.President's Report – Chris Ruhling, Brewer Yacht Yards - We have met with the Institution Recycling Network in order to streamline the pickups, the bag distribution and or participation levels. John Tregenza will be assisting with the development and implementation of the program going forward.
We continue to meet with our representatives to reinforce the importance of No Sales Tax on boats. So far with all of the Reps I have met with they say they will do their part as they firmly believe in its affect on our Industry and amount of jobs it has created warrants maintaining no tax.
We continue to develop our website and improve our communication with our membership while continuing to make every attempt to grow membership.
Paul Harden from the EDC continues to work hard on our behalf in assisting our Industry. We may have a Marine Trades Day at the statehouse in order to stay in front of our leaders.
A few of us meet with the New England Marine Trades Association on Thursday to discuss the regulatory siege on our industry. The two main topics are pressure washing water and Non Toxic antifreeze.
VP's Report - Tom Rich, NEB - Fire subcommittee: Included in committee are Mike Keyworth, Ken Kubic, Steve Prime and President Ruhling.
We have meet several time and have hired Michael Leber of MWL Consulting to help advise us and represent RIMTA to the State Fire Board.
We are arranging for Mike Leber to visit some of the smaller yards. He has visited Both Cove Haven and NEB, Mike is familiar with the operations in Newport, The Shipyard as well as Goat Island.
The committee is working on a plan that we will take to the state to look for some relief or blanket understanding on major cost issues. We are reviewing and concentrating on:
Greater allowances for existing conditions regarding sprinkler coverage (grandfathering)
Economic impact
Water supplies and use of salt water hydrants (standard design)
Alternative suppression systems
Hazard Classification
Establish an operational guide for our industry
All yards and buildings should expect to come to some reasonable level of compliance with respect to smaller items such as. Fire extinguishers, exit lights, panic bars, alarm systems etc.
The fireboard is currently looking for all Marina and/or Boatyard’s to: Work with the AHJ (Authority having jurisdiction) to develop a plan of action to bring the facility into compliance on or before December 31, 2008. And the Marina and/or Boatyard shall then implement the plan of action on or before December 31, 2009
The state fire board or its sub-committee has drafted some proposed language which should ease some of the requirements and gives the AHJ more latitude either exempt or work with the facility to provide reasonable alternative protection.
Our next meeting is scheduled for March 19 3 pm @ NEB.
Don Vivenzio – Secretary – Point Judith Marina – Clean Marina Update
As everyone probably knows by now, PJM was officially awarded Clean Marina status last week. Jeff Willis dropped in 3 days after our last RIMTA meeting and gave us a bag with 2 flags and a plaque. Since then I have received information that 4 other marinas have applied and have been asked to submit an additional form regarding any official visits or notices of violations within the past 3 years. Lavins Landing and Newport Yachting Center have returned theirs, but still have issues holding up further progress for a site visit. BMP's are being stressed by CRMC. Marinas need to keep this in mind prior to sending in the applications. I have received two phone calls since the news articles from other yards asking for assistance. I am willing to help them, but I did ask if they had been attending our seminars. What can RIMTA do next to assist? Web page info, more seminars? It seems that more yards are starting to pay attention to this stuff.
Treasurer's Report – Checking $ 26,480.38, MM 79,607.09, Webster – 21,487.84 =127,575.31
Manufacturer's Report – George Cochran, Legacy - I have no active topics to report on at this time. I am soliciting input from the RIMTA members who are marine manufactures in Rhode Island. I am easy to find or contact at Freedom Yachts. I also attend all boats shows our region as well as most major boat shows on the East Coast. Please introduce your selves so we can discuss how RIMTA can service and support our industry.
Legislative Report – Michael Keyworth, Brewer Cove Haven - The legislative packets have been distributed to the Senators and Representatives at the State House.
Ken Kubic and I continue to meet with the leaders at the state house accompanied by our lobbyists.
The pressure is on to reinstate the Sales tax on boats in RI.
