MINUTES

MH&R BOARD of ERIE & OTTAWA COUNTIES

— September 16, 2008 —

Present:	Steve Lippert	Ann Duez	Steven Prentice
	Marlene Boas	Kenny Baughman	Leroy Sizemore
	Bob Kasayka	Barbara Hemphill	Jude Hammond
	Pam McGlothlin	Bill Kimberlin	Eric Zgodzinski
	Barbe Limpert	Margy VanLerberghe
Office Staff: Excused: Absent: Guests:	Kirk Halliday Debbie Kelley Sue Kane Bruce Kijowski Joey Supina Mayor Jean Anderson	Patty Notestine Robert Warner Marty Williams Lisa Byers	Beth Williams Henrietta Whelan Charlene Adams

The Mental Health and Recovery Board of Erie and Ottawa Counties met on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at the Sandusky Artisans, 138 E. Market St., Sandusky, Ohio. Steve Lippert, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Introduction of Guests — All guests in attendance were welcomed by the Board with a special “Welcome Back” to Bob Kasayka.

Approval of Agenda — Eric Zgodzinski moved the agenda be approved as presented, Bill Kimberlin seconded; motion carried.

Secretary’s Report — Barbe Limpert moved to accept the minutes of the August 19, 2008 board meeting as corrected (change Erie to Eric and work to word), Kenny Baughman seconded; motion carried.

Executive Director’s Report

Dr. Halliday reported on the following: a) Monitoring Reports: - no questions asked b) Monthly Update: - no report c) Program Division Report (hand-out provided in packet): 1) Budget Cuts Update; no word yet on what impact this will have on ODMH/ODADAS and local communities. Governor Strickland announced $540 million in budget adjustments. The cuts take the form of a 4.75% across-the-board reduction for all agencies, while holding harmless homestead tax cuts, some education line-items, a children’s health care expansion and tuition freezes for state colleges and universities. Last winter, the administration sliced budget plans by $733 million in the face of the struggling economy; September 30^th is the scheduled date to hear more about the actual cuts. The Board will be kept updated on this issue. 2) Governance Review; the framework for presentation and discussion of proposed revisions to Governance Policies was agreed upon as part of the process initiated in May 2007 with the focus on Board Governance as the first set of policies reviewed. The parameters are part of the education module that will be presented next month. 3) Updates; we have received notice that the Safe School/Healthy Students Grant was approved for a 5^th year of carry-over, and the Parenting Programs will continue under that grant. Big Brothers/Big Sisters have not yet received their certification although, this should be happening soon. 4) 2008 Fair Survey Result (hand-out provided in packet) – Dr. Halliday reviewed the results of the 2008 fair surveys. Overall, it seems to be that the public has come a long way towards understanding the disease nature of behavioral health conditions, but there is still more work to be done.

Ø Bob Kasayka moved to recess the regular board session and enter into AOD Committee, seconded by Pam McGlothlin, motion carried.

CQI – Continuous Quality Improvement Planning

FY2008 Year in Review: (see hand-out provided for detailed information): A PowerPoint presentation was shown along with insight and explanations from Marty Williams, The Giving Tree; Bruce Kijowski, Firelands Counseling and Recovery Services; Henrietta Whelan, Bayshore Counseling Services; Charlene Adams, Center for Cultural Awareness; and next steps presented by Debbie Kelley, Mental Health and Recovery Board.

Highlights included: Children, Youth and Family Services

Mental Health Services – Adults

Alcohol and Other Drug Services – Adults

Prevention Services

Peer & Recovery/Resiliency Support Services

Continuous Quality Improvement Planning: Next Steps

“Year in Review” folders will be mailed out to elected officials, candidates, judges, stakeholders, and partner agencies.

Ø Barbe Limpert moved to exit the AOD Committee and return to regular board session, seconded by Barbara Hemphill, motion carried.

-Break-

Ø Leroy Sizemore moved to shift the commentary section of the agenda up to the present point, Eric Zgodzinski seconded, motion carried.

Commentary:

Mayor Jean Anderson, City of Vermilion, presented information to the Board on a proposal for “Street Law” at the Vermilion Youth Center along with a resume from Angela A. Wu, stating that with high-risk behaviors on the increase we need to stretch the boundary and reach more youth in diverse populations. “Street Law” is one proposal to reach more youth in Vermilion. It has demonstrated a good outcome in the City of Oberlin. Mayor Anderson would like to implement this as a trial program in Vermilion and tonight was merely planting seeks and making people aware. Mayor Anderson plans to attend future meetings of this Board along with the Director of the Street Law program, Angela A. Wu, for further discussion.

Joey Supina noted that the Sandusky Artisans has a new program along with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections Parole & Community Services. This is a transition program of sanctioned interest groups and is done by a chemical dependency specialist. Another new program is “A Chance to Change” conducted at the Juvenile Justice Center to support juveniles on addiction, what it is and what they can do if they don’t want to keep ending up in the same place, with emphasis on changing their behavior and thought process.

Consent Agenda

Beth Williams presented an overview of the consent agenda items.

Resolution No. 09-2009-01: Whereas: The attached Consent Agenda has been reviewed for appropriateness and compliance with Board Policies; therefore Leroy Sizemore resolved the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Erie and Ottawa Counties approve the business contained in the Revised Consent Agenda. Kenny Baughman seconded.

