CONVENTION PROGRAM January 31, 2008 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Registration, Grand Foyer 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Exposition Open, Grand Foyer and Grand Ballroom 8:30 a.m.–9:45 a.m. Breakfast in the Exposition Hall Early Bird Raffle Drawing 9:45 a.m.–11:00 a.m. Concurrent Workshops–Session I "Taking the ‘Work’ Out of Paper" Bristol A Room Systems have provided tremendous assistance to the document management challenges of local government, including meeting the challenges of security and privacy; regulatory compliance; massive proliferation of paper and digital files; and disaster recovery. This session will illustrate how easy it is to capture, search and retrieve records while unifying management of imaged, physical, electronic and e-mail records in a comprehensive solution. Moderator: Bruce Cadman, District Manager, General Code Speaker: John Devine, Document Management Product Manager, General Code "How Rhode Island Local Government Came to Its Current Condition" Bristol B Room This workshop will examine the forces that produced the current condition of cities and towns in Rhode Island. Recognizing that there are no easy answers, this workshop will nevertheless suggest things that need to be changed if local government is to flourish again in the Ocean State. Speaker: Kenneth F. Payne, PhD. "Successfully Permitting a New Public Water Supply" Narragansett Room The process and state agencies involved in developing a new Public Water Supply will be presented. While the State Department of Health is the “primary” permitting agency, they no longer have the most extensive permitting requirements. DEM has new requirements that very often apply to new water supplies which can be very involved. The important issues to consider and the time necessary to address them will be discussed Speakers: Randy Christensen, Sr. Associate, Stantec Dave Harwood, Hydrogeologist, Stantec "Building Official Says “Yes”, Zoning Officials Say “No”- What’s a person to do?" Ocean Room As a building official, how can you be sure that the use and physical development of a property in your city or town is in conformity with all applicable provisions of your municipality’s Zoning Ordinance and all other city/town laws? Building officials are often put in the position of issuing zoning certificates for potentially controversial property only to discover at a later date that their city/town refuses to acknowledge the certificate resulting in potential litigation and appeals. This exclusive Trust educational seminar will help building officials develop the knowledge and the skills required to issue valid Certificates of Zoning Compliance pursuant to RIGL § 45-24-54. Recent case studies and lessons learned will be highlighted throughout the seminar. Moderator: Paul Dutra, Esq., Claims Specialist/Supervisor, RI Interlocal Risk Management Trust Speaker: Michael DeSisto, Esq., DeSisto Law "Stormwater Utilities: Funding for Stormwater Management" Rhode Island Room This workshop will feature a presentation on the basics of stormwater utilities, including an overview of incentive programs (such as credits to utility customers for applying Low Impact Development Design and installing Best Management Practices). Once a Stormwater Utility has been established and receiving income from the user base, communities should give serious consideration to long term planning for the improvement and maintenance of the system to reduce flooding and other problems. Moderator: Eileen Pannetier, President, Comprehensive Environmental, Inc. Speaker: David Nyman, PE, Sr. Engineer, Comprehensive Environmental Inc. "Toolbox for Municipalities to Return Brownfields, Tax Delinquent, and Other Blighted Properties to Productive Use" Patriots Room Municipalities typically have limited resources to return brownfields, tax delinquent, and other blighted properties to more productive uses that can provide greater income and value to a community. However, over the past decade a variety of tools available to municipalities has evolved to facilitate productive property re-use. Each panelist in this workshop will cover how municipalities can use creative approaches in each of the following areas to promote the productive re-use or properties: Leveraging both public and private funding sources Guiding redevelopment using regulatory drivers and managing regulatory restrictions Using environmental and civil design concepts Managing public involvement requirements to facilitate municipal priorities Moderator: John A. Chambers, PG, LSP, Associate/Hydrogeologist, Fuss & O’Neill, Inc. Speakers: David Foss, CPG, Project Manager, Fuss & O’Neill, Inc. Shawn Martin, PE, Project Manager, Fuss & O’Neill, Inc. Patrick Dowling, Sr. Hydrogeologist, Fuss & O’Neill, Inc. Cynthia Gianfrancesco, Sr. Environmental Scientist, RI DEM 11:45 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Concurrent Workshops–Session II "Financing Economic Development Projects- Including Tax Increment Financing" Bristol A Room Tax Increment Financings have been a useful tool nationally. This workshop will explore how one RI community is utilizing TIF Financing to develop its waterfront. Moderator: Bill Fazioli, Sr. Vice President, First Southwest Company Speaker: Jeanne Boyle, City Planner, City of East Providence "Don’t Ride the Energy Roller Coaster - How to Keep Your Town Ahead of the Market" Bristol B Room With historically rising electricity costs in New England, staying on top of energy market information is critical for your municipal budget. Find out about the latest choices available to Rhode Island cities and towns, including ways to protect against volatile rates, along with renewable power and demand response. Speaker: Emily A. Neill, Business Development Manager, Constellation NewEnergy "Utilizing Technology To Reduce Costs and Improved Human Resource Development and Personnel Management" Narragansett Room The workshop will cover the important uses of available electronic technology and software in information sharing, new employee orientation and training, EEO and ADA training, employee skills assessment, promotion review and performance appraisal, and mentoring of employees for the changing workplace. Moderator: Dr. Michael Hall, Dept. Chair & Director of Roger Williams University Speakers: Dr. Jeffery C. Rinehart, Roger Williams University Ken Osborne, Dean, Instructional Technology, Roger Williams University Matthew Wainwright, IT Specialist, Middletown, Rhode Island "Changing the Way Rhode Island Residents Value Trash" Ocean Room Driven by environmental and economic concerns municipalities are working to reduce the amount of residential waste they send to the Johnston landfill.  