The following visitors were present: Andrew Cook (Advisory Council Member) and Abby Dueitt

Transcription

1 Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of Council on Aging St. Tammany COAST Held October 26, 2017 COAST Administrative Office, Ramos Avenue, Covington, LA The following directors were present/absent (*indicates absence): Jan Butler (President), Diana Norton (Vice President), Bettie Pogue (Secretary), Bill Shipley (Treasurer), Tom Sheldon, Lee Davis, Shannon Hedrick*, Dee Wild*, Leslie Denham, Lisa Breland, Bill Magee*, Carol Whelan (arrived at 3:05 p.m.), Maureen Greer (arrived at 3:18 p.m.) The following staff members were present: Julie Agan (Executive Director), John Stovall (Finance Director), George Nicoll (Operations Director), Amy Fulcher (HR Director), and Deidra Chiasson (Executive Assistant) The following visitors were present: Andrew Cook (Advisory Council Member) and Abby Dueitt Welcome and Introductions Call to Order Jan Butler, President, called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. A quorum was present. Bill Shipley led the prayer. The Pledge of Allegiance followed. Jan Butler allowed the visitors Andrew Cook and Abby Dueitt to introduce their selves to the Board. *Note- Carol Whelan arrived at 3:05 p.m. A quorum had already been established. Secretary s Report Resolution for Acceptance of Minutes for Board of Directors Meeting September 28, # Bill Shipley moved for the Board to accept Resolution # , the previously distributed (via ) Acceptance of Minutes for the September 28, 2017 Board of Directors meeting. Lisa Breland seconded the motion. It is moved and seconded that the Board of Directors accepts Resolution # The Board had no questions or comments regarding the minutes. Being there was no discussion; Jan Butler called for a vote. The question is the adoption of Resolution # The ayes have it. The motion passes unanimously.

2 Resolution for Acceptance of Minutes for the Special Board of Directors Meeting October 5, # Bill Shipley moved for the Board to accept Resolution # , the previously distributed (via ) Acceptance of Minutes for the October 5, 2017 Board of Directors special meeting. Carol Whelan seconded the motion. It is moved and seconded that the Board of Directors accepts Resolution # The Board had no questions or comments regarding the minutes. Being there was no discussion; Jan Butler called for a vote. The question is the adoption of Resolution # The ayes have it. The motion passes unanimously. Treasurer s Report John Stovall, Finance Director, stated the Finance Committee reviewed the monthly financial statements ending September 30, 2017 at the October 18 meeting. The Board has received the September financials and October Finance Committee summary via . John stated the Profit & Loss Statement shows COAST is still under on revenues and expenses. There is a positive balance of 12% for the first quarter of the fiscal year. John said that the Balance Sheet shows a high accounts receivable for the month. This is because the checks from the parish did not come in early enough to appear on the September financials. To date the parish has paid COAST for both August and September. The checks have been deposited in the bank. John noted that there was a slight uptick of $60, on the Cash Position Sheet. John mentioned that the Transportation Profit & Loss Statement had a $10, positive variance on net income for the year for Transportation. There were no questions regarding September s financials. John stated the next item was the quarterly Budget to Actual Report. This is a Governor s Office of Elderly Affairs (GOEA) report that the Board has to pass a resolution to accept each quarter. The Finance Committee reviewed the report and has recommended the Board pass the accompanying resolution. There were no questions regarding the Budget to Actual Report. Resolution for Acceptance of Budget to Actual Report- # The Resolution states that the Board of Directors of the above corporation does acknowledge and accept the Budget to Actual Report containing Actual Expenditures totaling $1,106, Actual Revenues totaling $846, as of the 30 th of September, Page 2 of 12

