[ApaIllinois] APA-IL Chapter Update - May 2011

[APA-IL Editor]

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A Successful Trip to Boston!
Rob Kowalski, AICP, APA-IL President

Greetings Everyone:
The APA National Conference wrapped-up on April 12th in Boston. It was a fantastic conference and not a bad city to visit, I might add. As President I attended many activities representing the Chapter. Here are some tidbits of what I learned and can share with all of you…

Leadership Orientation Meeting. At the beginning of the conference all Chapter Presidents, Division Council Presidents, AICP Commissioners and other in leadership roles are expected to attend a Leadership Orientation Meeting. The purpose of this...
(read the rest of Rob's column below...)
  


May 2011 APA-IL Board Highlights
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 


May APA-IL CMS Event: Complete Streets, May 17th, 2-4pm, Hoffman Estates Village Hall, (CM | 2 pending)  

COMING SOON: 2011 APA-IL State Conference, 
Oct. 5-7, Hilton Orrington/Evanston, Evanston, IL. 10 mobile workshops, over 30 sessions, obtain a year's worth of CM credits and celebrate National Planning Month all in one place! New for 2011: a special 1-day track for planning officials.

The approved 2011-2014 CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN is now available at ilapa.org
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES - Sharon Caddigan, AICP 

Reviewed APA National Policy Guides and list of Illinois bills entered into the General Assembly relevant to planning and development, including: 

HB1056 – Zoning Decisions – Establishes procedural rules when zoning decisions are under judicial review because of actions taken by affected parties. This is in Committee.
HB1091 – Public-Private Partnerships for Transportation – Allows IDOT and ISTHA to enter into public-private partnerships for the development, financing, and operation of transportation projects through public-private agreements. This is in 2nd Reading. 
HB1869 – Website Publication of Notice – Provides that publishing required notices on a municipality’s website can meet the guidelines of proper notice. This is in Committee.
SB37 – Posting Documents on Website – Establishes requirements for posting certain documents (budgets, ordinances, etc.) on-line including historic documentation. This is in Committee. 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - Jamie Simone, AICP, Professional Development Officer 


The current CM reporting period ends December 31st. Right now there is plenty of time to take advantage of many CM opportunities. Free webinars sponsored by APA-IL, 2011 APA-IL State Conference - don't get caught short!
ILLINOIS STATE SECTION – Phil Dick, AICP, ISS Director 

The APA ISS Spring 2011 conference in Quincy on March 24 and 25 was a great success. A good balance of regional and local planning issues was presented in the sessions. On the 24th, there were five interesting presentations on sustainability in planning. The day was topped off with a field trip to Lock and Dam 21 on the Mississippi River. 

On the 25th, there were very good presentation on Mississippi River projects, disaster mitigation and recovery, the annual Tri-State Summit (Illinois, Missouri and Iowa), and presentations on reclaiming neglected properties. Alan Mallach, FAICP, noted author and research director of the National Housing Institute, gave an excellent presentation on “Tackling Vacant Properties” that included problem solving tips and techniques in dealing with vacant properties where you have no responsible owner. He then led a very good interaction with questions and answers. The day was topped off with a field trip to Quincy’s East Historical District. 
Five citizen planner workshops are planned for this year: Regions 1, 2 and 3 (Champaign-Urbana) are interested in scheduling Michael Blue Planning Officials Training sessions for the fall; Regions 3 (Bloomington-Normal) and Region 4 (Decatur) are also moving forward with plans for citizen planner workshops for the fall. 
The APA ISS Spring 2012 conference will be in Decatur.
STUDENT SECTIONS – Sara Amaral, UIC and John Whalen, UIUC, Student Representatives 

Spring 2011 Events 


Volunteer for Bike the Drive Fundraising Event, May 29, UIC

New Student Orientation and Block Party, August 2011, UIC

Park(ing) Day, Sept. 9, 2011, UIC


A Successful Trip to Boston! --continued
Rob Kowalski, AICP, APA-IL President 
meeting is to get up to speed on “all things APA Leadership”. Presentations from Executive Director Paul Farmer, FAICP current President Bruce Knight, FAICP and incoming President Mitch Silver, AICP were given. The highlight was the draft APA Development Plan that was being presented for APA Board adoption later in the conference. The leadership group was also highly encouraged to use the Planners Communication Guide as a tool for continuing to get the message out about the value of planning. Here are a few more quick facts for you.

