Minnesota County Highway Accountants Association 2011 Conference Secretary s Minutes Cragun s Resort & Hotel Brainerd, MN April 27-29, 2011 Wednesday, April 27, 2011 1:00 p.m. Welcome and Orientation for New and Newer Accountants. 2:00 p.m. Bette Schweer, Yellow Medicine County, President of our association opened the meeting at the 38 th Annual Conference of Minnesota County Highway Accountants and welcomed everyone to the conference. She then introduced Kristi Fischer, U of M, and this year s officers: Bette Schweer, Yellow Medicine County, President; Fred Edstrom, Anoka County, Vice President and Lori Koch, Cass County, Secretary Treasurer. The planning committee was District 3 and officers; Cindy Bacon, Kanabec County; Lori Becker, Todd County; Colleen Cunningham, Crow Wing County; Dian Dahlke, Isanti County; Fred Edstrom, Anoka County; Nila Ellis, Wright County; Gerry Fournier, Benton County; Char Goth, Sherburne County; Denise Lee, Aitkin County; Lori Koch, Cass County; Sarah Olsen, Aitkin County; Missy Paulson, Mille Lacs County; Duane Ruona, Crow Wing County; Bette Schweer, Yellow Medicine County; Sherry Welinski, Morrison County; Tracey Worzala, Stearns County. They were introduced and thanked. President Bette Schweer reviewed the nomination of officers for next year. Fred Edstrom, Anoka County, has agreed to accept the nomination for President, Lori Koch, Cass County, declined to accept the nomination for Vice-President. Judy Peterson, McLeod County has agreed to accept the nomination as Secretary-Treasurer. Gloria Winkler, Mahnomen County, accepted the position as Association Historian. Nila Ellis, Wright County, volunteered to accept the Vice President position. 2:15 Bette then introduced Rick Kjonaas, Deputy State Aid Engineer who gave us an update on State Aid issues. Some of the issues Rick discussed were: the possibility of a State shutdown a decrease in our apportionment for 2012 changes in State Aid staff there are 10 retirees this year, of which 8 will be replaced a new computer system used at State Aid called SWIFT that will be implemented the end of June. Maintenance payments will be made prior to the implementation. Rick then asked Joan Peters to come up front and said that he asked Joan s husband for permission to give her a hug in gratitude for her 20+ years of service in State Aid and also presented her with a box of chocolates. Bette thanked Rick for his update and then introduced Lori Koch, Cass County. Lori Koch, Cass County Accountant, shared a PowerPoint presentation of Cass County. After Lori s presentation, Bette reminded everyone that there are raffle tickets available for sale and announced where the hospitality room will be held. We broke up into various rooms for District Roundtable discussions. A motion to adjourn was made by Kim Kildal, Becker County, and seconded by Dian Dahlke, Isanti County. Motion carried. 4:00 Concurrent Sessions ACS and Costrite
Thursday, April 28, 2011 7:00 a.m. Breakfast is served. 8:00 a.m. Bette Schweer introduced Kristi Fisher, U of M, who welcomed everyone to Cragun s and went through various housekeeping items. Kristi reminded everyone to complete the evaluation for CEU forms in the packet. Bette Schweer, introduced Dave Enblom, Cass County Engineer. Mr. Enblom explained that Cass County Board Chairman Jim Dowson, was unable to attend. Mr. Enblom welcomed us to Cass County and the beautiful Brainerd Lakes area. Mr. Enblom discussed, among other things, a few highlights of the NACE conference recently held in Minneapolis. It was a great success and also very profitable for the Association. 8:05 a.m. Bette Schweer then introduced Doug Fischer, Anoka County Engineer and President, Minnesota County Engineers Association (MCEA). Mr. Fischer gave us an update from the county engineers. Highlights of his update were: the state of the infrastructure is deteriorating this is one of the biggest issues in transportation the drop in Federal transportation funding is the first one since WWII, which is very concerning for us a trend in the calculation of the gas tax is being reviewed and may go from a gas tax based formula to mileage based. 8:30 a.m. Concurrent Sessions from the Department of Finance - State Aid and Federal Aid Issues - Cost Accounting and Applications Joan Peters and staff, Mn/DOT, State Aid Finance 10:-10:30 a.m. Break 10:30-noon Noon Concurrent Sessions from the Department of Finance (continued) Lunch 1:00 p.m. One Office Construction Management Melissa Girtz, Kathy Bergmann and Tom Girtz, RT Vision Inc. Little Falls, Minnesota 2:00 p.m. Break 2:15 p.m. Wadena: Documenting the Road to Recovery Angela Brown, FEMA Region V Chicago, Illinois 3:15 p.m. Break 3:30 p.m. Questions! Questions! Questions! Looking at Highway Accounting Issues Tom Karlson, Minnesota office of the State Auditor St. Paul, Minnesota
4:45 p.m. Adjourn 6:00 p.m. Annual Banquet Annual banquet was held in the dining room of Cragun s Resort with Casino themed attire. Association President Bette Schweer announced the New Accountants attending this year s conference and asked that they stand while their name was read. They are: Cindy Bacon, Kababec County; Cara Bengtson, Wadena County; Geri Fournier, Benton County; Sarah Olsen, Aitken County; Leala Roth, Beltrami County; and Tracey Worzala, Stearns County. President Schweer also announced there were some raffle tickets left to be purchased and the drawing would be held immediately following the meal. Winners of the drawing for the raffle prizes held at the end of the banquet. The winners were as follows: $50 gift card to Walmart Stephanie Buss, Stevens County $50 gift card to Home Depot Mark Linne, Carlton County $50 gift card to Target Anne Zellner, Cook County $50 gift card to Target Francis Kerber, Carver County $50 gift card to Sears Francis Kerber, Carver County $50 gift card to Sears Marti Carlson, Lake of the Woods County $50 gift card to Menards Sarah Olsen, Aitken County $25 gift card to Holiday station stores Char Goth, Sherburne County $25 gift card to Perkins Tim Stapleton, Freeborn County $25 gift card to Herberger s Geri Fournier, Benton County $25 gift card to JCPenney Deb Knudtson, Wilkin County $25 gift card to Bath & Body Karen McGee, Benton County $25 gift card to Applebee s Lee Christopher, Hennepin County Cragun s Night Stay Tammy Furth Brown County After the meal District pictures were taken and the fun continued in the Lakeshore Rooms 3 & 4 with Casino night. A good time was had by all and Linda Libel from District 1, won the door prize for the best dressed in Casino attire.
