Annual General Meeting
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Held at The Sebel Albert Park Hotel
Melbourne
Tuesday 14 October 2008 at 8.00am
PRESENT: 23 Members
L. Parker (President)
L. Schneider (Secretary)
R. Turner (Treasurer)
W. Hamill
B. Newton
M. Sutherland
R. Waite
Joy Addison
Cristina Lynn
Colleen Boak
Tony May
David Briggs
Tony McMahon
James English
Jim Morris
Briana Field
David Sung
Anthony Fletcher
David Tyrrell-Clark
Anthony Karam
Ray van Weert
Adrian Lee
Kelvin Worthington
1. APOLOGIES
None
2. CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting held in Melbourne on 6 September 2007 were circulated and accepted.
Proposed W Hamill, Seconded R Waite
3. CORRESPONDENCE
Nil
4. PRESIDENTS REPORT
L Parker's tabled and read his report for the previous year.
PAA PRESIDENTS REPORT Year Ending 30th June 2008
Since the last Convention and especially in the past 12 months, your Management Committee has taken the Association forward with a number of initiatives designed to better serve our members.
Web Site
We recognised some years ago that the PAA had to have a more professional and informative web site. In 2007 we engaged an experienced web site design consultant based in Perth to provide us with a new look web site format that would project an exciting image of the PAA into cyberspace. This is of course only a start, we will over time, load more information on the site to make it more informative and relevant to PAA members and the wider parking industry in Australia. One very important role of the web site is the opportunity to connect with the parking industry in other countries. We aim to continuously update our links so that it will be easier to connect to relevant information sources from overseas. We have developed and will expand our relationship with ARRB to access library resources dealing with parking adding value to the web site. Ultimately however it will be the PAA members who determine how successful the web site will be through their willingness to not only use it but to help us maintain and build on it.
Magazine
The PAA has endorsed the launch of a new parking magazine in Australia called Parking World, the first edition of which was published to correspond with this Convention. The PAA intends to take up the offer made to it by publisher, John Van Horn to use the Magazine to promote the Association and connect with its members and the wider industry. I urge all members to support Parking World, not only by advertising in it, but in particular by letting the Editor know of stories that may interest its readers.
Scholarships
The PAA has picked up on an idea from the Canadian Parking Association to fund a Scholarship Programme. This is to provide financial assistance to selected candidates undertaking tertiary education. To be eligible for selection, students must be children of people working directly in the parking industry for an individual or Corporate Member.
Forums
In past years we have held forums in different cities but during the past 12 months we have lifted our efforts to make these a regular feature of our annual calendar. We see it as an effective tool to provide our membership with networking opportunities and sharing knowledge among our peers. By holding them in different capital cities, we do feel that we can help link the industry across the nation.
Convention
This is our 11th National Convention. When our organisation was first formed in the mid eighties by the Lord Mayors of the Capital Cities its main purpose was to hold a conference to exchange ideas and information. Over many years our Convention has grown to a significant event in the industry calendar and one that we believe provides value for delegates, sponsors and exhibitors alike. It remains a core activity and we must continue to give it the highest priority.
International Relations
The Convention also serves a role in building our relationships with similar organisations overseas particularly around the Pacific Rim. The opportunity to speak at parking conventions in other countries is an important part of our international relations and improves our knowledge of the industry in other countries. During the year I was invited to present a paper at the Taiwan parking conference and one other committee member accepted an invitation to a conference in China. We also had a member give a presentation at the Canadian Parking Conference in 2007. I am confident that over time the efforts that are made to establish these contacts will be worthwhile, as the global economy but especially our place in the Asian market place becomes even more significant than it is now.
Acknowledgements
Ours is an organisation made up of volunteers who have other jobs and business interests and I wish to thank members of the Committee and other members of the PAA who have assisted us during the past year. In particular, I extend my appreciation to Glen Holdsworth, a past President of the PAA and long time member of the Management Committee. Glen was a driving force in the PAA since its inception and his role as magazine publisher and spokesman for the Association is well known and highly regarded.