3 Tom Sheldon moved for the Board of Directors to approve Resolution # Bill Shipley seconded the motion. It is moved and seconded that the Board of Directors approves Resolution # There being no discussion; Jan Butler called for a vote. The question is on the adoption of Resolution # The ayes have it. The motion passes unanimously. Resolution for Agreed Upon Procedures- # The Resolution states that the Board of Directors of the above corporation does hereby Julie Agan or her successor in office to submit, on terms and conditions that she may deem advisable, for an Agreed Upon Procedure required by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, for an Engagement Letter with LaPorte for period of July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017 not to exceed $3,500 and to execute Engagement Letter on behalf of the corporation, and further it does hereby give Julie Agan, Executive Director the power and authority to do all things necessary to implement said Agreed Upon Procedure. Bettie Pogue moved for the Board of Directors to approve Resolution # Diana Norton seconded the motion. It is moved and seconded that the Board of Directors approves Resolution # John stated this was a resolution for the Agreed Upon Procedures Report. This is a requirement by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor (LLA). This report contains extra procedures that are put into the audit. The amount LaPorte is asking for this year is $1, higher than last year. But, this makes perfect sense. The two items LLA decided to address this year are credit cards and cash receipts. This is going to take a lot more work than it has in other years. There being no further discussion; Jan Butler called for a vote. The question is on the adoption of Resolution # The ayes have it. The motion passes unanimously. Executive Director s Report ResCare HomeCare Update Julie stated at the last Board meeting she had been asked to contact ResCare about using client s family members as caregivers for homemaker, personal care and respite attendants. Julie did have a conversation with the owner and she is open to that possibility. However, it has not moved forward. Julie has not personally pursued this anymore because of issues with this In-Home Services vendor. The Nutrition & In-Home Services Committee talked about it at their meeting last week. The committee has asked to have a special meeting with ResCare on November 16. Julie has spoken to the owner and she will be in attendance. Pearl River Senior Center Update Julie said one of the other things she had mentioned at last month s meeting was the Pearl River Senior Center. According to the September meal counts for Pearl River, they are averaging Page 3 of 12

4 only eight meals a day despite our best efforts such as remodeling, and promotional efforts in the community. The lease is up on November 1. Julie felt it was important to speak with the town mayor and let him know COAST s concerns regarding the senior center. No decisions have been made yet as to which direction COAST will move in regarding Pearl River. Our main concern is that our Eastside Transit Depot is located in the same building as the senior center. That building is owned by the town of Pearl River. COAST pays $300 a month rent to use the back half of the building for the Transit Depot. The front used for the senior center is free to COAST. Julie wanted to confirm with the mayor that if COAST had to move forward with merging the Pearl River Senior Center into the Slidell Senior Center, that COAST will still be able to rent the back portion of the building out for use as the Eastside Transit Depot. The mayor was perfectly comfortable continuing to rent out the back half of the building to COAST because STAR Transit is providing transportation service to the residents of Pearl River. Leslie mentioned that Valley foods charges COAST for a minimum of ten meals daily even if there are less meals ordered. If the center averages eight meals a day, at the end of the week we have paid for an extra ten meals. Diana stated she had read that the Nutrition & In-Home Services Committee had given the new Site Manager for the Pearl River Senior Center six months to turn things around. Diana stated it had been three months already. Julie said her preference would be to give it to the end of year. Bill Shipley inquired what was being done to increase enrollment at the center. Bill wanted to know if there was a plan in place to increase enrollment over the next three months. To keep the center open an additional three months with no plan in place really makes no sense to him. Diana wanted to know what happened to the seniors who used to attend Pearl River. Lisa mentioned that they discussed, at the committee meeting, it is an older population of seniors who attend the center. Some have left this world and gone to a better place. Leslie stated the committee also discussed reaching out to seniors in Pearl River through the churches, the Post Office and grocery store or where ever COAST can advertise for the center and its activities. Diana inquired if COAST was reaching out to the seniors of the Pearl River community. Julie stated that was absolutely being done. They are having a Harvest Festival at the center tomorrow. The flyers are in the grocery store, Post Office, local laundry mat and in the Town Hall where utility bills are paid. The flyers were also passed out at St. Joe s elderly apartments. Julie is unsure if the flyers were posted at the churches. *Note- Maureen Greer arrived at 3:18 p.m. A quorum had already been established. Diana would hate to see the senior center close. Jan asked if the town mayor had any constructive ideas to offer Julie. Julie mentioned that the center has lost some seniors. Some of the more active Pearl River seniors drive themselves to the Slidell center. This had been discussed at one of the Nutrition & In-Home Services Committee meetings. COAST has no control over what center a senior attends. The seniors can go to any center they want. Bill Shipley asked Julie if she had a plan to increase center attendance over the next three months. Julie stated that she personally did not have a hard timeline to give the Board. Leslie asked what the Site Manager s responsibilities were. Page 4 of 12

