Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Board of Directors of Council on Aging St. Tammany COAST Held March 24, 2016 At 72060 Ramos Avenue, Covington, LA 70433 The following directors were present/absent (*indicates absence): Bill Magee (President left at 5:29 p.m.), Clay Madden (Secretary left at 5:29 p.m.), Tom Sheldon (Treasurer)*, Audrey Johnson (Vice President), Jan Butler, Diana Norton, Bettie Pogue, Patty Suffern, David Grouchy (arrived at 3:06 p.m.), Larry Rolling (arrived at 3:08 p.m.) and Ann Broussard Note: A quorum was present. The following staff members were present: Julie Agan (Executive Director), John Stovall (Financial Director), Lisa Gilberti (left at 5:35 p.m.) and Deidra Chiasson (Executive Assistant) The following guests were present: Frederick Escher (Board of Directors Candidate), Bill Shipley (Board of Directors Candidate) and Debbi Smith (Political and Marketing Consultant) Call to Order Bill Magee, Board President, called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m. Welcome and Introductions Mr. Magee welcomed the new Board of Directors candidates and Mrs. Smith to the meeting. Bettie Pogue gave the opening prayer. The Pledge of Allegiance followed. Secretary s Report On motion made by Clay Madden, seconded by Ann Broussard and so carried, the board unanimously approved Resolution # 3-2016-1 the previously distributed (via email) Acceptance of Minutes for the February 25, 2016 Special Board of Directors Meeting. Movement of Order of Agenda Items Julie requested that the Strategic Planning Committee report be moved forward on the agenda to accommodate Debbi Smith. Bill Magee, hearing no objections, ordered the movement of the Strategic Planning Committee Report. Strategic Planning Committee Report David Grouchy introduced himself as the new committee chairperson. The committee met for their first meeting last week. The meeting summary has been emailed to the Board. Julie stated the millage is coming due in 2018. COAST is on a joint ticket with STARC. Diane Baham, STARC s Executive Director, is looking at going on the ballot during the December 2016 election. Julie introduced Debbi Smith, a political and marketing consultant, to the Board. Debbie handed out her brochures, listing her qualifications, to the Board.
Debbi said that COAST s bonding commission, etc. must be done by June in order to run in the November election. The time frame for December s election is October. There are also elections in the spring and fall of 2017 and 2018. 2017 is an off year for elections. This may be something to consider. Turn out is usually low during nonelection years. It may be to our benefit to run during that time. If COAST does not run this year, Debbi recommends fall of 2017. It will be more expensive to run alone. Debbi will have to check the cost of COAST/STARC running on the ballot alone. Debbi suggested COAST administer a Parish wide pole. The cost of a pole normally runs between $7,000-$10,000. A discussion followed. Julie will invite STARC to join COAST in the pole and split the cost. Debbi said the cost is $1,000 to receive voter registration data from an outside vendor. Debbi broke down cost for the Board. Her fee is $10,000. Mail outs cost $9,500-$17,000 depending on the category of voter that is targeted. Tracking poles cost $3,000-$6,000. Get out the Vote calls are $1.00 each for live calls and $.04 each for robo calls. Debbi estimated the total cost COAST would incur is approximately $75,000. A discussion followed. On motion made by Jan Butler, seconded by Diana Norton and so carried, the board unanimously approved for John Stovall to present the Board with an amended budget reflecting the monies set aside for the millage election at the April 28 Board of Directors meeting and for Julie to take the steps needed to get the process moving forward. Treasurer s Report John stated that the Finance Committee had reviewed the bank reconciliation without comment. John went over the COAST profit and loss statement, variance report, balance sheet, cash position, and transportation profit and loss statement (all ending February 29, 2016) with the Board. Patty asked about transportation costs. A discussion followed. John said he was monitoring our payments to make sure Rural and Urban Transportation will not cost COAST more than the $636,000 we ve committed. The cash position sheet has one correction from the Finance Committee meeting. Millage allocated for Transportation was changed to $636,655. Two out of five departments are using the Netchex online timesheet feature. We will slowly phase in all five departments in the comings months. COAST has completed its engagement with Laporte. The Finance Committee agreed to leave the First NBC account funds in place until the next fiscal year. COAST is switching from Fuelman to Fleetcorp because they offer the same services and do not charge $700 per month in services fees. A discussion followed. Executive Director s Report Slidell Storage Shed - The work on the inside of the Slidell storage shed is almost finished. The contractor ran out of materials and had to purchase additional sheetrock for the ceiling of the downstairs. They are hoping to be finished today. 500 N. Theard Street - Finally some good news with the Theard St. location, our sales rep from Charter went out to check on the progress of having the wiring install. While there, she convinced the owner of the Title Company, that has the end unit, to sign up for Charter. Now that there are two customers in the building, Charter will waive the entire installation fee. We don t have to pay $1200 fee. The bad news is that Mr. Salles son Joey, who promised last month to come to Covington to inspect the plumbing issues, still hasn t been there. He says he s coming next week. He says that every week. When he s here, he is going to have a plumbing contractor run a camera through the pipes to see what the problem is. We continue to have back-ups, but the site manager tells me the moment she notices a problem and Joey gets the workers out there the same day. Additionally, the roof is leaking over the senior center area. Repairmen did show up Monday to replace the ceiling tiles that were getting ready to fall. Julie will talk to Joey about a roof replacement. Page 2 of 5