There is additional pressure to expand tax to include labor.
Two Bills have been introduced which have implications for the Marine Trades. They are as follows:
H 7521 this bill would require manufactures of ethylene glycol antifreezes to add a bittering agent to discourage the consumption of the toxic substance by dogs, cats, children and other animals. It is unlikely that this will have any impact on Marine Businesses
S2403- This bill would amend Chapter 27-6 of existing General Laws to require insurers to provide “a reduction of, or credit in premium” for fire suppression equipment installation. It is unlikely that this will have any meaningful impact on the Marine Industry in RI
Membership Report – Susan Daly, IYRS -
• The Executive Director staffed the RIMTA Booth at the 4 day Providence Boat Show in early January – solicitation of new members, presentation of the RIMTA Boater of the Year Award and participation in the Opening Day press conference.
• The following companies have joined RIMTA - 41* North (Newport), Applied Enviro-Tech, Inc. (Wakefield), Applied Technology & Management, Harborlight Marina, Inc. (Warwick), and M2 Motoryachts (Coventry). Reports were compiled on delinquent and dropped members.
• A new monthly newsletter has been developed to keep members informed about Board activities and actions; continued fine tuning of web site.
• Utilizing funding from the Governor’s Workforce Board, the Training and Education sub-committee drafted and released an RFP for the development of a strategic marketing plan with the goals of increasing awareness of the industry, marketing career and training opportunities to a larger and more diverse population and ultimately attracting workers to the industry. Several capabilities presentations with potential marketing consultants/agencies were held in February. A marketing partner will be chosen within the next few weeks.
Marina Report- John Tregenza, Watch Hill Boatyard - new Marina Subcommittee Chairperson, in RI 3 years, WHBY and Viking in Westerly.
Why Volunteered: RIMTA helped me, support group, Westerly removed from RI marine activity, RIMTA mission Statement.
Background: Prior to RI 15 years in Ct., all three yards each under 10 year-round employees, familiar with needs and hurdles of "small" boatyards.
Invite To Contact Me: Need input, other peoples issues Concerns, Interests, Goals: Regulatory and compliance issues, Clean Marina, just finished annual employee training.
Subcontractor/Marina relations--has been marina subcommittee issue, continue to collect info and views.
Spring means shrinkwrap, great program, sends powerful message, expand enrollment, assist in improving program. Expand RIMTA marina enrollment, especially "small" yards and marinas.
Invite To Contact Again: RIMTA Website my phone, can give my e-mail
Boating Safety Report - Barry Ennis, South Kingstown Harbormaster - RI Harbormasters Association sponsoring a 2 day seminar at the end of March focusing on Disaster situations. Normal time to set up for a situation is 72 hours, but in RI this is unrealistic, generally a 12 hour timetable. 800 mega hertz system will be going statewide will be discussed. Also Prof. Nixon will be speaking on the Public Trust Doctrine. Finally, Incident reporting will be covered.
Sportfishing Report- Al Conti, Snug Harbor Marina - The Second Annual Small Business Summit, co-hosted by The US Small Business Administration and Johnson and Wales University was held on January 11, 2008 at the University Harborside Campus where over 150 small business owners attended.
Attendees were asked to participate in one of five committees, Taxes and Budget, Regulations, Health care, Education and Workforce, and Energy. After a 2 hour work session members reassembled to be greeted by Governor Donald Carcieri, Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts, House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, and Senator William Walaska, followed by a brisk question and answer session.
After a gourmet lunch, Committee Chairmen presented a summary report of each of the five groups; some of the highlighted conclusions to surface were as follows:
Small business owners must stay informed and involved in preliminary regulatory proposals; this is best accomplished by establishing a rapport with agencies involved and be proactive in the development of regulations.
Business entities must present a united front to insure a healthy climate in political and regulatory circles.
Business partnering with educational organization is the most effective method of insuring a better trained work force.
Health Care issues must be addressed by changes involving creative solutions such as universal premium rates assigned to a wider range of people and increased accountability to the public from insurers.
