Executive Council

   Minutes of the Executive Council Meeting, Friday, November 15, 1996

Members in Attendance

Dennis M. Stotts, Chair Robert W. Wells, Jr., Chair-Elect Lawrence E. Sellers, Jr., Treasurer Sidney F. Ansbacher James J. Brown William H. Congdon Richard Hamann Robert D. Fingar John J. Fumero (via telephone) Maribel N. Nicholson-Choice Robert J. Riggio B. Suzi Ruhl Terry L. Zinn Members Absent

Ralph A. Demeo, Secretary Ralf G. Brookes Thomas M. DeRose J. A. Jurgens Douglas J. Rillstone Cathy M. Sellers

Others in Attendance

William S. Spencer, Board Liaison Terrell Arline Bruce Clark George Gramling Joe Richards Jackie Werndli

I. CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order at 2:10 p.m. by the Chair, Dennis M. Stotts. A sign-up sheet was distributed. Mr. Stotts also recognized the Section's liaison to the Board of Governors, William S. Spencer.

The Chair noted the absence of the Secretary, and he requested that the Treasurer record the minutes.

II. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES -- August 15, 1996

The minutes of the meeting of August 15, 1996, were approved.

III. NEW BUSINESS

A. Reporter Advertising -- Gibby Letter

The Chair reported that he had received a request for publication of an advertisement in the Section Reporter regarding the Gibby-Moon report. Following some discussion, it was agreed that the Chair would advise the publisher that the Section does not accept such advertisement for publication in the Reporter.

B. Executive Council Vacancy

The chair announced that there was a vacancy on the Executive Council as a result of the election of Mr. Sellers as Treasurer. George Gramling and Joe Richards were nominated for the position. Secret written ballots were distributed and counted, and the Chair announced that Mr. Richards had been elected.

C. Budget Approval -- 1997-98

The Treasurer reviewed the proposed budget for 1997-98. The Executive Council approved the budget as presented.

The Executive Council also approved two amendments to the 1996-97 budget. Specifically, the Executive Council approved a budget of $6,000 for the preparation of a membership directory, and a budget of $10,000 for the preparation of the Section's new home page.

The Chair asked Mr. Richards to coordinate the effort to update the membership directory.

IV. COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. Education Division

1. CLE Seminars. John Fumero noted that approximately 75 persons had registered for the concurrently-held seminar, "Current Issues and Controversies in Environmental, Land Use and Local Government Law." He then reviewed the other seminars that are scheduled for 1997.

2. CLE Workshops. Robert Riggio reviewed the workshops that are scheduled for 1997. He also noted that the recently-held workshop on brownfields was well attended.

Mr. Fumero stated that there has been some concern expressed regarding certain aspects of the workshop on brownfields. Specifically, he noted that there was concern that some of the presenters (primarily affiliate members) had used the workshop as a means of promoting their own firm. There also was concern that some of the written materials contained too much promotional materials and too little substance. There followed considerable discussion regarding this matter, with remarks by Messrs. Riggio, Ansbacher, Stotts and Fumero. Following this discussion, it was agreed that there is a need for more formal oversight of the CLE programs. Messrs. Riggio and Fumero were asked to develop appropriate recommendations and to present them at the next meeting of the Executive Council.

3. CLE Committee Liaison. Mr. Fingar did not have a report.

4. CLE Manual Committee. Mr. Brown provided a report in Mr. DeRose's absent. Mr. Brown noted that the Committee plans to do a revision of Volume 1 of the manual, and to integrate supplements into the text.

The Chair expressed concern with the extensive time that it will take to publish a new and improved version. He suggested that Messrs. DeRose and Brown explore the possibility of obtaining outside assistance, and that they report back to the Executive Council at the next meeting.

5. Dean Maloney Memorial Writing Contest. Larry Sellers delivered a report for Cathy Sellers, who was absent.

6. Law School Liaison. Mr. Sellers distributed a written report. He also reported that an article that had been prepared pursuant to a public interest scholarship was recently published in the Florida Bar Journal by the Administrative Law Section. Mr. Sellers suggested that the Executive Council consider whether it should revise its policies regarding similar works to ensure that the Section is given appropriate credit for works that are published.

B. Planning and Membership Division

1. Bar Journal Column. Sid Ansbacher stated that several articles were scheduled for future publication. He briefly described the subjects of these articles. He also reported that the March issue of the Bar Journal would be devoted to the "new" Administrative Procedure Act, and that the April issue would deal primarily with the upcoming Constitutional Revision Commission.

Mr. Ansbacher also noted that there had been some difficulties in editing the winning Maloney paper to reduce it to a size appropriate for publication in the Bar Journal. He suggested that the Maloney Committee (or the Executive Council) consider revising the rules for the competition so as to no longer "guarantee" publication of the winning paper in the Bar Journal.

2. Affiliate Membership. Bruce Clark gave a report for Jim DeChant. Mr. Clark noted that the Committee was considering the construction of a web site for the affiliates. The site would include a directory of experts, and it would be linked to the Section's web site. The Committee has requested proposals from various vendors, and it is still in the process of reviewing these proposals.

3. Membership. Maribel Nicholson-Choice reported that the Committee is seeking to recruit new members from the National Bar Association. The Chair requested that the Committee continue to actively recruit in-house counsel, as well.

4. Section Reporter. Richard Hamann reported that the next issue of the Section Reporter should be out in about three weeks.

C. Special Services Division

1. Legislative Review. Ralph Demeo was absent, and there was no report.

2. Public Interest Representation. Terrell Arline reported that the Committee planned to conduct its annual workshop in connection with the Third Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference to be held at the University of Florida on March 20-22, 1997.

Mr. Arline stated that the Committee also planned to hold a retreat in December.

Mr. Arline next reported on the Committee's proposal to present the "Public Interest Environmental and Land Use Advocacy Award," and he distributed a draft document describing the procedures, the selection criteria, the mode of selection and the nature of the award. Following considerable discussion, the Executive Council agreed that it had no objection to the presentation of this award with the understanding that it will be presented at the Committee's annual workshop.

3. Ethics in Environmental and Land Use Practice. Doug Rillstone was absent, and there was no report.

4. Committee on Access to Justice. Suzi Ruhl distributed the Committee's written report. She described the pilot project now underway in Dade County for increasing the availability of legal access to low income people.

5. Special Projects.

a. Web Site. Joe Richards reviewed the recommendations of the ad hoc committee (comprised of Messrs. Richards and Sellers, Bill Congdon and Frank Hearne). The Committee recommended that the Section pay for a student at the University of Florida College of Law to create and maintain the home page, at least initially. The student would be appointed through the College, and would completely design the page and place it on a commercial server. The student would update the page weekly, as new material is received. The student would be paid approximately $2,500 for the first two semesters. The Section also would incur approximately $1,000 in costs associated with constructing the web site. The Executive Council indicated that it had no objection to the Committee's proposal, and an appropriate budget amendment was subsequently approved (see above).

b. Jury Instructions. Kirk Burns was absent, and there was no report.

c. Contract for Environmental Consultant. Russell Thomas was absent, and there was no report.

V. NEXT MEETING

The Chair announced that the next meeting of the Executive Council is scheduled for February 21.

VI. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 4:53 p.m.