The Southern California-based Municipal Equipment Maintenance Association (MEMA) will begin expanding its membership base by allowing fleets in other areas to create MEMA regional chapters after members voted Nov. 21 to change the group's bylaws.

The association’s first regional chapter will be in Ohio, and board members have already been established for the chapter. The chapter board met last week and plans to hold the first member meeting in January.

MEMA members also voted to create the membership and association coordinator position on the board. Finally, they agreed to raise fees for all members.

Additionally, MEMA Vice President Paul Condran from the City of Culver City, Calif., announced that President Rick Longobart, from the City of Santa Ana, Calif., had resigned.

In a letter to members, Longobart said while he is proud of serving as president for the last 10 years and helping MEMA grow to 600 members, he was ready to embark on "the next step in my career."

Condran now serves as interim president until elections at the January meeting, when members will also choose the new membership and association coordinator.

The November meeting, which took place at Cerritos College, was a well-attended event, with nearly 100 members present. It focused on laws and regulations, with Randy Opfer from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) speaking about several CARB programs and Frazier Watts, operations trainer and safety administrator for the City of Culver City, providing updates about commercial driver’s licenses.

The next meeting will take place Jan. 16, 2014. Members will be asked to participate in the annual elections.

By Thi Dao