I wish also to thank our Hon. Secretary Larry Schneider and Hon. Treasurer Rob Turner both of whom have been dedicated members of the Executive and who make themselves available without hesitation to the needs of the PAA.
My thanks also to the members of the Committee who left during the year or will be leaving us at this AGM, Bruce Carpenter, Michael Sutherland and Pat Abernathy. I would like to say a very special thank you to Wendy Hamill for her hard work in organising this Convention.
Future
The future of the PAA, its structure and role in the wider parking industry will occupy the minds of the next Committee. We have had some discussion at this Convention about the future options for the Association in terms of ensuring its sustainability and increasing its relevance to the Australian parking industry. This will be the challenge for the next Committee.
Thank You,
Leyon Parker
President
No queries were raised. The Presidents Report was accepted.
Proposed R. Turner, Seconded A. Karam
5. TREASURER'S REPORT
R Turner tabled his Treasurer’s Report for the Year Ended 30th June 2008 and the audited Income and Expenditure Statement for the Association for the year ended 30 June 2008.The audit was prepared by DW Johns & Co of SA.
PAA TREASURERS REPORT Year Ending 30th June 2008
The Parking Association of Australia ended the financial year in a strong position with a net asset position of $187,560 up marginally from $177,436.22 from the previous year. In view of the strong financial position of the Association the executive committee is actively seeking to implement avenues to provide increased services to its members which include the following:
(a) A quarterly forum is being held in conjunction with each committee meeting and rotated to each state to provide the opportunity for members to interact with committee and fellow members. The forums were held in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide during the year with great success following Sydney and Brisbane the previous year.
(b) We have commissioned the new Web Site at a cost of $10,000.
(c) We have reached agreement with Bricepac, the editor of the Parking Today Magazine to produce no less than 4 Australian editions per year and at no cost to the association.
(d) The Association has implemented a scholarship scheme of $6,000 per annum to support its members and their children to pursue studies.
(e) The association is also looking to encourage its members to bring innovative concepts to the committee that will assist members and the industry generally.
(f) The PAA have resolved to appoint a professional secretariat to further provide an active contact point for its members and to implement further initiatives to service members.
There are currently 105 financial members as at 30th June and we are encouraged by the new companies and individuals that have joined the Association in the past year. All members are listed on the new web site in the category of their respective interest in the industry.
The Membership Fees have remained at their current level for a number of years. It is recommended that annual membership fees for the year commencing 1 January 2008, are increased from $350 to $400 (+GST) for corporate membership and $170 (+GST) for individual members.
Please see attached a summary of the trading position for the year. The year end accounts have been certified by the Association's Accountant and available for perusal by members if required. We would be pleased to provide any further information required.
R.B. Turner
Treasurer
No queries were raised. It was proposed that the Treasurer’s Report and the unaudited Income and Expenditure Statement for the Association for the year ended 30 June 2008 be accepted.
Proposed A. Fletcher, Seconded R. Waite
It was unanimously agreed to accept the Treasurer’ recommendation to increase annual subscriptions from January 2009 for Corporate Members from $350 to $400 excl GST, and for Individual Members from $150 to $170 plus GST.
6. ELECTION OF NEW COMMITTEE
The secretary explained that committee members are elected for a 4 year term and each 2 years, approximately half the committee positions become vacant. At the date of the AGM, there are 5 vacant positions on the 11 person committee. Committee nominations had been advertised for several months via email and on the Association’s website. 6 nominations had been received from eligible members, however one had recently withdrawn his nomination.
Each of the nominated persons was invited to make a short presentation on their background in the parking industry, and their proposed value add to the committee.
As there was no longer a requirement for a ballot, it was proposed that the following members be elected to the committee of the Parking Association of Australia, for a 4 year term until October 2012.
Joy Addison, Anthony Karam, Cristina Lynn, Tony May, Rob Turner.
Proposed D. Sung, Seconded M. Sutherland
These 5 join the remaining members of the committee - Leyon Parker, Larry Schneider, Wendy Hamill, Paul McIlvride, Brad Newton and Russell Waite.
The new committee will agree executive positions at its first meeting to be held in November.
7. GENERAL BUSINESS
Nil.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.30am.