5 Julie replied the Site Managers responsibilities are to take care of the seniors while they are at the centers. This includes serving lunch, cleaning up messes, acting as counselors, client intakes and other required documentation. Leslie inquired who is engaged with the seniors at Pearl River. Julie stated it was the Site Manager. Susan brings her guitar and sings. She has brought in a multitude of arts and crafts projects. Susan is working hard to make the center a really pleasant environment. Maureen inquired if COAST had reached out to the Department of Aging or any of the hospitals that work with gerontology patients for awareness of COAST and being proactive. Maureen also asked if anyone from COAST had met with the pastors or priest at the local churches. Julie stated no one had reached out to the Department of Aging. But they have reached out to some local churches. Tom inquired which Activities Coordinator was working at Pearl River. Julie said that Sharon Snowdy (Eastside Activities Coordinator) is the Activities Coordinator who is at Pearl River now. Sharon has three senior centers she works at and is not there every day. Tom would like Tiffany McGary-Cyprian (Westside Activities Coordinator) the more seasoned Activities Coordinator to work with Sharon at Pearl River over the next couple of months. Leslie inquired who does the follow through to know if things have been done. Leslie asked if there was a sign off sheet that states what outreach activity was done on a certain date and at what time. Lisa suggested Julie come up with a bi-monthly report format for the Eastside Activities Coordinator to use in order to show what outreach was done. Maureen mentioned an Excel spreadsheet could be used. The spreadsheet should state the type of outreach, if it was accomplished and date accomplished. Jan Butler recognized visitor Abby Dueitt. Ms. Dueitt stated that contact at the churches; the library, St. Joe s, etc. should be done in person. Many seniors are not tech savvy. Diana stated that as Board members they should also be stepping up to the plate. Leslie she would contact St. Joe. Diana will contact a church in Pearl River. Maureen will create an all-inclusive checklist in Excel to give to the Board, for review, for the senior center. This would be an activities spreadsheet to use as a measurement tool. It would be a simple spreadsheet with the name of the people attending and days of the week; the clients contact information; activities they have done; activities they like; and if they are eating at the center. This would allow the Board to see the viability of growth. It would show if the center was growing, if it was stagnant and if changes needed to be made. The spreadsheet would be a tool to assist the Site Manager. Carol will reach out to a friend who plays music in different locations to see if he would play at the Pearl River Senior Center. Diana asked that every Board member send an by November 10 with an idea of who they are going to reach out to in Pearl River. Page 5 of 12

6 Lee thinks that fun activities and personally engaging the seniors is what will make the numbers grow in Pearl River. Bettie and Lee volunteered to make phone calls to seniors who no longer attend the Pearl River Senior Center. Jan Butler recognized visitor Abby Dueitt. Ms. Dueitt suggested that the seniors from the centers make the phone calls to their peers. Lisa feels it is also important to create a spreadsheet for the Eastside Activities Coordinator, who is doing the outreach, for accountability. Lisa would like to request that in two weeks a list of all the outreach that is happening to try and increase attendance at the Pearl River Senior Center is given to the Board. Julie stated that the information COAST is required to enter daily into the state database for stated reporting might have a lot of the information Maureen is looking for. COAST has to record every day who was at each center and what they did while they were at the center. Maureen stated the spreadsheet could ask what the seniors interests are or what stimulates them. Bettie suggested going to the police station and letting them know of the activities at the center. The police know of the elderly people in their community. Maureen suggested visiting the local Fire Chef as well. Leslie knows someone who does activities at the St. Joe center once a week. The lady told Leslie that everyone participates. Julie mentioned that Sharon Snowdy, Eastside Activities Coordinator, met with the lady who does activities at St. Joe earlier this week. Maureen suggested contacting St. Joe regarding opening up and providing activities four days a week at St. Joe. Safe at Home Program Update Julie stated for the past ten months COAST has been working with a contractor to do home repairs with the money received from the Recipe Rumble Fundraiser for the Safe at Home Program. This contractor has been incredibly generous in the materials he has donated, and charged COAST minimally for labor. The contractor has become extremely busy lately and very hard to get. COAST will need to move forward with another contractor. All the contractors that have been contacted are much more expensive because they are not donating the materials and are not donating their time. Julie wanted to mention this to the Board since the funds that were raised last year are sitting in the bank and COAST has clients waiting to have repairs done to their homes. Julie feels COAST needs to get the best price they can for a contractor and move forward even though there will not be as many jobs completed because of the increase in costs. Tom inquired as to the types of jobs the contractors performed for COAST. Julie stated a lot of the jobs were ramps. Ramps can literally cost $10, Maureen mentioned that Habitat for Humanity built a ramp for her neighbor. Julie said COAST has been working with Volunteers of America (VOA) to coordinate building ramps for seniors. VOA just received more funding for St. Tammany. COAST may be able to move some of their waitlist to VOA for ramps. Tom suggested Julie call the two Kiwanis Clubs. The clubs build ramps all the time. Page 6 of 12

