2007-2008 Professional Development Committee
Current Committee Meeting Minutes

January 24, 2008

October 18 & 19, 2007

August 15, 2007

TCMA Professional Development Committee
Texas Municipal League office, 3rd floor conference room
Austin, Texas
January 24, 2008

Members participating in the committee meeting included: Julie Johnston, Vice Chair and City Administrator, Dickinson; Jeff Howell, City Manager, Kilgore; Bert Lumbreras, Assistant City Manager, Austin; Ron Bowman, City Manager, Boerne; David Miller, City Manager, Forest Hill; Don Taylor, City Manager, Schertz; Catherine Hernandez, Executive Assistant, San Antonio; John McDonald, City Manager, Ovilla; Brooke Winburn, Assistant to the City Manager, Bee Cave. TML staff included Kim Pendergraft and Kyle J. Jung.

Participating by conference call were: Ricky Crownover, City Manager Tulia; Julie Couch, City Manager, Rockwall; Pam Rambo-Estill, Sr. Management Analyst, Arlington; Jim Holgersson, City Manager, Arlington; Kathy Merrill, Assistant City Manager, College Station; Carol Zolnerowich, Deputy City Manager, Mesquite; and Michelle McCallum, Management Assistant, Denton.

Julie Johnston called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. and thanked the members for participating in the meeting.

Julie Johnston showed a proposed theme and two graphics for the TCMA Annual Conference. By consensus, the committee approved the theme and picked a graphic to be used.

The Committee discussed speakers and topics for general and concurrent sessions and finalized the topics for the TCMA Annual Conference program. Any last minute changes will be addressed by the chair and vice chair.

The Committee discussed the development of a policy concerning the reimbursement of speaker expenses at TCMA educational events. Bert Lumbreras and Jim Holgersson agreed to develop the policy and present it at the next committee meeting.

The Committee made a recommendation to the TCMA Board to budget for and present speaker gifts at all TCMA educational sessions. The motion was approved the committee.

The plans for the TCMA Annual Conference golf tournament are underway and the event will be held at the Tierra Verde golf course.

Pam Rambo-Estill informed the committee about proposed youth and social events at the TCMA Annual Conference (Six Flags tickets, Hurricane Harbor tickets, Rangers game event, youth event at the COA recreation center, Cirque Du Soleil adults’ event, and the Dallas Cowboys stadium tour).

Kyle Jung updated the committee about the scheduling conflicts in South Padre Island. Several groups have booked June weekends through 2010. A different venue is under consideration but will not be ready until at least 2011. Jeff Howell moved and Julie Couch seconded a motion to recommend the TCMA Board switch the location of the TCMA Annual Conference in 2011 (South Padre Island) and 2012 (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex) and update the rotation schedule to reflect this change.

The motion was approved by the committee. The committee discussed the TCMA sessions at the TML Annual Conference. Due to low attendance and obligations of City Managers to their city councils during the TML Annual Conference, John McDonald moved and Jeff Howell seconded a recommendation to the TCMA Board to eliminate separate TCMA educational sessions at the 2008 TML Annual Conference and offer to coordinate the topic and speakers for a TML concurrent session. The motion was approved by the committee.

The committee discussed the TCMA Annual Conference New Professional’s Scholarship and encouraged members to submit applications by the deadline of May 16, 2008.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.

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TCMA Professional Development Committee
Triple Crown Room, Sheraton Arlington Hotel
October 18 & 19, 2007

Members participating in the committee meeting included: Paul Parker, Chair and City Manager, Lufkin; Julie Johnston, Vice Chair and City Administrator, Dickinson; Ricky Crownover, City Manager Tulia; Jared Miller, City Manager, Snyder; Julie Couch, City Manager, Rockwall; Jeff Howell, City Manager, Kilgore; Ricky Jorgensen, City Manager, Vidor; Bert Lumbreras, Assistant City Manager, Austin; Ron Bowman, City Manager, Boerne; David Harris, Assistant City Manager, Schertz; Bill Shipp, City Manager, Commerce; Jim Holgersson, City Manager, Arlington; Kathy Merrill, Assistant City Manager, College Station; John McDonald, City Manager, Ovilla; Michelle Thames, Assistant City Manager, Richardson; David Miller, City Manager, Forest hill; Pam Rambo-Estill, Sr. Management Analyst, Arlington; Carol Zolnerowich, Deputy City Manager, Mesquite; Michelle McCallum, Management Assistant, Denton; Catherine Hernandez, Executive Assistant, San Antonio; Opal Mauldin Robertson, Assistant City Manager, Lancaster. TML staff included Kyle J. Jung.

Paul Parker called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and thanked the members for participating in the meeting.

The Committee discussed the Professional Development Committee’s responsibilities outlined in the 2007-2008 TCMA Strategic Plan. The Committee reviewed the TCMA Educational Plan and the core principles to be incorporated into the educational programs for 2007-2008.

The Committee reviewed the evaluations of the 2007 William King Cole workshops and developed the educational programs for both sessions. Topics and speakers were tentatively identified and members of the committee were assigned to contact the speakers to confirm their participation. Once a speaker has been confirmed, notice should be sent to Kyle Jung.

