Executive Committee Members Present:
Ben Frost, Rebecca Hebert, Jamie Steffen, Jennifer Czysz, Sandrine Thibault, Angie Vincent

Treasurer J. Steffen called the meeting to order at 9:40.

Minutes:
The approval the minutes of the November 30, 2006 minutes will be tabled to the next NHPA meeting to allow for corrections to be made.

Treasurer’s Report:
J. Steffen reported that additional money had come in for the conference and more conference expenses had been paid. The balance of $22,184.05 does not reflect the bill for Fred Kent’s presentation and the Native Energy bill. A. Vincent moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report. B. Frost seconded. Motion passed, all in favor.

B. Frost raised the question of whether or not NHPA would be updating their directory. B. Frost, A. Vincent, and R. Hebert volunteered to work on the membership directory.

NNECAPA Update:
The 2007 conference will be in Portland, Maine October 25 – 28. The planning history group has just put out a call for conference sessions. The NNECAPA Executive Committee will review presentations/sessions.

NHPA Conference Update:
J. Czysz and S. Thibault reported that the NHPA conference will be at the Harborside Sheraton Hotel in Portsmouth, NH on May 10 & 11. The COG will meet immediately following the Executive Committee’s meeting. There are new faces on the COG. No sessions have been submitted yet and the group still needs to determine a theme. B. Frost suggested a session on long term affordability including ordinances, covenants, and warrant articles. A. Vincent suggested that the NHPA awards be presented at the conference rather than the annual meeting.

Student Outreach:
NHPA should look into what other chapters charge for student fees. B. Frost suggested a reduced fee as an inducement to students of $15.00. NHPA could also market this to department heads at the various NH schools. B. Frost will draft a letter to send to the department heads. A. Vincent moved to reduce the student rate to $15.00. Motion passed; all in favor. The by-laws will need to be amended at the annual meeting and LGC needs to be notified of the change in fees. The membership form also needs to be changed to allow for the student membership option.

Plan-NH Outreach:
A joint membership fee was discussed at the last meeting. A NHPA member will need to contact the Plan NH executive board regarding the collaborative membership.

Website News and Updates:
The NNECAPA presentations have been posted on the website. The redirect link has not been working from the OEP and LGC websites. The newsletter should be coming out in early February.

Legislative Issues:
B. Frost distributed a list of legislative bills. The Executive Committee needs to think about how they want to address testimony. There has been interest in forming a separate committee to study possible revisions to the State statutes. There should be a NHPA representative on the committee.

Old & New Business:
Clay Mitchell joined the group to discuss his plans for developing a website and handbook for planners to help planning professionals address energy related issues within their community. A. Vincent moved to establish a committee to review NHPA’s involvement. The website and handbook would help to provide an important connection between planning and energy. C. Mitchell stated that he believes planners will become the contact for energy related issues on a regional, state, and local level. A. Vincent moved to establish an ad hoc group for energy related issues in New Hampshire. J. Czysz seconded. Motion passed. A. Vincent suggested C. Mitchell put together a recommendation of committee members for the next meeting.

S. Thibault and J. Czysz reported that there is a need for a filler session at the Spring OEP conference and are looking for ideas. In the past the OEP has done a “the planner is in” question and answer session. Another idea has been to have a session that addresses the new changes to the vesting laws with representatives from larger and smaller communities along with a legal perspective.

Next Executive Committee meeting will be on February 22, 2007 at 9:30 at the LGC.

Adjourn:
The meeting adjourned at 11:20 am.

Respectfully Submitted,

Rebecca Hebert, Secretary