the state. 18 to 20 Emergency Management offices across the state received this request via e-mail. The Peer group is working on an Emergency Management Program on how to manage intern requests with the University of Omaha and Belleview University. Hoping to develop a guide or a program that is structured so that when requests are made there is a structured reasonable request by the student from an Emergency Management educational program. They are also looking at putting together an intern program for Emergency Management and developing a guide/tool for Emergency Management and interns to follow. There are two representatives for the University Nebraska of Omaha and Belleview University that will be at the conference this year.

 POSTER CONTEST COMMITTEE: the Chair Mark Meints has resigned from the Gage County Emergency Management position and has taken a position with the State Dept. of Roads leaving the Poster contest chair position open. Lynn and Laura also sit on this committee. Lynn reported there were over 100 posters again this year at the state judging. Lynn stated that an e-mail went out to all the emergency managers and members of NAEM identifying the winners of the contest after the Governor’s Proclamation on March 13 th 2014. Howard County had a first and third place winner, Thayer County had a second place winner, and Sarpy County had a fourth place winner. The poster contest is one of the main public outreach programs. It allows NAEM to reach out to the schools and raise awareness for severe weather and to get the general public in the mind set to prepare for the severe weather season. Lynn requested that if anyone is interested in chairing the poster contest please step up. Lynn thanked the individuals and agencies that donated the prizes and pointed out that BJ Fictum also provided NOAA All Hazard Weather Radios for prizes as well.

 PUBLIC OUTREACH: Position is open at this time; Lynn reported that NAEM typically tries to attend 3 or 4 different venues each year, the NAEM conference, Fire School, NIPC, and the Hazmat Symposium. Michelle stated that whoever fills the Chair position the displays and outreach promotions are ready to go and are at the conference.

OLD BUSINESS:

Survey Tool: Lynn reported there were a couple surveys we worked on this year, Lynn stated only 14 Emergency Managers completed and sent in the NAEM survey tool. The survey did not come back in time to compile the information for anyone to gain value out of it during this fiscal budget year. The compilation of the information was never completed. Another survey that NAEM supported and sent out was the IEAM survey, which directly ties to the EMPG funds. The importance of completing this survey was to show the need of continuing the EPMG programs particularly at the local level. 19 Emergency Managers completed this survey in 2012, 17 in 2013 and 30 completed the survey in 2014.

NEW BUSINESS:

There was brief discussion on the First Net project; this is a public safety wireless project throughout the United States, intended for Public Safety. It is hoped that Nebraska will be able to piggy back on the NRIN project to help offset the cost of the project; there are federal grant funds to help support the project. However there are not nearly enough funds to get the project off the ground at this point without the state providing funds to move it forward. One of the issues is that to build out the network is that private wireless companies would have to be relied upon, and at this point the wireless companies are not willing to provide or guarantee public safety priority on the system without large amounts of money.

2014 Election of Officers: Officers and area directors up for election this year were, Vice President, Secretary Panhandle and the Northeast area directors. Vice President; Nomination prior to the meeting was Darin Lewis; there were no other nominations from the floor. Motion made by Doug Fox for nomination cease Seconded by Pat Gerdes. A unanimous ballot is cast; Darrin Lewis is elected as Vice President for 2014. Secretary; there were no prior nominations to the meeting Doug Fox nominated Bill McPherson, there were no other nominations from the floor. Motion made by Kirt Smith for nomination cease Seconded by Jon Rosenlund. A unanimous ballot is cast; Bill McPherson is elected as Secretary, this is a two year position. Northeast Area Director; Nomination prior to the meeting was Laura Hintz; there were no other nominations from the floor. Motion made by Leroy Janssen for nomination cease Seconded by Doug Fox. A unanimous ballot is cast; Laura Hintz is elected as the Northeast Area Director. Panhandle Area Director; Nomination prior to the meeting were Nan Gould and Ron Leal, there were no other nominations from the floor. Nan Gould succeeded to Ron Leal, Ron Leal was accepted as the Panhandle Area Director.

NAEM promotional Ad; there was discussion on placing an ad in the Fire School publication. There are three choices for sizes of the advertisement. (Quarter page, half page, or full page.) it was felt that this would be a great way for NAEM and Emergency Management to create more public outreach, and reach a larger groups of first responder agencies in Nebraska. A motion was made by Leroy Janssen to place an ad in the fire school publication not to exceed $250.00 Seconded by BJ Fictum. On a voice call vote, Motion carried with no opposition. Nan Gould and Doug Fox will work on the development of this ad.

2015/2016 Safety Summit; Lynn talked about the combining of several conferences and the progress to move to such an event. A meeting was held with chairs of the LEPC, NIPC conferences Tonya Ngotel and Lesley Scofield. Where discussion was held more about a Mega conference concept. Lynn will continue the conversation with the other conference chairs on combining the 3 conferences and come back to the executive board with additional information as information comes available. Some of the Pros and Cons were discussed by combining these conferences, such as offsetting the cost of the conference for the individual goer, cut down on the number of conferences we all have to go to each year, combining budgets from each organization, however in doing so one may miss several of the classes and trainings they would want to attend during a large multi conference, and some are worried about losing the individual organizations identity. The Target year would be for 2016.

IEAM membership; presented by Paul Johnson, Paul explained that the IAEM has started a program called “member get a member”. If you are currently a member of IEAM, you can sign up another member of NAEM to the IAEM association for free, this is a $185.00 value. Anyone at this time can sign up for a free membership for a year, Paul would be the sponsoring representative when individuals sign up. There was discussion on what IAEM can do for us at the local level, conferences were discussed, surveys completed on EMPG funding for continued support, etc. Lynn encouraged the incoming president to take advantage of the $1000.00 travel expense by the NAEM association to attend the next IAEM conference. The IAEM focus in the coming year is rural/local Emergency Management.

New NAEM Digital Camera request; Pat Gerdes made the request to purchase a new digital camera for the association, as the old camera is no longer taking good pictures. A motion was made by Jon Rosenlund to purchase a new digital camera not to exceed $800.00 seconded by Leroy Janssen. After additional discussion it was felt by several members of the association that $800.00 was not enough funds to purchase a good digital camera. The motion was amended by Jon to increase funding to purchase a digital camera not to exceed $1000.00 motion was seconded by Leroy Janssen. On a voice call vote, Motion carried with two votes in opposition. Jon will look into purchasing this camera for the association.

West Central Area Director resignation; the West Central Are Director position was left vacant after the resignation of Dan Guenthner from the position and as the Emergency Management for Lincoln County due to health reasons. Roger Powell the Emergency Management Director for Furnas County was appointed by the Executive Board to fulfill the duties of the West Central Area Director until the end of the term.

NEXT MEETING: The Business Meeting is scheduled for December 2014 at the NACO Convention. Dates, times and location are TBD. ADJOURNMENT: A motion made by Kirt Smith, seconded by Michelle Woitalewicz, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried via voice vote. Meeting adjourned at 15:49 April 2nd 2014.

Respectfully Submitted, ______Darrin Lewis NAEM Secretary