The Committee reviewed the evaluations of the 2007 City Management Clinics. Based on the TCMA Board’s decision that only one City Management Clinic would be held during the upcoming year, the Committee chose Salado as the location for the Clinic. The Committee then developed the educational program for the Clinic and tentatively identified both topics and speakers. Members of the committee were assigned to contact the speakers to confirm their participation. Once a speaker has been confirmed, notice should be sent to Kyle Jung.

The Committee took a break at 12:15 p.m. for lunch.

The Committee reconvened at 12:45 p.m. and took a tour of the Arlington Convention Center which will be the location of the TCMA Annual Conference on June 27-29, 2008.

The Committee reconvened at 1:30 p.m. in the Triple Crown room. The Committee reviewed the evaluation of the 2007 TCMA Annual Conference. The Committee developed the educational program for the TCMA Annual Conference and tentatively identified both topics and speakers. Members of the committee were assigned to contact the speakers to confirm their participation. Once a speaker has been confirmed, notice should be sent to Kyle Jung.

Ricky Jorgensen and Jared Miller volunteered to coordinate the golf tournament.

Pam Rambo-Estill informed the committee that the Texas Rangers baseball team was scheduled to be in town during the TCMA Annual Conference and the committee is working on an event for the attendees in conjunction with the conference. An adult’s event and children’s event are being planned for Saturday night during the conference.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

The committee meeting reconvened at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 19 in the Triple Crown Room.

The committee reviewed the 2007 TCMA Annual Conference sponsors list and minor changes were made to the assignments. When committee members make contact with a sponsor, the committee members will send notice to Kyle Jung so the sponsor list can be updated.

Julie Johnston reminded the committee about the Super connector program from last year and the committee members volunteered to participate this year.

Paul Parker informed the committee members of the discussion during the last committee conference call regarding TCMA Annual Conference host city guidelines. On a motion by Bert Lumbreras and second by Jared Miller, the committee voted to revise the guidelines so that only destination cities will be considered for future TCMA Annual Conference locations. The committee did not assign this revision to anyone or outline when the revisions would be considered by the committee. The locations of the TCMA Annual Conference were not changed (DFW Metroplex, Central Texas, Galveston, and South Padre Island). One suggestion was to require a host city to be able to provide a single hotel for all TCMA Annual Conference attendees, with the exception of South Padre Island.

Kyle Jung informed the committee of the ICMA Leading Practices workshop scheduled for April 24-25, 2008 in Corpus Christi. The committee was provided with an opportunity to comment on the program and make any suggestions they feel is appropriate.

With nothing else on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.

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TCMA Professional Development Committee
Conference call
3:00 p.m. - August 15, 2007

Members participating on the conference call included: Paul Parker, Chair and City Manager, Lufkin; Julie Johnston, Vice Chair and City Administrator, Dickinson; Ricky Crownover, City Manager Tulia; Jeff Howell, City Manager, Kilgore; Michelle McCallum, Management Assistant, Denton; Pat Riley, Public Works Director, Levelland; John McDonald, City Manager, Ovilla; James Stokes, City Manager, Gladewater; Jim Holgersson, City Manager, Arlington; Michelle Thames, Assistant City Manager, Richardson; and Brooke Winburn, Assistant to the City Administrator, Bee Cave. TML staff included Kyle J. Jung.

Paul Parker called the conference call to order at 3:00 p.m. and thanked the members for participating in the conference call.

The Committee discussed the proposals submitted by the cities of Killeen and Austin to host the 2009 TCMA annual conference and committee members’ preferences from the host city. During the discussion, the committee requested Ms. Connie Kuehl, Director of the Killeen Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB)’s participation on the conference call to describe the TCMA annual conference options available in Killeen. Ms. Kuehl joined the conference call and outlined available housing, optional events, support from the city, CVB, TCMA region, and nearby cities that would be provided during the annual conference. After the committee members’ questions were answered, Ms. Kuehl left the conference call.

Paul Parker asked the committee members for a consensus recommendation to the TCMA Board. The committee recommended the TCMA Board award the 2009 TCMA Annual Conference to the City of Austin and hold the conference at the Hilton Hotel (500 East Fourth Street) on June 5-7, 2009.

The committee set their next meeting for Thursday and Friday, October 18-19, 2007 at the Sheraton Arlington Hotel (formerly the Wyndham Arlington), 1500 Convention Center Drive in Arlington. The educational programs for the William King Cole series, City Management Clinic, and the 2008 TCMA Annual Conference will be developed at this meeting.

Paul Parker asked that the issue of criteria for TCMA Annual Conference Host Cities be placed on the October 18 agenda. The committee will develop guidelines for potential TCMA annual conference host cities.

Paul Parker indicated he would work with Kyle Jung to develop a brief survey that will be sent to attendees of the last two City Management Clinics to determine the location of the one 2008 Clinic (Salado or Fredericksburg).

With nothing else on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned at 4:06 p.m.