Illinois Chapter of NENA
Minutes of the General Membership Meeting
MARCH 6, 1997
The General Membership Meeting of the members of INENA was called to order by President Norman H. Forshee at 10:30 a.m. at the Bloomington Library in Bloomington, IL.
OFFICER’S PRESENT: Norman Forshee (President), David Whipple (Vice President), Michael Midiri (Treasurer), Charlene Davis (Secretary), Richard Jones (Region 3 Vice President), David Tuttle (Region 4 Vice President), Shirley Schable (Region 5 Vice President) and Becky Jungmann (Region 6 Vice President).
OFFICER’S ABSENT: Douglas Edmonds (Region 1 Vice President), Jerry Bleck (Region 2 Vice President), Scott Sylvester (Region 7 Vice President) and Victoria Cerinich (Region 8 Vice President)
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The motion was made by Richard Tuma and seconded by Mike Midiri to approve the minutes as submitted by Secretary, Charlene Davis. The motion passed unanimously.
TELCO/VENDOR CONFERENCE ATTENDEES REPORT: Mike Midiri attended the “Wireless” track at the Telco/Vendor conference while Rick Jones attended the “Local Number Portability” track. Mike Midiri’s report is as follows:
-The sessions were “full session” days. Currently, there are 3 (three) states with “wireless” service. They are New Jersey, Washington, and Texas.
-The F.C.C. states Phase I must be complete by April 1998 and Phase II by 2001. Currently, no pricing or infrastructure is available for this mandate.
President Forshee asked the question, “is the ETSB expected to incur the cost for whatever equipment modifications are required” ? At this point there is no answer to this question.
NENA Regional Vice President, Ron Bonneau also attended the Telco/Vendor conference as an Executive Board member. His report is as follows:
Ron informed the membership there will be some National committee openings in the near future.
Any interested member should contact Regional Vice President Bonneau for further information.
All application for the INENA Scholarship must be forwarded to Ron by April 15, 1997. The winner will be selected by May 1, 1997.
Ron stated the Local Number Portability issue is a “big issue” and a very complex subject at the National level, as well. Ron suggested some type of tutorial (perhaps 1 (one) day in length, be offered to assist our members in being prepared for this next major 9-1-1 issue.
Our National Region has established a “Citizen’s Award”. The North/Central region will begin their program in the next few weeks.
OFFICER’S REPORTS
PRESIDENT’S REPORT (Norm Forshee) President Forshee advised the membership a Proclamation must be signed for INENA to proceed with the establishment of an Educational Fund. Once this fund has been established the first goal would be to provide our legislators and PSAP’s (Public Safety Answering Points) with information on the wireless requirements. INENA would provide a starting donation of $4000.00, with ETSB’s contributing once they receive board approval.
VICE PRESIDENT (David Whipple) Deferred his report to the Legislative portion of the meeting.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Treasurer, Mike Midiri submitted his report to the membership indicating INENA’s current balance is $17,023.10. The motion to approve this report was made by David Whipple and seconded by Richard Tuma. The motion passed unanimously.
INENA REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS REPORT’S:
Region I: Douglas Edmonds -No Report
Region II: Jerry Bleck -Jerry informed the membership that National membership renewals are going out. Please check and make sure you are mailing your response to the proper address.
Region III: Richard Jones – Region III will conduct their next meeting April 1, 1997. The topic will be “Wireless.
Region IV: David Tuttle – Region IV will conduct their next meeting April 24, 1997 at the Pontiac Public Safety location.
Region V: Shirley Schable – No Report
Region VI: Becky Jungmann – No Report
Region VII: Scott Sylvester – No Report
Region VIII: Victoria Cerinich -No Report
TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE (Harland Hector): Harland deferred his comments to Rick Jones under “Old Business”.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ( David Whipple): David informed the membership House Bill 617 has been introduced by Representative Cross and 3 (three) additional co-sponsors and is currently in the Executive Committee of the House of Representatives.
He reported their are also 4 (four) shell bills, House Bill 646 and 647, that have been introduced by Representative Brunsvold and House Bill 267 sponsored by Representative Shirley Jones, the Public Utilities Chairperson, and a Senate shell bill 761.
David stated the legislation looks good. There is still concern regarding the perception that this surcharge is a tax.
The legislation is supported by almost every existing 9-1-1 system in the State of Illinois.
The City of Chicago has passed a “Wireless Surcharge Ordinance” , which will become effective April 1, 1997. The collection is yet to be determined.
David stated the Illinois Commerce Commission has taken a neutral position on this issue.
There was a great deal of discussion regarding the Education Fund. A motion was made by Steve Thompson and seconded to table this issue for further review by individual ETSB’s and Attorney John Kelly. The motion passed unanimously.
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE (Kathy Monken): Kathy advised the membership it is time to obtain names for speakers for the Annual October conference. Please contact Kathy Monken or Greg Riddle.
NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE (Richard Tuma) No Report
AWARDS COMMITTEE ( Jerry Bleck ) No Report
QUALITY CONTROL COMMITTEE (Scott Sylvester) No Report
ILLINOIS COMMERCE COMMISSION ( Marci Schroll): Marci informed the membership the commission has received applications for Perry County and the City of Streator.
ITA (ILLINOIS TELEPHONE ASSOCIATION) No Report
VENDORS: No Report
President Forshee advised the membership the 1% uncollectible issue will be tabled at this meeting to allow sufficient time for Rick Jones to provide his report on Local Number Portability and the Telco/Vendor conference tracks he participated in.
Rick advised the membership as a result of F.C.C. Docket No. 92-105 “3-1-1” has been established as the non-emergency number for answering centers.
The Primary Toll Carrier issue is due for recommendation April 1, 1997 with new rates being implemented by August 1998. The 9-1-1 portion of the rate revisions for Primary Toll Carriers were extended.
GTE utilizes “soft dial tone” after service has been disconnected. This method has been discussed in the Local Number Portability meetings. Further discussion of this possible solution will be deferred to the Executive Board.
Attorney John Kelly spoke to the membership on Harrell v. Chicago Heights.
A motion to adjourn was made by Richard Tuma and seconded by Ron Bonneau. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 12:45p.m.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR !!!!
INENA General Membership Meeting
May 1, 1997 10:30 AM
Bloomington City Hall
NENA National President John Ellison will be the Guest Speaker