Meeting was called to order at 11:15a.m. by President Steve Martinelli, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and introductions.

Minutes - A motion was m/s/p approving the June 2004 quarterly minutes

Treasures Report – Scott Noffke

The checking account balance is $19,626.61 after receipts and expenses, the CD balance is $6,253.31 for a total of $25,879.92.

Old Business

Steve Martinelli indicated that a good number of WAPP members attended the NIGP forum in Biloxi, Mississippi. He said the networking and educational sessions are very worthwhile and discussed a new feature, the chapter showcase. The 2005 meeting will be in Anaheim, CA and in Tampa, FL for 2006. Steve spoke with the Minnesota chapter president to pursue a formal, reciprocal agreement to allow members of either chapter to attend meetings at member rate, although this may have been done informally in past.

Steve Martinelli said that he was approached by the Greater Milwaukee Convention & Visitors Bureau to consider hosting the NIGP national forum in Milwaukee. The NIGP apparently recognizes the huge burden hosting meetings is for local groups and has updated their format so that most of the work is done by NIGP staff. Steve will discuss this further at the December meeting.

Cynda Solberg indicated that due to budget cutbacks, many agencies will not pay for recertification. Discussion of WAPP paying for member recertification. The idea was referred to the Education Committee, chaired by Frank Draxler to report at the December meeting.

Eric Thornton with the Mendota Mental Health Institute graciously volunteered to assume the responsibility of auditor while Linda Dupuis is an officer of WAPP.

Linda Dupuis was contacted by a vendor who won a state bid and requested a listing of WAPP members with the intention of calling or sending mailings or e-mails to all. The discussion included whether WAPP member listing falls under public information access, as it is printed by a state agency. Vendors who attend the Expo receive a copy of the WAPP directory as part of the fee. Dean Helwig offered to research this at the national level and respond at the December meeting.

Barb Betlej discussed a potential speaker for the March meeting who charges in the range of $20,000. The group indicated that Barb could negotiate with the speaker to bring the price down and then include it for consideration in her budget request.

 Committee Reports

Expo - Denise Charkowski said the Expo had a good turnout and the vendors felt it was valuable. There were more "walk-thru’s" from area agencies and discussion of bringing more ‘end-users’ to the next Expo. There will be a new location for the 2005 Expo and some ideas from the NIGP forum will be incorporated.

Education - Frank Draxler indicated the NIGP has re-formatted some courses and he asked what courses members would like to have offered for the next few years. Dean Helwig suggested offering Webinars for some meetings. Frank asked that any specific ideas be forwarded to him. Barb Betlej indicated that the VALUE group will provide a synopsis of all VALUE hosted training sessions with handouts to share at the March meeting.

Presidents Council - Cynda Solberg announced that the Past Presidents group has decided to use the NIGP criteria to select a Buyer of the Year and Manager of the Year beginning in 2005. Members may nominate themselves or other members. The selection subcommittee will be Marie Hass, Fred Woodard and Lee Johnson. Deadline for nomination forms will be Nov. 26. The selected members’ names will be announced in March and their nomination forms will then be submitted to NIGP for their consideration on the national level. Cynda will provide more details on the nomination process.

Announcements

David Johnson indicated the December meeting will be held at the Hilton Monona Terrace Hotel. Make your reservations early; no later than Nov. 2.

Kim Verhelst announced that the budget requests are now out and due back to him by October 15, 2005.

2004

December - Madison

2005

March – Milwaukee
June – Eau Claire
September – Baraboo
December – Madison

2006 - Steve Martinelli indicated volunteers are needed to host 2006 meetings.

Newsletter Deadline – October 22, 2005

Motion was m/s/p to adjourn at 12:02 p.m.

Submitted by:

Linda Buchanan - Secretary