Senior Wellness Center Update - Julie has told Rev. Stuart at New Zion Church that we are on hold until we are certain our funding for 2017 will not be affected by state-wide budget cuts. COAST Client/STAR Transit Rider Conduct- Last Thursday, we had two seniors smoking Mojo at the Lacombe center. Since our policy on use of drugs and alcohol is tied into our Code of Conduct, and since Mojo is not illegal, Julie was unable to expel the seniors from the center. GOEA has recommended we draft a drug and alcohol use policy separate from Code of Conduct. Julie will present that to you at the April Board meeting. We also had a senior with a gun at the Slidell Center last week, a STARC rider who was throwing her shoes at the bus driver, and a driver who had to call 911 because he had a rider who appeared to be having a heart attack. And we worked really long hours because the Parish waited until the last minute every day of the flood to tell us we could suspend service the next day. That involved making more than 100 phone calls to people who were expecting rides. Leadership St. Tammany Julie is considering applying for Leadership St. Tammany. The cost is $1250. If she is accepted, she will ask COAST to help with the cost. A discussion followed. On motion made by Jan Butler, seconded by Clay Madden and so carried, the board unanimously approved to cover the cost of Julie Agan s membership fee to Leadership St. Tammany if accepted as a member. Senior Center Auctions - The final auctions at the Centers are taking place. The seniors seem to be excited that there will be a new method of winning prizes. They just want to be assured that even though BINGO BUCKS are disappearing they can still play BINGO. Julie has assured them they can still play BINGO. Budget Cuts - The Legislature kept the budgets for the COAs intact for 2016. We have been told that the intention is to protect the 2017 funding from any cuts. However, the bill to fund the Councils hasn t been passed yet; so, there is still some question. Julie will be in Baton Rouge April 6 and 7 for training. The Louisiana Association of Council on Aging Directors will be hosting a thank you breakfast for the legislators on April 7. Julie s invited all our representatives and senators, but so far have only received an RSVP from Beth Mizell. New Folsom Senior Center - We are working on the possibility of building a permanent site on a piece of property owned by the city. In the meantime, the owner of the building we are currently using says we can probably stay there until late this year. Julie requested Resolution #3-2016-5 be added to the agenda. Bill Magee, hearing no objections, ordered the addition of Resolution #3-2016-5, COAST Website Redesign, to the agenda. Committee Reports Audrey Johnson requested to move the Board Development Committee report to the top of the committee reports on the agenda.. Bill Magee, hearing no objections, ordered the movement of the Board Development Committee Report to the top of the Committee Reports. Board Development Committee Audrey stated the Board Development Committee had thoroughly vetted Frederick Escher, William Shipley and Lee Davis. She recommended to the Board that they fill the remaining terms of Shawn Washington, Holli Pisarello and Gordon Herrin. A discussion followed. On motion made by Jan Butler, seconded by Clay Madden and so carried, the board unanimously approved Frederick Escher to fill the unexpired term of Gordon Herrin, William (Bill) Shipley to fill the unexpired term of Shawn Washington and Lee Davis to fill the unexpired term of Holly Pisarello on the COAST Board of Directors. Audrey Johnson volunteered to act as interim Vice President for the remainder of Gordon Herrin s unexpired term. A discussion followed. On motion made by Clay Madden, seconded by Bettie Pogue and so carried, the board unanimously approved for Audrey Johnson to act as Interim Vice President of the COAST Board of Directors for the previous Vice President s unexpired term ending May 26, 2016. Page 3 of 5
Audrey will step down as Board Development Chairperson. Ann Broussard will join the committee and take her place as chair. Mrs. Johnson presented the Board Development Committee s recommendations for the 2016/2017 COAST Board of Directors Slate of Officers. President Tom Sheldon Vice President Clay Madden Treasurer Diana Norton Secretary Jan Butler Diana said she was unsure if she was qualified for the position and said she would step down if anyone else would like to be treasurer. Ann Broussard stated that she too was interested in becoming Board Secretary. A discussion followed. On motion made by Clay Madden, seconded by Ann Broussard and so carried, the board voted 9 to 1 to accept the recommended slate of 2016/2017 COAST Board of Directors with the addition of Ann Broussard as a secretarial candidate to the ballot. Resource Development Committee Clay Madden provided the Board with information regarding the various dessert contests. He asked for volunteers to act as judges or alternate judges at the senior centers that did not already have three judges and an alternate. A discussion followed. Audrey Johnson volunteered to judge at Pearl River on April 25. Tom Sheldon will be an alternate judge. Bill