Board Meeting (5/1/2019)

Meeting Minutes and Notes

North Carolina Board for Licensing of Geologists

Minutes • May 1, 2019

State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating & Fire Sprinkler Contractors

Raleigh, NC

Call to Order/Conflict of Interest Statement/Welcome and Introductions

The meeting was called to order at 9:36 a.m. by Board Chair Bill Miller. Other Board members present included Rachel Kirkman, Dennis LaPoint, Steve Stadelman and Kenneth Taylor. Board Staff Jean Kirk and Board Counsel Sarah Zambon were also present. Dr. Miller read the Conflict of Interest Statement as required by the State Government Ethics Act.  Dr. Taylor noted that, as the State Geologist and employee of the NC Department of Environmental Quality, he would refrain from participating in the deliberation or taking any action by the Board with respect to any matter involving an employee of the Department.

Per NCGS § 143-318.11(6), motion was made by Dr. Stadelman to move into closed session to discuss a disciplinary matter.  The motion was seconded and carried.

Dr. Stadelman moved to return to the open session.  The motion was seconded by Ms. Kirkman and carried.

Approval of Minutes

Motion to approve the minutes of the January 15, 2019 meeting was made by Dr. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Kirkman and carried.

Financial Report

Dr. Taylor presented the third quarter profit and loss statement and balance sheet.  There was discussion regarding the STIF account and CDs.  The Board continues to request a chart showing a historical review of income and expenses. Dr. Lapoint made the motion to accept the financial report. The motion was seconded by Dr. Stadelman and carried.

Administrative Report

Ms. Kirk reported that there are currently 1105 active individual licenses and 232 active corporate licenses.  She reported that there were 202 inactive status licensees.  Ms. Kirk also reported that there were 41 candidates who took Part One of the ASBOG® Exam and 20 candidates who took Part Two of the ASBOG® Exam on March 15, 2019.  Thirteen candidates qualified for license and 19 GIT certificates were awarded.

Board members inquired of the average pass rate for each part of the exam.  There was discussion regarding the pass rate for those who take the exam right out of college.  The Board inquired if access to statistics collected by ASBOG® for universities is available to State Boards.

Legal Report

As part of the required annual Board training per NCGS §93B-5(g), Ms. Zambon educated Board members on Public Records and the Open Meetings Law.

Ms. Zambon reviewed the memo that she prepared for the Board regarding scholarships.  NCGS §93B-11 provides that interest generated from licensing fees may be used for educational purposes for licensees or the public.  Ms. Zambon advised that it is highly likely that the Board is authorized to set aside funds generated from interest to establish a scholarship fund, as long as the purpose of the scholarship fund is expressly intended for educational purposes.  Ms. Zambon advised the Board that should a scholarship fund be established that the Board should adopt clear criteria and processes in order to award scholarships from the fund.

ASBOG®

The Board heard the written report submitted by Bill Harris regarding his attendance to the Spring COE Workshop in Nashua, NH.  Ms. Kirkman who also attended, noted that this workshop boasted the largest writing group in history, with 55 subject matter experts present.  Dr. LaPoint noted that ASBOG® is striving to improve the quality of the graphics on the exam.

There was discussion regarding the Annual Meeting and COE Workshop to be held November 5-9, 2019 in Minneapolis, MN.  Dennis LaPoint made the motion to send up to 5 people to the meeting and/or workshop.  The motion was seconded by Dr. Stadelman and carried.

Continuing Education Committee Report

Approval of CE Applications

Following review of the report from the Continuing Education Committee, Dennis LaPoint made the motion to accept the report as presented.  Steve Stadelman seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Discussion followed regarding incomplete applications for approval of continuing education.  Board staff was directed to defer incomplete applications back to the applicant and that only complete applications should be submitted to the CE Committee for their review.

CE Audit Update

Jean Kirk reported that two licensees did not respond/comply with the audit request and that those licenses have been revoked.