Successfully increasing diversion and recycling requires permanent behavior change.  Unit Based Pricing (UBP) is viewed both by the European community and the United States EPA as the single most effective way to reduce waste.  Learn how municipalities worldwide have used UBP to decrease waste 40-60 percent.  This hands on workshop will provide you with tactile political advice and the tools to get successful UBP waste reduction programs rolling in your city or town. Speaker: Kristen Brown, Waste Solutions Joseph Lambert, Massachusetts Dept. of Environment Shawn Brown, Purchasing Agent, Middletown, Rhode Island " Sanitary Sewer Overflows, Strategies to Comply with EPA" Rhode Island Room The frequency of Sewer System Overflows has increased over the past several years. Given the serious public health and environmental problems associated with SSOs, EPA has taken a number of enforcement actions in Rhode Island and throughout the US to identify and eliminate SSOs. In the absence of a targeted approach, a routine program should be adopted that has been developed with chronic problem areas in mind. Weston & Sampson’s presentation will focus on strategies for optimizing defect identification and rehabilitation options to comply with EPA’s SSO initiatives. Speakers: Kent M. Nichols, Jr. PE, Weston & Sampson Donald G. Gallucci, PE, Weston & Sampson "USDA-NRCS Funding Wildlife Habitat Improvement Programs Utilizing Federal Monies" Patriots Room The workshop will focus on the use of available grant programs administered under the US Department of Agriculture including the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) and Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) which are voluntary programs to assist landowners in creating, restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat. These programs provide both technical assistance and cost-share payments to help establish and improve fish and wildlife habitat. Moderator: Sam Whitin, Scientist/Project Manager, EA Engineering, Science & Technology Speaker: Andy Lipsky, State Biologist, USDA-NRCS Jenny Pereira, Executive Director, Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m. Delegates Luncheon, Exposition Hall Raffle Drawings 2:30 p.m.–3:45 p.m. Concurrent Workshops–Session III "Using the Geographic Approach in Local Government" Bristol A Room Demonstration and case studies of how local governments are employing new sewer-based GIS technology to enable better communication, resource management, asset management and decision-making. Speakers: Laura Cadmuss, Government Account Manager, ESRI Sam Berg, Technical Consultant, ESRI "Six Ways for Rhode Island Towns and Cities to Benefit from Wind Power" Bristol B Room While 99% of Rhode Island’s electricity comes from out of state or from fuels imported from out-of-state or abroad, plentiful wind is a clean inexhaustible local resource for generating electric power. In this workshop, we will examine six distinct ways that towns and cities can benefit economically from wind development. We will consider siting and wind availability requirements for installing, owning, and operating a wind turbine. We will also look at the option of participating in a Rhode Island onshore or offshore project, which may yield superior economic returns compared to installations in town. Moderator: Andrew Dzykewicz, RI commissioner of Energy, Office of Energy Resources Speakers: Paylides Lefteris, Professor of Architecture, Roger Williams University David Melchar, Professor of School of Business, Roger Williams University Steven Esons, Professor of Public Administration, Roger Williams University Grace Neisingh, National Association of Environmental Law Societies "Innovations in Municipal Health Benefits and Barriers for Innovation" Narragansett Room Discussion on types of initiatives cities and towns can take to innovate their healthcare benefits, some of the typical barriers that may exist and how to address them. Moderator: Susanne Greschner, RIPEC Speakers: Mike O’Connell, Executive Director, RIRRC Lynn Furney, Chief Steward, Teamster Local 251 Vincent Ragosta, Esq., Labor Attorney Christopher Cote, Principal, Mercer "Planning (or Upgrading) Your GIS Implementation- How to Choose the Best Path to Success" Ocean Room This workshop is designed to provide municipalities with an overview of alternative strategies for planning to start a Geographic Information System (GIS) or for improving the quality and functionality of an existing GIS implementation in a cost-effective manner. Topics covered will include a comparison of traditional and emerging strategies for implementing a GIS system with respect to data development and integration, use of the Web and Web Services, funding, and staffing versus outsourcing. The workshop is designed to assist municipalities to evaluate alternative approaches with respect to trade-offs in short and long term costs, capacity building and speed of GIS deployment, and realization of expected benefits. Speakers: Steven Anderson, Vice President, Applied Geographics Michele Giorgianni, Project Manager/GIS Analyst, Applied Geographics "How to Comply with Current Environmental Laws and Regulations in Rhode Island" Rhode Island Room This workshop will provide municipal officials with valuable insight on how to recognize and meet their present responsibilities and obligation in federal and state law and regulations. DEM staff will present to review current changes and assist and comment on various municipal responsibilities in our ever-changing green state and answer any and all questions. Moderator: Thomas Lazieh, Government Liaison, RIDEM-OT & CA Speakers: Terrence Gray, PE, Assistant Director of Air, Waste and Compliance-RIDEM Beverly Migliore, Supervising Environmental Scientist–RIDEM Kevin Gillen, Associate Supervising Engineer-RIDEM Frank B. Steveson, PE, Supervising Air Quality Specialist-RIDEM "New England Community Energy Challenge" Patriots Room The New England Community Energy Challenge is an opportunity for local communities to save money and reduce air pollution by assessing energy use, taking action to improve energy efficiency, and seeking opportunities to use renewable sources of energy. This workshop will explain the Challenge, as well as the tools and financial resources available to help Rhode Island communities save money and improve energy efficiency in municipal buildings, schools and/or wastewater treatments plants. Speaker: Doug Gutro, EPA New England The Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns extends its warmest thanks to each of the seminar and workshop participants who generously contributed their time and efforts to make our program possible. Back to the Convention main page