Magee will be a judge at Bush on April 26. He will recruit Richard Kivett to act as third judge. Bettie Pogue is alternate judge for Covington on April 28. Fred Escher volunteered as an alternate judge Folsom on May 3. Patty Suffern will act as an alternate judge in Mandeville on May 4. Ann Broussard agreed to be an alternate judge at Lacombe on May 10. Bill Shipley volunteered as an alternate judge in Slidell on May 11. Clay presented the Sponsorship Packet for the Recipe Rumble to the Board. A discussion followed. Clay asked the Board for their help in soliciting sponsors for this fundraiser. Mr. Madden requested that each Board member take some of the sponsorship packets with them when they leave the meeting. Nutrition & In-Home Services Committee - Diana Norton went over the events of the last Nutrition and In-Home Services Committee with the Board. Diana recommended Resolution #3-2016-2 for SENIORSTAT Senior Services Software. A discussion followed. Mrs. Norton recommended Resolution #3-2016-3 Approval of Participation Guidelines for Seniors. A discussion followed. Movement of Remaining Resolutions Forward on the Agenda Clay Madden had to leave the Board meeting by 5:30 p.m. He requested that the remaining resolutions be moved forward on the agenda. Resolution #3-2016-2 On motion made by Jan Butler, seconded by Ann Broussard and so carried, the board unanimously authorized Julie Agan, Executive Director, or her successors in office to do all things necessary to implement, maintain, sign and execute a contract for the purchase of the SENIORSTAT senior service software program, licensing fees, tech support and required hardware not to exceed thirteen thousand five hundred dollars ($13,500.00). Resolution #3-2016-3 On motion made by Bettie Pogue, seconded by Clay Madden and so carried, the board unanimously approved the Participation Guidelines for Seniors to be implemented at all COAST Senior Centers and authorized Julie Agan, Executive Director, or her successors in office to use her discretion on the distribution of guidelines to COAST clients. Page 4 of 5
Resolution #3-2016-4 Julie Stated office equipment is needed for the additional transportation employees that were hired and new positions in transportation that are currently vacant. A discussion followed. On motion made by Jan Butler, seconded by Ann Broussard and so carried, the board unanimously authorized Julie Agan, Executive Director, or her successors in office to do all things necessary to implement, and execute the purchase of new office equipment for the expansion of staff for STAR Transit not to exceed nine thousand dollars ($9,000.00). Resolution #3-2016-5 On motion made by Bettie Pogue, seconded by Larry Rolling, the board unanimously approved that Resolution #3-2016-5 Board Resolution for COAST Website Redesign be added to the agenda. Julie said that the COAST Website was not a website but a blog page that could not do everything we needed it to do and was easily hacked. She requested the Board allow her to have the website/blog redesigned. A discussion followed. The Board requested Julie get another bid for the redesign. Bill suggested Julie call Cara Herrin. On motion made by Bettie Pogue, seconded by Clay Madden and so carried, the board unanimously authorized Julie Agan, Executive Director, or her successors in office to do all things necessary to implement, maintain, sign and execute the redesign of the COAST Website not to exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000.00). *Note Bill Magee and Clay Madden left the meeting at 5:29 pm. A quorum remained present. Audrey Johnson conducted the remainder of the meeting. Old Business Transportation - Julie is trying to identify all the positive changes in Transportation. We are still in need of a Transportation Director and Operations Managers on both the East and West sides of the Parish. The problem has been identified; and, we are working to fix it. There is not enough management at the top. A discussion followed. Theard St. Parking Lot Nothing is being done to the parking lot until all the problems with the building are fixed. COAST Parking Lot We are looking into additional landscaping after the parking lot is complete. New Business St. Tammany Council on Aging, Inc. Continuity and Business Emergency Plan The Disaster Management Committee has completed the St. Tammany Council on Aging, Inc. Continuity and Business Emergency Plan. The document was emailed to the Board last week for them to review. Julie would like for the Board to approve the plan. A discussion followed. On motion made by Jan Butler, seconded by Ann Broussard and so carried, the board unanimously approved the St. Tammany Council on Aging, Inc. Continuity and Business Emergency Plan. After Hours Use of Folsom Senior Center An individual approached Julie regarding the after-hours use of the Folsom Senior Center. Since the property does not belong to COAST and there are no restrictions against use by third parties in the lease agreement, Julie could not tell the person no. However, Julie spoke with the building s owner. He is going to tell the individual that she cannot use the center after-hours. HDM Van Acquisition Julie asked if anyone remembered the van acquisition process. A discussion followed. None of the Board recalled the exact process used for the HDM van acquisition. Senior Center Visits - The date for the next Senior Center visit is Friday, April 15, 2016 at the Lacombe Senior Center. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:46 p.m. *The above meeting minutes constitutes the general understanding by Julie Agan, Executive Director COAST of the meeting content. Please advise Deidra Chiasson, Assistant to Executive Director COAST, of any errors or omissions. Page 5 of 5