Friday, April 29 7:00 a.m. Breakfast 8:00 a.m. Fall in a Mud Puddle, Get Up and Check Your Pockets for Fish Don Gudmundson, Consultant Lakeville, Minnesota 9:00 a.m. Break 9:07 a.m. Fall in a Mud Puddle, Get Up and Check Your Pockets for Fish (Continued) 10:30 a.m. Minnesota County Highway Accountants Business Meeting 11:30 a.m. Adjourn 10:30 a.m. Business meeting was called to order by Bette Schweer, President. Thanks were extended to Kristi Fischer with the U of M. Bette also thanked the planning, executive and hospitality committees for all the work they put into this conference and all the support everyone has given her during this difficult time for her. A motion to accept but to not read aloud the 2010 minutes was made by Judy Peterson, McLeod County, and seconded by Duane Ruona, Crow Wing County. There were a few corrections to the 2010 MCHAA meeting minutes. Bette Schweer s name was mis-spelled; the word children was removed from the policy for funerals (see attached policy); Metro is the district responsible for the hospitality room for the 2012 MCHAA Conference to be held in Bemidji, MN, not District 4. See corrected notes attached. A motion to accept was made by Judy Peterson, McLeod County, and seconded by Duane Ruona, Crow Wing County. The Treasurer s report was read by Lori Koch, Secretary Treasurer. A motion to accept the Treasurer s report was made by Gloria Winkler, Mahnomen County and seconded by Sherry Welinski, Morrison County. The executive committee positions for 2012 will be: Fred Edstrom, Anoka County, accepted the nomination for President. Nila Ellis, Wright County, accepted the nomination for Vice President; Judy Peterson, McLeod County, accepted the nomination for Secretary Treasurer. A motion was made by Gloria Winkler, Mahnomen County, to close the nominations and accept the candidates as presented. The motion was seconded by Dian Dahlke, Isanti County. Motion carried. The 2012 Conference will be held at the Hampton Inn, Bemidji, MN, on April 25 th April 27 th, 2012. District 2 will make up the Planning Committee and the Metro District will be in charge of Hospitality Room duties. Gloria Winkler, Mahnomen County has agreed to be Historian for 2012. Thank you Gloria. Discussion was held regarding moving our conference to the Fall instead of Spring. The following were listed as Pros and Cons:
Pros Legislation is decided Easier to attend Higher Attendance? Annual report is done Cons More expensive to book space Site location Construction is heavier A vote was taken and it was decided to keep the conference in the Spring. The 2013 meeting will be held in the central part of the state. The following nominations were listed and voted upon: Alexandria (8 votes), St. Cloud (20 votes), Brainerd (13 votes), Twin Cities area (8 votes). Taking the two highest cities to the vote again, St. Cloud received the highest votes and will be the site of the 2013 MCHAA conference. Dates will be April 24-26, 2013. The planning committee will be the Metro District, the Hospitality will be taken care of by District 2 and the Site Location Committee will be District 3. Accountants Geri Fournier, Benton County, Sarah Olsen, Aitken County volunteered and Tracey Worzala, Stearns County was nominated to review various locations in St. Cloud for the 2013 Conference. Other Business: It was suggested to put a schedule in the meeting minutes of what district had the responsibility for Planning, Hospitality and Site selection. Another suggestion was made to ask the County Engineers for a larger donation to our Conference. In the past we have received $400.00. Fred Edstrom, Anoka County, volunteered to talk to the MCEA President and Dave Enblom, Cass County. Bette Schweer, Yellow Medicine County, President, made a suggestion to cut back on the amount of alcohol purchased. Possibly have the Hospitality room provide coolers, beer, wine and bring your own hard liquor if you choose to do so. Nila Ellis, Wright County, made a motion to pass this decision along to the Hospitality Committee, Krista Jasper, Pipestone County seconded the motion. Association President, Bette Schweer, Yellow Medicine County, extended a grateful thank you to everyone for the flowers, cards and all the support she has received since the loss of her husband. A motion to adjourn was made by Krista Jasper, Pipestone County, and seconded by Dian Dahlke, Isanti County. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Lori Koch 2011 Secretary/Treasurer
Policy for Funerals The Minnesota Highway Accountants Association will spend of to $50.00 for flowers (plant)/memorial in the event of the death of the Accountant or their Spouse. If this should occur, a member of the Executive Committee should be notified so that the flowers/memorial can be sent. Adopted by the MCHAA at the 2011 Conference April 27-29, 2011 Cragun s Resort & Hotel