7 Bill stated the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) provides funding through a local church to do repairs on people s homes. Bill will see if he can get Julie more information on that program. Sub-contract with DOTD for Rural Transportation - Julie stated that this morning she received a sub-contract dealing with COAST s Rural Transportation contract with St. Tammany Parish. This sub-contract changes the manner in which indirect costs are reimbursed. This came from Washington D.C. It is a change in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Julie and John Stovall have spent a great deal of time this morning trying to find out exactly how it will impact the Council on Aging in regards to our Rural Transportation Program. The answers received have been unclear. Julie has a sub-contract that must be signed by November 9. The contract simply states that COAST will abide by the new CFR requirements. This is not a negotiable item. If COAST were to find that CFR negatively impacts the organization from a financial standpoint, we will have to address whether or not we can continue to run the Rural Transportation Program. The new regulation deals with indirect costs which are reimbursed already at a fairly low rate. Julie and John are making what might be an assumption that the CFR is not going to have much effect on the Rural Transportation Program. John spoke with Stephanie Barthelemy who is the manager of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development s (DOTD) Rural Transportation Program. Stephanie told John the new CFR would not affect COAST at all. However, that is not how Julie and John read some of the other materials. Again, Julie must sign the contract by November 9. She does not have an answer for the Board today regarding any adverse financial impact from the new CFR. Julie generally does not sign contracts without Board approval. Tom asked John who he had spoken to regarding the new CFR and its impact on COAST Rural Transportation Program. John said he received an from Stephanie Barthelemy the DOTD Rural Transportation Program Manager and he spoke with Perry Felarise the St. Tammany Parish Government Grants Program Manager for Transportation. Perry referred John back to DOTD today. John was told by DOTD that they did not think the new CFR was going to affect COAST. John asked additional questions and was told that someone else from the DOTD would get back to him with the answers. Tom inquired if the changes in the sub-contract had to do with the timing of the billing. Julie said it has to do with the percentage of reimbursement of indirect costs. Tom asked what COAST s current reimbursement of indirect costs for the Rural Transportation Program was. John stated it changes almost monthly based on COAST personnel. It is an administrative indirect cost based on the number of employees. Tom asked why it changed so frequently. John said with the hiring of new employees and loss of personnel the percentage changes more than you would think. It is right around 50% but does go up. Tom asked what the new sub-contract stated. John said it is a 10% change. However, he and Julie do not know how it will be applied because of the terminology that is used. It could mean nothing or it could mean something. That is why Julie and John went to DOTD about this. Bill Shipley stated that COAST can back out of the transportation contract with sixty days notice. Page 7 of 12