Upon reviewing these above conclusions, Members of RIMTA are very fortunate to have the leadership of this organization who have already implemented virtually all of the above to create as friendlier business climate as possible.
Yacht Club Report - Steve Prime, Gowrie, Barden & Brett - Yacht Clubs – nothing to report other than I will gladly help Susan Daly with the contact information for any mailings to yacht clubs in RI.
RIMTA Safety Group Information-
Beacon Mutual will be sending every member of the Safety Group for the policy year July1, 2006 to June 30, 2007 a 14.9% dividend in the next few weeks. This dividend is the same percentage paid to members of the safety group for the 2005 to 2006 policy year. Beacon Mutual also plans to increase the schedule credit they apply to the Safety Groups members at the beginning of each policy to 10% for all July 1,2008 renewals. All member of the safety group must attend three RIMTA specific safety courses. For those members who have not yet taken the classes they must contact Beacon and attend courses on March 5th, March 12th and March 19th from 8:30 in the morning until noon.
Dealer Report – Dick Cromwell, MSI - The industry report for sales is varied around the country. Despite the negative reports on the Miami Boat show I thought is was a good show. Interested customers and purchases being made. I personally do not think it is as bad as the press is making it sound.
The MRAA is working on making more standard dealer manufacturer agreements. We should encourage it in Rhode Island as it protects the dealers and provides stability to the dealer and manufacturer relationship.
The MRAA is holding a seminar on dealer certification in Providence on April 2. I encourage dealers to look into it. Even if you choose not to get certified many of the standards are good operating standards for every dealership. We should try to achieve these standards locally.
Education & Training – Andy Tyska, Bristol Marine - Activity continues to be steady relating to the many different initiatives we are involved in as a committee.
In the Month of February, the much anticipated IRYS 9-day Introduction to the Marine Industry began with 10 new eager students wanting to learn more about the marine trades. They, other graduates of IRYS, students of NEIT and MTTI will be seeking information on available jobs at the IYRS Career Day on March 1st.
Arranged by date, the following meetings took place often with the majority of the members of our Education and Training subcommittee consisting of Lisa DiRaimo, Andy Tyska, Susan Daley, Karl Nordstrom, Paul Harden, and Wendy Mackie.
Feb 8th - Met with two representatives of the Penfield Group for discussions relating to the submittal of a response to the RIMTA marketing plan RFP.
Feb 13th - United Way Meeting regarding requirements, policies and protocols and how to develop training opportunities for entry level employee.
Feb 21th - Met with two representatives of Rushdon Gregory for discussions relating to the submittal of a response to the RIMTA marketing plan RFP.
Feb 26th - Met with members of RI Department of Labor and Training and the Saratoga Museum Foundation regarding the possible of development of a Providence/Pawtucket based Marine Trades Training Program. Discussed ways to utilize funding from the Saratoga foundation to accomplish common goals relating to workforce development.
Feb 27th - Participated in Advisory Committee for the curriculum development of the new Marine Trades 1 course at Mt. Hope School.
March 1st – IYRS Career Day, Newport
March 3rd – Meeting scheduled with Doug Sommers of North Kingston regarding exposing youth to the Marine Industry
Boatshow – Nancy Piffard, Newport Exhibition Group –
Providence Boat Show: 2009 dates: January 29, 30, 31, Feb 1, 2009 (confirmed as of 2/26/08) RI Convention Center site only (Dunk is not available)
2008 overview: Exhibitor and attendee participation was down: various factors such as new dates, economic issues, no big sailboats, sandwiched in between New York and Boston Shows, exhibitors not seeing any ROI, etc. played a role in the outcome.
(Boston Show Dates are: January 10 – 20th, 2009
Maximize the space we have by revamping layout
Bring in new media partners to help drive traffic and exhibitors
Street level – need to do something different
Better signage inside and around the City - work with PWCVB
Plans to work with WEEI sports radio
Get good speakers for seminars- helps draw attendees
Increase sponsor participation
Need new charitable partner
Stay open until 9 PM (8 PM closing was too early on Thursday, Fri and Sat. night)
Newport International Boat Show September 11-14, 2008
2008 sales pace is ahead of last year. To help exhibitors with cash flow issues- we went to a 3-tier payment plan.
