MINUTES COUNCIL ON VETERANS PROGRAMS Meeting of November 17, 2015 Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs 201 W. Washington Ave.

Transcription

1 MINUTES COUNCIL ON VETERANS PROGRAMS Meeting of November 17, 2015 Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs 201 W. Washington Ave. Madison, WI Members Fernando Rodriguez, American GI Forum Paul Fisk, American Legion (absent) David Schmidt, AMVETS Mike Soehner, American Red Cross Paul Fine, ANU (absent) Gary Traynor, Blinded Veterans Assoc. Tammy Walters, CVSOA Al Labelle, DAV (excused) Peter Gilbert, JWV William Lobeck, MOPH Phillip Landgraf, MCL Roger Fetterly, MOAA William Sims, NABV (absent) Russ Alsteen, NCUSA John Recklies, PLAV (absent) Dale Nelson, PVA Lenny Shier, TREA (excused) Russell Collins, USSVWWII (absent) Elizabeth Benn, UWV Mike Furgal, VFW Steve House, VVA Rich Peters, VVAW William May, WACVO (absent) Bill Hustad Don Heiliger, Am. Ex-POWs Inactive, CWV Others Present (not all inclusive) Representative Ken Skowronski Tom Dallman, Rep. Skowronski s staff member Scott Griffith, PVA Larry Hill, DAV Joe Hines, VFW Adjutant WDVA Present Angie Reindl, Executive Staff Assistant 1. Call to order, roll call, Pledge of Allegiance and introductions The meeting of the Council on Veterans Programs was called to order by David Schmidt. Roll called; quorum present. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. A moment of silence was observed for POWs and fallen comrades. 2. Certification of notice of meeting The meeting was certified by Angie Reindl as being properly noticed. 3. Action on minutes of July 20, 2015 COVP meeting It was moved by Russ. Alsteen, seconded by Roger Fetterly and carried on a voice vote to approve the minutes of the July 20, 2015 Council on Veterans Programs meeting.

2 4. Council communications Members, member stand-ins, and guests introduced themselves and provided brief bios. Gary Traynor, President of the Blinded Veterans Association-The legislation regarding guide dogs for veterans is moving forward very slowly. There is a draft created, but they are waiting for federal legislation to be completed so the state can match the federal definitions. Bill Lobeck, Military Order of the Purple Heart-Background on organization and purpose. Wisconsin is now considered a Purple Heart state. Proclamation given to MOPH at Governor s residence on November 10 th. Phil Landgraf, Marine Corps League-Just celebrated the 240 th Marine Corps birthday. Notice that there is a petition online that can be signed to support the renaming of Highway 87 to honor Marine Sergeant Holmquist. 5. Update members on Bylaws and what the COVP is about Chair reviewed all sections of the bylaws with the council members and answered questions. Chair explained that the function of the council is to make recommendations to the Secretary. Chair recommended creating a legislative ad hoc committee to help keep the council up-to-date on pending legislation. Motion by Fernando Rodriguez, seconded by Steve House that the Chair appoint an ad hoc committee to review the bylaws and rules of procedure. Discussion, voice vote, motion carries. 6. Update on Senate Bill 339 Council discussed Senate Bill 339. Roger Fetterly and Larry Hill explained that the bill creates a committee to advise the Governor and the Department of Administration on how to increase veteran employment in state service. Motion by Roger Fetterly, seconded by Mike Soehner to draft a letter to the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs the veterans legislative committee members stating the Council on Veterans Programs is in support of Senate Bill 339, voice vote, motion carries. 7. Expansion of service at Chippewa Falls Veterans Home at 72 bed capacity with 85 on active waiting list and 200 on pending list. Phil Landgraf expressed that the there is a great need for additional bed space in Chippewa Falls. Roger Fetterly shared that the Secretary is aware of the need for