Discussion:

1) Item #1, Annual Dinner Projected Budget;

a) not happy with projected numbers

b) looking at tight economic times

c) pay without expending taxpayers dollars

d) the previous five years cost the board dollars

e) banquet good PR

f) not comfortable expending the dollars on right now

g) explore different ways to save money…dessert buffet, etc.

h) have board members pay for their own ticket

i) cut down on complimentary tickets

2) Item #2, Contract increase not to exceed $1,000 with Bodner & Kerik Architects, Inc.

a) no appraisal has been made yet

b) not sure of direction we are going at this point

c) waiting for ODMH capital dollars to come through

d) need to be ready to go within six months if approved

e) $5,0000 has already been approved

f) will know for sure by the October meeting if funds have been awarded

Ø Kenny Baughman moved to table item #2 (Bodner & Kerik Architects) from the consent agenda for a period of one month, Eric seconded, motion carried unanimously. Item #2 was removed from the revised consent agenda.

Ø Kenny Baughman moved to table item #1 (Annual Dinner Projected Budget) and not expend any monies for the banquet, seconded by Marlene Boas. After discussion/comments a roll call vote was taken; Kenny, yes; Marlene, yes; Ann, no; Jude, no; Barbara, no; Bob, no; Bill, no; Barbe, no; Pam, no; Steven, yes; Leroy, no; Margy, no; Eric, no; and Steve no; motion failed. Item #1 remains on the revised consent agenda.

Ø Roll call vote for revised Resolution No. 09-2009-01 as follows: Kenny, no; Marlene, yes; Ann, yes; Jude, yes; Barbara, yes; Bob, yes; Bill, yes; Barbe, yes; Pam, abstain; Steven, yes; Leroy, yes; Margy, yes; Eric, yes; and Steve, yes; resolution carried.

Board Concerns:

1) The expiration date for Kenny Baughman on the revised board member list is incorrect, as well as the phone numbers for Barbara Hemphill, both will be corrected.

2) It would be worth exploring the program presented to us by Mayor Anderson.

3) Friends of Harbor Town operate a non-profit organization in Vermilion with a major fundraiser being the “Haunted House”. They are in desperate need financially. If there is any way we can help this youth mentoring program it would be greatly appreciated. A 40% increase in drug use in Vermilion among juveniles is a direct product of not having programs like this available. Any suggestions to help with this situation are welcome. Flyers were handed-out to help support the haunted corn maze program.

Old Business:

1) Annual Awards Presentation:

Ø Kenny Baughman moved that at this point forward to require all board members to pay for their ticket to the Annual Awards Banquet, seconded by Eric.

Comments:

· Dr. Halliday noted that other boards usually do not have their trustees pay for their own tickets and feels that the Banquet would be money well spent

· more to be gained other than the issue of paying or not paying

· recognition is very important as well as media involvement

· paying for your ticket should be an option, not forced upon

· would like a balanced budget

· look at food costs

Ø Vote on motion presented above – motion failed.

2) Attorney fees/guardianships:

Bill Kimberlin had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Halliday at length to discuss concerns as well as other board members concerns. He has also met with many judges and other attorneys, and is pleased with the information he was given. At this time he is satisfied with where we are at right now.

Pam McGlothlin is concerned that the money would be better spent to mentor the families to have them be guardians. Dr. Halliday noted that family members are usually not considered because of the difficulty involved.

Marlene Boas asked to put this item (Attorney fees/guardianships) back on the agenda for further explanation and understanding for all board members. Dr. Halliday agreed.

3) Ad Hoc Committee:

The Board decided to convene an Ad Hoc Committee to review wages and benefits of staff members exclusive of Dr. Halliday. As the Chair, Steve Lippert took the lead in appointing an Ad Hoc committee. In his opinion, we need representation from both Erie and Ottawa Counties, and he is leaning towards those members who have had some experience with the Board. For Erie County those members asked to serve are: Sue Kane, Leroy Sizemore and Kenny Baughman, for Ottawa County, Barbe Limpert, Eric Zgodzinski and Bob Kasayka, with himself (Steve Lippert) chairing the committee, and with Dr. Halliday as an ex-officio member. This Ad Hoc Committee is not making decisions for this Board, but what is worked through would be brought back to the Board for decision. It was encouraged that all board members talk with these appointees and share their experience and skills by means of suggestions and questions so that we can improve the product that this committee would bring back. It is hoped to schedule these meetings prior to the regular board meetings with the first being before the upcoming October meeting at 6:15 p.m. at the site of the meeting.

A suggestion was made to explore the performance evaluation of the Executive Director.

New Business – Communication from the Board Chair – deferred to next meeting.

Review Decisions Made and Action — Steven Prentice reviewed the actions of the Board.

1) Eric Zgodzinski moved the agenda be approved as presented, Bill Kimberlin seconded; motion carried.

2) Barbe Limpert moved to accept the minutes of the August 19, 2008 board meeting as corrected, Kenny Baughman seconded; motion carried.

3) Bob Kasayka moved to recess the regular board session and enter into AOD Committee, seconded by Pam McGlothlin, motion carried.

4) Barbe Limpert moved to exit the AOD Committee and return to the regular board session, seconded by Barbara Hemphill, motion carried.

5) Leroy Sizemore moved to shift the commentary section up following CQI, AOD committee, Eric Zgodzinski seconded, motion carried.

6) Kenny Baughman moved to table item #2 (Bodner & Kerik Architects) from the consent agenda for a period of one month, Eric seconded, motion carried.

7) Kenny Baughman moved to table item #1 (Annual Dinner Projected Budget) and not expend any monies for the banquet, seconded by Marlene Boas. Roll call vote was taken; motion failed.

8) Roll call vote taken for revised Resolution No. 09-2009-01, resolution carried.

9) Kenny Baughman moved that at this point forward to require all board members to pay for their ticket to the Annual Awards Banquet, seconded by Eric, motion failed.

Adjournment — Eric moved the meeting adjourn.

Respectfully submitted,