February Special Members Meeting

February 17th a special Members Meeting has been called to discuss and vote on a proposed by-laws change. If you want more information go to www.aia-nj.org or call the office to have information faxed to you.

This is your AIA, hope to see you there.

AIA-NJ Members Meeting
February 17, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
NK Architects, Morristown

AIA Small Firm Task Force Meets

Under the leadership of Jeffrey Rosenblum, AIA, the task force met on January 7, 2009 to begin the process of assessing the needs of this member segment. The goal is to determine what the AIA should be doing to better serve the special needs of small firms, loosely defined as having 20 or fewer employees. Some initiatives already under discussion include providing templates for HR, marketing plans, Web site feeds, and newsletters. A mid-term goal is to develop two pilot programs focused on small firms that can test whatever concepts are identified in the current strategic assessment.

If you are a member of a small firm, let us know how we can help you.

New Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Tax-Exempt Organizations

Small tax-exempt organizations (charitable organizations such as youth athletic leagues) that previously were not required to file returns because their gross receipts were normally $25,000 or less may be required to file an annual electronic notice. The Pension Protection Act (PPA) of 2006 added this filing requirement to improve transparency within the non-profit sector and ensure that donors and the IRS have current information about these organizations. 

Grassroots 2009

Approximately 30 representatives from all sections of AIA-NJ attended the AIA National Grassroots conference in Washington DC on Feb 4 -7 to meet with their legislators and learn new leadership skills.

AIA-NJ ExComm meets with Senator Lautenberg.

 

 

AIA-NJ officers Jason Kliwinski, David DelVecchio, Lauren Thompsen, Stacey Kliesch and Seth Leeb met with Senator Lautenberg on February 5th to discuss the Stimulus Package and other legislative issues.

 

 

 

 

Officers at grassroots, Parisi, DelVecchio, Leeb and Kliesch

Some AIA-NJ attendees.

National Green Building Standard Approved

The National Green Building Standard, known as ICC-700, was approved yesterday (Jan. 29, 2009) as an American National Standard. The new Standard provides guidance for safe and sustainable building practices for residential construction, including both new and renovated single-family to high-rise residential buildings. This is the first and only green standard that is consistent and coordinated with the Code Council’s family of I-Codes and standards. 

Update on COAH in New Jersey

AIA-NJ supports the proposed 18 month moratorium on COAH fees to promote economic activity in the state. We have formed a special task force which will research issues and make recommendations for COAH going forward. AIA-NJ has also been invited by State Senator Lesniak to participate in the COAH discussion over the next 18 months. 

AIA New Jersey Blog foundation laid!

The foundation has been laid to start AIA-NJ blogging. Let’s see where this goes.