CE Forms Revision

Ms. Kirk was asked to send the Continuing Education Application form in Word format to Ms. Kirkman who will work on revision of the form.

The Board discussed a request from a licensee for a waiver of continuing education for the 2018-19 license year due to medical issues.  The Board directed that Ms. Geiger write to the licensee requesting further information regarding the circumstances and to request official verification of the medical issue.  Per 21 NCAC 21.0407(5), motion was made by Dr. Stadelman and seconded by Dr. LaPoint to approve the request based on receipt of the requested information.  The motion carried unanimously.

Old Business

Presentations on Licensure

Board members Bill Miller and Steve Stadelman are scheduled to give a presentation regarding continuing education during a workshop for the Division of Waste Management.

SE GSA Conference

Drs. Miller and Taylor reported on their attendance and participation in the trade show with ASBOG® at the Southeastern Section of GSA Conference in Charleston, SC, March 28-29, 2019.  Dr. Miller reported that there were a large number of students who visited the booth shared with ASBOG®, during the conference, noting that attendance at the conference is a good investment of time for the NCBLG.

Memo from UST Section of DEQ Regarding Reports

Dr. Taylor reported on the memo sent to UST Section staff members regarding “Clarifications from the NC Board of Engineers” dated March 7, 2019.  He noted that the memo was precipitated due to situations where it is apparent that unlicensed individuals may be fraudulently contracting with NC licensees to sign and seal reports requiring a licensed geologist.

Use of the title “geologist” by company staff

There was discussion regarding the use of company titles that include the word “geologist”, by unlicensed individuals.  Following discussion, it was determined that those titles i.e. “staff geologist” used internally by companies does not necessarily imply licensure to the public.

Phase II – Seal not required for State Agencies

There was discussion regarding the fact that some State agencies are not requiring a seal from a licensed professional for Phase II assessments.  Dr. Taylor will speak to Vance Jackson, UST Section Chief regarding the requirement of a seal for those assessments and will report back to the Board.

Reunion of Past Board Members

The Board was informed that Rick Kolb had decided not to proceed with this event.

New Business

The Board was informed of the recent passing of Jim Simons, former State Geologist and Board member.  Ms. Kirk was asked to include information regarding Mr. Simons in the next communication from the Board.

Certificate

The Board discussed changes to the current wall certificate awarded upon licensure.  Staff was instructed to replace “Licensed Geologist” with “Licensed Professional Geologist” when reordering certificate stock.

NC Soil Science Meeting January 2020

Dr. Stadelman reported that he will speak on to William Miller, president-elect of the NC Soil Science Society regarding a presentation for the Board at the NCSSS Annual Meeting scheduled for January 2020.

Presentation by Mohammed Mulla Regarding Licensure

Mohammed Mulla, previously denied license as a geologist in North Carolina due to not meeting the minimum requirements of education, experience and examination, spoke to the Board regarding his desire to become licensed.

Per NCGS § 143-318.11(6), motion was made by Dr. Stadelman to move into closed session to discuss the matter.  The motion was seconded and carried.

Dr. LaPoint moved to return to the open session.  The motion was seconded by Ms. Kirkman and carried.

Dr. Miller reassured Dr. Mulla that the Board would review his application for license a second time.  Board Counsel informed Dr. Mulla that the Board would not make a decision today.

Working Session

Per NCGS § 143-318.11(6), motion was made by Dr. LaPoint to move into closed session.  The motion was seconded by Ms. Kirkman and carried.

Dr. Taylor moved to return to the open session.  The motion was seconded by Dr. LaPoint and carried.

Motion was made by Kenneth Taylor to accept actions taken in closed session regarding applications for examination, comity, reinstatement and corporate license.  The motion was seconded by Dennis LaPoint and carried unanimously.

There being no further business, on motion and second the meeting was adjourned at approximately 2:15 pm.

Respectfully submitted:

Kenneth Taylor, Secretary/Treasurer