3 additional nursing home capacity, and the department is working on additional facilities around the state. Motion by Bill Hustad, seconded by Mike Furgal that the Council on Veterans Programs goes on record as supporting the expansion of service at Chippewa Falls, voice vote, motion carries. Chair indicates a letter will be sent to the Secretary 8. Request Elimination of the food stamp application for WDVA Aid to Needy Veteran Grant Phil Landgraf explained that the requirement for the food stamp application is a hurdle to veterans obtaining the grant. Question was raised as to where the requirement for the food stamp application comes from, department policy, administrative rule, or statute. What is the reason behind this requirement? Item tabled. 9. Is WDVA interested in, or have they inquired about obtaining the Ethan Allen School property for programming such as homeless veterans? Motion by Russ Alsteen, seconded by Phil Landgraf that the council chair contact the WDVA Secretary to see if the department would be interested in the property, voice vote, motion carries. 10. Secretaries Comments Secretary was not able to attend. 11. Council members matters not subject to adoption Rich Peters shared his concern regarding addressing the needs of younger veterans, since the majority of the council members are older veterans. Steve House suggested a discussion on veterans courts. Tammy Walters said President Rosenau, CVSO Association President, wanted her to share that if any of their organizations wanted a representative from the CVSO association to attend any of their conferences, they should contact him, Tammy, or Joe Aulik. Bill Lobeck shared that a member of MOPH suggested that retired flags that were in good enough shape that they could be folded, could be folded and placed in caskets with deceased veterans. 12. Public input None 13. Future Meetings February 15, a.m. Veterans Home at Chippewa Falls July 20, :00 a.m. Veterans Home at King

4 14. Adjournment It was moved, seconded, and carried on a voice vote to adjourn the meeting. David Schmidt Chair

5 From: Reindl, Angela Sent: Tuesday, January 12, :38 PM To: 'David Schmidt' Subject: RE: Minutes from last COVP Dave, I forwarded your below to Secretary Scocos. He asked me to tell you that he concurs with Item 6 and Item 7, and he will share the COVP s support with the committee chairs. In addition, he asked me to relay that the department has determined that the Ethan Allen School property would require a significant amount of work and money to be made operational and to maintain it, so the department is not interested at this time. Respectfully, Angie Reindl Angie Reindl Executive Staff Assistant Office of the Secretary Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs 201 W. Washington Avenue, 3 rd Floor Madison, WI (608) WIS-VETS or From: David Schmidt Sent: Tuesday, January 12, :58 PM To: Reindl, Angela Subject: Re: Minutes from last COVP hope you got this Thanks Dave On Sat, Jan 9, 2016 at 4:33 PM, David Schmidt <dwschmidt80@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Secretary Scoccs; We had a very good meeting with alot of discussion on many items. Item 6;The COVP went on record in support of SB339. Could the office staff draft a letter so it can go to are leg. on are letter head paper. Item 7; The COVP went on record in support of the Chippewa Falls expasion Could the office staff draft a letter on that. Item 9; Is the dept interested in obtaining the ethan allen school property? Thank you Dave Schmidt Chair COVP

6 From: Reindl, Angela Sent: Tuesday, December 08, :59 AM To: 'David Schmidt' Subject: RE: COVP minutes are oky to post Dave, I spoke to the Secretary, and as far as the action items in #6, #7, and #9, he would like the correspondence for these items to be an from you. Could you please cc me on the , and I will attach a copy to the meeting minutes. Respectfully, Angie Angie Reindl Executive Staff Assistant Office of the Secretary Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs 201 W. Washington Avenue, 3 rd Floor Madison, WI (608) WIS-VETS or From: David Schmidt Sent: Monday, December 07, :53 PM To: Reindl, Angela Subject: COVP minutes are oky to post Angela I have a couple things Minutes number 6 are you drafting the letter,number 7 the same thing, number 9 could you please ask the secretary to send me his remarks where WDVA stands on that question? Thanks alot for all your hard work. Dave Schmidt chair COVP