8 Julie stated that if COAST did not sign the contract the parish will not pay us. If it looks like there will be a major financial impact Julie will come back to the board before signing the contract. But, it does not look like COAST has a choice in signing the contract. This is coming from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Leslie Denham moved that the COAST Board of Directors give Julie Agan, Executive Director, permission to sign a sub-contract with DOTD. Tom Sheldon seconded the motion. It is moved and seconded that the Board of Directors gives Julie Agan, Executive Director, permission to sign a subcontract with DOTD. Julie said that according to what she and John read the parish can actually move to get the terms of the subcontract changed. The parish is the recipient of the grant. COAST is the contractor. Diana requested that Julie send the Board an letting them know what she found out once an explanation is received. There being no further discussion; Jan Butler called for a vote. The question is to give Julie Agan, Executive Director, permission to sign a sub-contract with DOTD. The ayes have it. The motion passes unanimously. November s Board of Directors meeting Julie reminded the Board that the fourth Thursday of November is Thanksgiving. Next month s Board of Directors meeting will be on the fifth Thursday which is November 30. Committee Reports Board Development Committee Diana Norton spoke for the committee due to Tom Sheldon s absence from October s Board Development meeting. Diana said the committee went over a recruitment letter that they are developing to send out to potential Board members. Deidra will make the appropriate changes and send a copy out to the Board for everyone to look at. What the Board Development Committee would like to see is COAST not just having a full Board but having people waiting in the wings. So, there will be new Board members waiting to come on if a member falls off the Board. The Board current has two vacancies left by Gayle Green and Verna Newton. The committee also discussed types of people they would like to see on the Board such as law enforcement, contractors, and the media. If any Board member has someone in mind that would make a good potential Board member please let Tom Sheldon (Board Development Committee Chairperson) or Jan Butler (President, COAST Board of Directors) know. Bill Shipley stated he was reading the new Area Agency on Aging (AAA) policies and procedures manual. One thing the manual stated was the Council on Aging (COA) Board membership must be constructed of members that cover the entire parish. What Bill would recommend is for the committee to make sure they are looking in Madisonville, and Bush, etc. when searching for new Board members. Executive Committee Jan Butler, committee chairperson, spoke for the committee. Jan stated the committee went over the current COAST Bylaws and made some proposed changes. The proposed changes will be reviewed at the November Board meeting and voted on at the December Board meeting. Page 8 of 12

9 The committee also did the preliminaries on the Executive Director s Evaluation. The committee will meet again in November to finalize the evaluation. Jan thanked the Board members who sent their evaluations in to her. The committee will meet with Julie once the finalized evaluation is complete. Tom stated there was some concern last week with personnel. Tom asked if the Board should call an Executive Session to get all of the questions answered. Julie stated under open meeting law, the Executive Session must be listed as an agenda item and the agenda must be posted at least twenty four hours in advance of the meeting. Tom requested to have Executive Session added as an item on November s Board of Directors agenda. Strategic Planning Committee Bill Shipley, committee chairperson, spoke for the committee. Bill mentioned he did not feel the committee was looking strategically in past as they should. Strategic Planning should be two to five years out. Julie is currently working on the new Four Year Plan ( ). The current Four Year Plan has one item left on it which the committee will discuss at their next meeting. The Strategic Planning should align with the new Four Year Plan. Anything that is agreed upon by the committee will be brought to the Board for approval. Bill will send the Board the current Four Year Plan and new Governor s Office of Elderly Affairs (GOEA) Policies and Procedures Manual next week. Nutrition & In-Home Services Committee Leslie Denham, committee chairperson, spoke for the committee. Leslie stated she had nothing to report different from what was in the committee summary sent to the Board. The Pearl River Senior Center and ResCare were already discussed in the Executive Director s report. Tom said he had read in the committee meeting summary about food complaints due to not enough meals being order at the Covington Senior Center. Tom inquired if there had been any complaints this week about shortage of meals ordered at the center. Tom asked if things have improved with the use of the new card system. Julie stated she has not received any complaints. Bill stated the summary did not mention anything about family members of COAST clients being trained as caregivers. Julie pointed out that discussion came from last month s Board meeting not the committee meeting. Leslie stated ResCare would be at the committee meeting next month. So the committee will be able to ask them any questions they like. Old Business New Covington Senior Center Location Jan Butler stated the Board needed to move forward on this. Either they need to give Julie the approval to sign a letter of intent or they need to drop it from the agenda. Jan said COAST is out of room here at the Administrative Office. Bettie Pogue told her that they are out of room in the Covington Senior Center as well. Environmental Engineers Report - Tom stated he had a gentleman meet George Nicoll, Operations Director, at the N. 10 th Street location. Mr. Robert Bolin is an Environment Engineer certified throughout the country. The company s name is Ranger Environmental. Robert did a basic inspection for Tom as a favor. Robert stated the building is in pretty good shape. There are no environmental concerns. Robert suggested that COAST have a roofer inspect underneath the metal roof. Insulation will have to be blown underneath the roof in order seal some of the holes. Mr. Bolin also recommended a new air conditioning Page 9 of 12