• There are over 1,400 students at the national conference this year. Most ever.
• 30 more designations for APA’s Great Places in America are coming this Fall.
• There’s an increase in people accessing the unemployment rate for national dues.
• APA membership is now approximately 40,000 (lost about 10% recently).


Chapter President’s Council Meeting. There are 47 Chapter Presidents that make up the “Chapter President’s Council” or “CPC”. This group advises the APA Board on issues that impact the Chapters. The CPC meets twice a year, at the National Conference and once in the Fall at the APA Fall Leadership meetings. Below were the main topics discussed:

Chapter Dues. Each APA member pays dues to both national and their state chapter. However, the method for calculating Chapter dues varies widely by Chapter. Some charge a flat, low rate while others charge a percentage of National dues. Illinois charges a percentage of National. There is consideration to implement the percentage of National approach for all Chapters with different percentage levels being established (20%, 25%, 30%, etc.). For some of the smaller Chapters there is concern that this would raise dues on their members. For the largest Chapters there is concern that their revenues would decrease because they already use a percentage higher than proposed. I don’t believe this proposal would impact Illinois because we already use the percentage method and the percentages being considered are consistent with what we already charge.

Chapter Choice. Planners on the borders of state Chapters sometimes deal with the issues of living in one Chapter but participating more with a neighboring Chapter. There is discussion about allowing a choice of Chapter membership in these cases.

Consolidated Elections. Continued to be discussed is an effort to combine National elections with Chapter elections. This could be a service provided to Chapters from National. Although no specific action is requested right now, I expressed my support for the concept because I feel it will help planners better understand the connection between National and the Chapters.

Grant Money. The Chapter President’s Council has grant money to give to Chapters. Chapter’s can apply for funding for innovative initiatives to be carried out by the Chapter. Examples include Pro Bono Programs, Outreach and Training efforts, etc. The grants could be up to several thousand dollars and should not go towards normal activities of the Chapter. I intend to follow-up on ways this could benefit our Chapter. The next round of funding will be this Fall. 
Illinois Reception. An annual tradition at the National Conference is the Illinois Reception. This event was held at a nearby restaurant and approximately 75 people attended. The event is co-sponsored by the APA-IL, UIUC and UIC. Kudos to Alice Novak at UIUC for organizing the event. The event is a great chance to catch-up with other Illinois planners. I spent most of my time at the reception promoting the 2011 APA-IL State Conference in Evanston with the Save the Date cards.

The APA National Conference will be coming to Chicago in 2013. Sounds like a long time off, right. Wrong. The National Conference will be back in Illinois before we know it. Like 2002, it will be held at the Hyatt on Wacker Drive along with three other neighboring hotels. I spent some time speaking with the folks from California who are organizing the 2012 National Conference in Los Angeles. We will need to assemble a Local Host Committee by January 2012 to begin the planning efforts. Stay tuned…


Volunteer Opportunities
Make a difference by giving back to your planning community. 


The ISS is currently looking for a Region 4 Coordinator (western-central Illinois, covering Adams, Pike, Brown, Schuyler, Scott, Morgan, Cass, Menard, Sangamon, Logan, De Witt, and Macon counties). The ISS appoints a Regional Coordinator from each IL region to help disseminate information to local planners, commissioners and others about the work of the Illinois Chapter and ISS. Contact Phil Dick, AICP, ISS Director for details.

Volunteers are needed for the 2011 APA-IL State Conference in Evanston, IL. Contact Courtney Owen, AICP, 2011 Conference Co-Chair for more details.


2011 BOARD MEETINGS

● January 7  ●  March 4  ●  May 6 ●  July 8  ●  September 9 ● November 4 ● 
 an archive of previous board minutes can be found at ilapa.org 
  





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