Goals for 2008 include more multi-hull and luxury yacht participation (this sector is growing around the world/country)
Keep display rates the same for 2008
Increase attendance with marketing and PR programs
IYRS - charitable partner?
State of the industry press conference will take place on Thursday. Speakers to be announced.
Newport Spring Boat Show May 16 – 18, 2008 Increase broker, dealer participation
Marketing radius - more in CT, MA, RI
New this year- marine consignment tent- open to public and exhibitors
Show charitable partners- Casting Kids and Seaman’s Institute
First dibs preview day
Military day discount
Chairman of the Board – Ken Kubic, Kubic & Conradi – Federal Issues - EPA – Bilge discharge, mitigate or should be permitted. Antifreeze not acceptable to discharge.
Met with Sen. Jack Reed regarding Family Breakfast to be held on May 4, 2008.
Met with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.
New England Marine Trade Association Meeting on Mar. 6 – push through Federal issues and carry through ideas to the American Boating Conference in Washington, DC April 27-30
Sportfishing Issues – working with Recreational Fishing Alliance on Maguesen issue
State Issues – Need PAC money
Attended several fundraisers.
Had State House meetings with various legislators. Thank you Nancy Piffard for attending. 4 meetings in the last 2 weeks.
Speak to any Legislator that you know. The Legislators have said the “No Sales Tax on Boats” has run it’s course. Looking for jobs which pay $75,000-$150,000/year.
Marine industry is one of the only one’s which is growing blue collar jobs. Will lose jobs if Tax is put back on boats.
Did everyone deliver the Report Packages?
Attended the Economic Policy Council Meeting regarding the Marine Industry. Lisa has a hard copy of the Report, or she can email it to you.
Administrator's Report - Lisa DiRaimo, RIMTA - Potential Membership
Correspondance and telephone conversations with potential new members regarding their applications
Education & Training Sub Committee
- Attended mtg of the Sub Committee held on February 21. Meeting was an interview of potential PR firm to market the Skill Gap Study.
- Varies correspondence and phone calls with PDI regarding content, etc.
- Prepared Travel Reports and monthly reports for the Gov’ Workforce Board Training Grant.
- Attended 2 hour mtg at RIDLT to discuss new initiatives through DLT
- Varies correspondence and telephone conversations with EPC regarding the Report
Shrinkwrap
- Varies correspondence with IRN regarding potential new members to the Program and roll out of the 2008 Program.
- Had a meeting with Mark Lennon and new IRN contact Bill Yorkell regarding roll out of Program. Suggested a Press Conference to unwrap a boat.
Website
- Continue to review site for errors, post events, minutes, agendas. Various Correspondences with Web Master regarding site. Correspondence with members regarding log in problems, passwords, blogs, employment postings, etc.
Safety Group and OSHA
- Varies correspondence with Beacon Mutual regarding status of membership.
- Rec’d and posted Safety Group classes on the website
- Sent out various correspondence to members regarding seminars.
- Sent out and posted on the Website OSHA Safety Seminar document
Varies Day to Day
- Wrote and prepared a New Monthly Newsletter to keep Members aware of the actions taken by the Board.
- Correspondence with Bd and Members regarding March Mtg
- Daily Post Office runs
- Bank runs after Monthly Mtg.
- Prepared March Mtg materials including Agenda, minutes, etc.
- Prepared location for March. Monthly Mtg., including, copying, securing site, etc.
- Various phone calls, mtg, correspondence with President regarding day to day issues.
- Prepared document at Steve Prime’s request with Memership information
- Attended the RI Saltwater Anglers 10 Year Anniversary Dinner.
- Prepared for the RISSA Show at the Convention Center Apr 4-6