10 system and ductwork due to the age of the building. If the ductwork was professionally cleaned that might suffice. Maureen asked the square footage of the building. Julie stated it was over 6,100 square feet. Tom asked how much the air conditioners COAST recently purchased cost. George Nicoll stated approximately $4, per unit. Tom said that it would run COAST approximately $10, plus ductwork. Maureen stated she had recently spent $17, on ductwork. Tom mentioned the price was up to $27, just for the air conditioning. With the insulation cost the price will probably be around $35, Tom asked Julie if the contractor gave her an estimate for the renovations. Julie stated the contractor quoted $40, Tom stated that put the cost or repairs and improvements at around $75, Bill Shipley inquired how many people the new building could feed. Julie stated sixty people. Julie said that asking price of the property is $695, COAST s realtor has suggested an offer of $500, with letter of intent. Leslie asked how long the building had been for sale. Julie said four years. Julie also mentioned that everything in the building is Americans Disability Act (ADA) compliant. Tom recommended offering $475, for the property to start the negotiation process. Leslie likes the building. Bettie has a problem with the location. Maureen thinks the building is depressing. COAST could build a metal building for $900, Bill Shipley does not want to spend more than $600, total on the building with repairs and renovations. Tom moved for the Board of Directors to approve Julie Agan, Executive Director, to sign a letter of intent for the building located at N. 10 th Street in Covington, Louisiana with an offer of $475, Bill Shipley seconded the motion. It is moved and seconded that the Board of Directors approve Julie Agan, Executive Director, to sign a letter of intent for the building located at N. 10 th Street in Covington, Louisiana with an offer of $475, Page 10 of 12

11 Julie stated she had been told by the seller s agent not to come in with a number that does not have a five in front of it. Leslie mentioned regardless of what the seller s agent says he still has to bring the offer to the owner. Tom said that number should start the negotiation process. Being there was no further discussion; Jan Butler called for a vote. The question is the Board of Directors approval of Julie Agan, Executive Director, to sign a letter of intent for the building located at N. 10 th Street in Covington, Louisiana with an offer of $475, The vote was counted by roll call. Jan Butler Aye Diana Norton Aye Bettie Pogue Nay Bill Shipley Aye Leslie Denham Aye Lee Davis Aye Maureen Greer Aye Lisa Breland Aye Carol Whelan Aye Tom Sheldon Aye The ayes have it. The motion passes 9-1. New Business Resolution for Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the Town of Pearl River - # Be it resolved that the Board of Directors of the above corporation does hereby authorize Julie Agan, Executive Director, or her successors in office to do all things necessary to implement, maintain, sign and execute a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the town of Pearl River to use the Pearl River Community Center as both a senior center and depot for STAR transit buses with a rental fee of $300 a month. Diana Norton moved for the Board of Directors to approve Resolution # Leslie Denham seconded the motion. It is moved and seconded that the Board of Directors approves Resolution # Julie stated this is what she discussed during her Executive Director s Report. COAST needs to extend the lease for the Pearl River Senior Center. There being no further discussion; Jan Butler called for a vote. The question is on the adoption of Resolution # The ayes have it. The motion passes unanimously. Page 11 of 12

12 Senior Center Visit Bill Shipley stated that the next senior center visit is scheduled for November 17th at the Pearl River Senior Center. Adjournment There being no further business, Jan Butler, President COAST Board of Directors, adjourned the meeting at 4:32 p.m. Bettie Pogue Secretary, COAST Board of Directors *The above meeting minutes constitutes the general understanding by Bettie Pogue, Secretary - COAST Board of Directors, of the meeting content. Please advise Deidra Chiasson, Assistant to Executive Director COAST, of any errors or omissions. Page 12 of 12