JANUARY 13, 2005

The meeting came to order today at Jamesville -Dewitt High School at 10:07 AM with 14 members present. Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance led by Chuck Paquette.

Secretary's Report: Motion was made by Rich Rogers, seconded by Dave Deuel to accept the minutes from the December 16, 2004 meeting. Motion carried.

Treasurer's Report: Motion was made by Cindy Hogan, seconded by Sheila Williams, to accept the treasure’s report with a balance carried forward of $2,168.39. Motion carried.

President Chuck Paquette read an e-mail from Ruth Koch regarding a situation with a Birnie Bus she felt should be brought to our attention. It was also shared with the Vice-President of Birnie Bus. Chuck will e-mail Ruth with the response.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Correspondence Committee: No report at this time.
Chuck said the next meeting will be in March.
Chuck passed around a 2-sided e-mail from Peter Manella. One is a message about removing snow from roofs of vehicles and the other is a survey. I will attach them at the end of the minutes.

Legislative Committee:
Bob Peters has nothing new to report other than the new “car seat” law will not pertain to school buses.
Lobby Day is neat - more people should go. Just let Bob or Peter Mannella know if you want to go. It is in Mid-April.

SBDI/MI Committee: No report at this time.
They will be having a PDS @ the February Conference. They will be meeting again in March.

Pupil Safety Committee: No Report at this time.

Operation Safe Stop: No report at this time.

Poster Committee: No report at this time.
This year posters will need to be in by May 15th. We will judge the posters this year at our May meeting
Instead of June. The speech contest will be held in May as well.

Rodeo Committee: No report at this time.
We are still looking for a site for this year. Deb Stevens is thinking about it . Chuck will call her. Also be thinking about possibly a site at the Fairgrounds, Carousel Center, P+C Stadium or the Burdick center at Penn-Cann. Chuck will be calling the Fairgrounds to check into that. Even if you do not want to host the Rodeo. You could still Chair the committee. Volunteers are needed.

Scholarship Committee: No report at this time.
Mike Janisch heads the committee. He is having some health problems and is presently back to work on a 4 hour a day basis. He will be going into the Hospital on January 26th for heart surgery.. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Mike!

Special Needs Committee:
There is a meeting in February to finalize the suggested 408 information sharing form.

Housing Committee: No report at this time.

Professional Development Committee:
Since Bob Peters is the State Chair for this Committee - he would be a perfect candidate for our Chapter Chair! At the February Conference (at the Desmond at the Turf) this year there are going to be some NAPT Professional Development Courses offered. They are; School Transportation Orientation - Fleet Maintenance Management and School Bus Specifications. We are also going to have some at the July Conference. The February Conference used to be called “Back to Basics” but it is now going to be called The Safety and Maintenance Seminar.
There are a number of people taking the MVCC program.. They are working on the web site. The committee for that program have suggested more courses for the program but more needs to be done to promote the program. It’s a great way to obtain a college degree ant a reasonable price.

Head Mechanics Committee: No report at this time.
Cindy Hogan is now Chairing this Committee. There will not be a meeting until January 19th. This month. They meet on the 1st Wednesday after the 2nd Thursday of each month.. There is a link to there site on the NYAPT Web Site.

Nominating Committee: No report.
Barb Dewey and Ed Hock head the committee. Elections are this June.

“S” Endorsement Committee:
Pat Bailey is not here today but she asked Chuck to report that they are meeting in Albany
On January 20th. Shortly after that we should receive a “packet” explaining how we should proceed with this. Every driver on a roster will receive a letter of explanation. They are still looking for sites to hold “mass” testing for the written test. It will consist of 25 multiple choice questions. The cost will be $5.00 every time you have to take the test. All must pass the test by September 30, 2005. You can miss 5 questions and must pass with 75%. ALL DRIVERS currently on a roster will have to take the written test only and pass it (1 time). Any New Drivers will have to take the written as well as a Driving test. DMV Inspectors will be administering the test. It will not be open book. If anyone has a contact with a possible site - Let Chuck know. There are still more questions to be answered about how the “driving test” will be administered. We also need to check with our District to see who pays for the test. Drivers or School District..

“Entertainment” Committee:
Sheila is still working on finalizing the Atlantic City Trip for April break. It will consist of flight and Hotel for 2 nights, 3 days. She is still working on “free” but it may be a maximum of $99.00.. Thanks Sheila - It sounds like a great deal!!

Old Business:
1. Liverpool has volunteered to coordinate the May Driver recognition Banquet. It was discussed
to possibly just have it combined with our May Chapter meeting at Barbagallos.
We need to further discuss the possibility and an agenda (i.e. meeting 1st then dinner, etc.)
2. Dave Deuell passed out 2 questions to be answered. They were: Does your district recognize
“No Pay Days” when an employee runs out of sick time and is not eligible for the sick bank?
& Would you award an employee bereavement time if; the death occurred during a vacation
break??? And the length of the break was conductive to the bereavement time allowed?

New Business:
No New Business

Round Table:
Cindy Raulli: Things are great at Liverpool. Monday they were audited by DMV and did well.
Al Humbert: Things are going well in Mexico.
Sheila Williams: Things are good in Cortland.
Rich Rogers: Things are moving along in Homer!
Dave Deuel: Things are very busy at FM - A lot of Absenteeism Judy is coming to the next
meeting for sure! Everybody bring candy for her!
Karen Doucette: Knock on wood - things are going pretty smooth at J-D! Not much absenteeism!
They started an incentive program - $50 a quarter if they have I day or less per quarter.
Liverpool has an incentive program as well. Maybe that is an answer!
Chuck Paquette: Things are going really good at First Student. They are finally amply staffed!
They got rid of 75% of the old staff and hired new people. So far so good!
Peg Gilbert: Things are busy at ESM. Lots of Long Term Absenteeism.
Helen Duda: It has been a daily struggle for the drivers to adjust to outside parking. They have a
$5.7 million referendum going up for a vote in February to build a new addition
above their storage building. It would include a very large meeting room.
They are hopeful!
Bob Peters: They have a lot of absenteeism and moral is very bad right now. Change does
not come easy! Idling of buses has been a big problem with the outside parking.
Heidi Bippus’s Father is not doing well at all.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you Heidi!
Kathy Jamerson: Things are going well in Oswego.
Jerry Sequin: Things are great in ?Fulton. So far this year only a 2 hour delay!
Cindy Hogan: So far so good! Only 1 - 2 hr. delay so far! They are already over their budget
. There will have to be some cut-backs. The next 6 months should be a real challenge!
They are looking for a new dispatcher.
James Dark: He feels fortunate - things are going very well at J-D.

50-50 was $9 to winner Dave Deuel. Congratulations Dave!!

The next meeting will be at Barbagallo’s on Thursday, February 10th .
April’s meeting wil lbe at Bus Parts Warehouse.
May’s meetng will be at Barbagallos.
June’s meeting will be at Woodcrest Golf Course.

A motion was made by Sheila Williams, seconded by Karne Doucette to adjourn the meetin at 11:24 a.m.
Motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,
Peg Gilbert