Welcome to American Institute of Architects North Carolina Eastern Section

NC AIA Design Conference

The convention in Durham was excellent even in the rain. The city is an excellent example for the Eastern Section to see how old buildings can have new life.

It looks like one of the results from the energy being put into the Membership Services discussion is more co-ordination with the Wilmington Section and the new Cape Fear USGBC chapter.

A copy of the current memorandum of understanding is attached with this newsletter.

Brandon Love, next year’s President, will be the one to make this happen, but the discussion has started. There will be no change in names or boundaries of the sections since the memorandum of understanding that will be signed this year indicating how the Eastern Section will provide services to its members will have three year duration.

There is no significant reduction in the money coming to the Eastern Section next year from the sale of electronic documents. Our share will be reduced around $500 from $1,981 to $1,256.

It is still not clear if our section will have to apply for incorporation as a 501 3c organization or if we can continue to operate under the state incorporation charter. David Crawford is trying to get an answer on this question from national.

There will be a bond issue in the final budget for state building improvements as well as money for state parks and selected state agencies and universities.

And the best news I can share is that through the efforts of the section, Michael Dunn and his firm, and state leaders the Historic Tax Credit will be restored and will be even more useful to investors than in the past. Steve Shuster explained that the credit can be claimed over one year in some cases.

Other news from the state convention last weekend was:

1) A reduction in the quorum required for action of EXCOM. EXCOM will now consists of officers and directors and representatives of the schools of architecture will form an advisory council much like what national has done in reshaping its power structure. The thought is to have more consistent quorums where a large board has led to absences that resulted in meetings were no official actions could be taken

2) An increase in state dues to members to pay off CfAD's continuing debt. The increase will be $50 for members and half of that for associates. The increase will be continuous and will pay for programing when the debt for the building is paid in about two years. The effort is that CfAD become considered more than a building and that the foundation takes on more of an educational role making CfAD a synonym for educational programs for its members throughout the state.

My understanding of the funding of the CfAD building is that $837 k was pledged for its construction and to date $750 has been collected. The thought was to retire the difference in these numbers by appealing to those who pledged and have not yet paid and by evaluating the remaining $244k over the membership of NCAIA. The number of members is around 21,000.

3) The continuing education program is expanding its programs to meet with young architects in Charlotte in November and hopefully this will continue so our overall organization will not lose members. There was a slight gain in membership this year. Educational programs will also be offered in both architectural schools for the same reason. NCARB has changed the model for being able to take the architectural examination drastically in what is called the Integrated Path to Licensure and we want to be part of that process.

Repositioning

Summer 2015 Newsletter

Our section is expected to re-organize the way we deliver services to our membership beginning January 2016. This re-organization, and its struggles, is similar what AIA National has been working through for the last two years. Based on what services our section decides, we will be a different organization in January 2016. We can “contract” for services from the national or state level; however, our section is expected to furnish all the services listed in the chart below if we are to remain an accredited section.

If you see a check in a box that means that the board of directors for our section believes we can furnish that specific service locally. You can see that the Charlotte chapter officers believe that they can furnish all but two of the required services exclusively through the chapter. Our list, of what we believe we can do for ourselves, is around 40% of what will be required of us when we sign an agreement in December 2015 indicating our plan for service provision.

If all this seems complicated; it is. So a consultant has been hired to help the sections and the state chapter resolve how we will do business together.
We will talk about this in greater detail at our first general membership meeting on Monday, August 10th at 5:30 PM at Mother Earth Brewery in Kinston, NC.

Come join us for a continuing education opportunity, a tour of a wonderful energy conscious renovation, a brief discussion of repositioning and member services, as well as food and cold beer. This is your section and decisions will be made without your input if you do not make your opinions known. That would be a mistake for all of us.

See you in Kinston,

Hunt McKinnon
President, Eastern Section AIANC

 

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