Mr. Patrick Cannon
Ms. Tish Kingaby
Mr. Leamon Jones Ms. Christine Boone
Ms. Sherri Heibeck Ms. Susan Turney
Ms. Gwen McNeal Ms. Constance Zanger
Ms. Michelle Visscher Ms. Diamalyn Gaston
Ms. Sherry Gordon Ms. Dee Robertson
Mr. King Nelson Ms. Lisa Kamkondo
Mr. James Hull Mr. Dave Bowden
Ms. Roberta McCall Ms. Nichole Wright
Ms. Lisa Kisiel Mr. Shig Toda
Ms. Cindy Caldwell Ms. Stephanie Lwanga
Mr. David Robinson
GUESTS/ATTENDEES
Ms. Ruta Sharangpani Mr. A. Sharangpani
Ms. Dipti Sharangpani Ms. Regina Smith
Mr. Michael Reese Ms. Susan Reese
Ms. Andrea Christopher Ms. Colleen Dahl
Mr. Waverly Williams II Ms. Diana Schmitthausler
Ms. Pat Muzzell Ms. Jennifer Graham
Mr. Jim Stelter Ms. Jackie Boomstra
Ms. Bonnie Coleman Mr. John Coleman
Ms. Pat Wagner Mr. George Wurtzel
Ms. Jessica Madden Ms. Linda Stacey
Mr. John Victory Mr. Curtis Whatley
Mr. Larry LaFerriere Mr. Jon Armstrong
Ms. Janet Rourke Ms. Marlene Malloy
Ms. Gail Toda Mr. Richard Clay
Mr. Clay's Driver Mr. Mardison Martin, Jr.
Mr. Mike Ellis Mr. Larry Scott
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
The Committee of the Whole was opened by Chair
Jo Ann Pilarski at 9:05 a.m. For audiences participating by audio-stream on the Internet, brief email messages sent to mcbpubliccomments@comcast.netand received between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. are printed and considered part of the Public Comment portion of the meeting and read at 11:45 a.m.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMISSIONERS
Chair
Jo Ann Pilarski introduced new Commissioners Margaret Wolfe of Ann Arbor and Mark Eagle of Lansing.
COMMISSIONER APPOINTMENTS
Chair Pilarski announced the commissioner liaisons to MCB Committees:
Geri Taeckens - Elected Operators Committee; Velma Allen - Image & Identity; Margaret Wolfe - Cultural Diversity; Mark Eagle - Service Delivery Focus Design Team; Jo Ann Pilarski - Planning and Quality (PAQ) Team. Commissioner representatives to the Consumer Involvement Council (CIC) attend on a rotating basis; Mark Eagle will attend the January 14, 2008 meeting as he has just stepped down as the CIC chair. Liaisons send written summaries of these meetings to all Commissioners and give brief highlights of those meetings at the commission meetings.
COMMISSIONER ACTIVITIES
Ms. Taeckens attended the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan (NFB-M) and Michigan Parents of the Visually Impaired conferences.
Ms. Pilarski attended the NFB-M convention and also the PAQ team meeting held in October. Ms. Pilarski said the board is encouraged to attend the consumer conventions held each fall.
DIRECTOR'S 2007 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND 2008 PERFORMANCE PLAN
The board had no discussion regarding the Director's 2007 evaluation and 2008 Performance Plan, which were developed in a Special Meeting of the board held on November 26, 2007, and which were included in the board packet mailing of December 10. Both documents will be presented for formal adoption during the regular meeting.
ISSUES FROM LAST MEETING
Ms. Tish Kingaby reported that as requested, as a result of the spending restrictions on meetings, she had asked Ms. Constance Zanger, BEP Manager, to coordinate future catering at commission meetings and offer opportunities to BEP operators to arrange lunches, beverages, etc., on a direct pay basis for the attendees.
Ms. Kingaby also reported that, following a motion made at the August 27th meeting to discuss a request for board support on the possible sale of
Camp Tuhsmeheta, Ms. Pilarski has asked Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind (OUB) for further documentation. Ms. Pilarski said she had not received this documentation. Director Pat Cannon also advised her that in discussions with members of the board of the Michigan School for the Blind Trust Fund Committee and staff at the Michigan Department of Education, he had been assured that there were no plans to sell the Camp. Mr. Cannon also said MCB would be advised of future meetings of this Committee.
VICE CHAIR SELECTION
Discussion was held regarding the election of the Vice Chair to the board, who conducts meetings on behalf of the chair in her absence. Ms.
Velma Allen was nominated and said she would accept this position.
CONSUMER DIALOGUE
Chair Pilarski opened the consumer dialogue session which allows interaction between attending members of the public and the board and assists in building trust and relationships. The topic was "Consumer Choice - What It is and What It is Not" and comments are included in a Consumer Dialogue compilation to be kept and submitted to the Chair.
CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL AND DETERMINATION OF QUORUM
The regular meeting was called to order by Chair
Jo Ann Pilarski at 10:23 a.m. Roll call was taken and a quorum was present.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MS. TAECKENS MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MR. EAGLE, TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES OF THE
AUGUST 27, 2007 MEETING, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
DIRECTOR'S 2007 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND 2008 PERFORMANCE PLAN
Ms. Pilarski announced that the Director had received his 2007 Performance evaluation by the board on
November 26, 2007, and had received a High Performing rating for hisperformance. The Director's 2008 objectives were also set at this meeting.
MS. TAECKENS MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. ALLEN, TO APPROVE THE DIRECTOR'S 2007 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MS. ALLEN MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. TAECKENS, TO APPROVE THE DIRECTOR'S 2008 PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
BOARD CORRESPONDENCE
Ms. Kingaby reported late receipt of a letter from Attorney Mark Kamar dated December 5 regarding an Administrative Law Judge decision slated for action by the board in the afternoon session of the
December 10, 2007 meeting.
COMMISSIONER RECOGNITION
Ms. Pilarski recognized the valuable services of Commissioners Sheila Ashcraft and Dick Grant, whose terms had expired in September.
VICE CHAIR SELECTION
MS. TAECKENS MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. WOLFE, TO AFFIRM THE SELECTION OF MS. VELMA ALLEN TO SERVE AS VICE CHAIR TO THE BOARD. THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
Ms. Pilarski formally introduced new Commissioners
Margaret Wolfe and Mark Eagle. Ms. Wolfe described her background with 35 years experience as a librarian who had concentrated in services to the blind and physically handicapped, both as the State subregional librarian at the Library of Michigan and currently as the Washtenaw County subregional librarian. Mr. Eagle described his involvement with the Commission as a client and his service on the CIC and the Ad Hoc Committee on Training Center Services. Mr. Eagle is a current student at Central Michigan University with a major in political science, and is also seeking a place in the legislature as a State Representative. Both expressed their desire to enhance programs for Michigan citizens who are blind through their service on the board.
MCB CONSUMER SERVICES REPORT
Mr. Leamon Jones, Director of the Consumer Services Division, referred the board to the written MCB report which describes the many pursuits in which staff are involved and highlighted some of the many partnership, transition, cash match, etc. activities.
Mr. Jones also summarized the results of several summer programs for youth, and the number of consumers served over the year. Plans continue to develop soft skills training and ways to prepare clients to make them more competitive in college and vocational settings.
MR. EAGLE MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. WOLFE, TO ACCEPT THE CONSUMER SERVICES REPORT, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MCB HONOR ROLL Awards
Mr. Leamon Jones announced several awards honoring individuals who were successful in their vocational goals in 2007, as well as employers and community partners who contributed to the success of MCB clients. Most recipients were able to accept congratulations in person, or via teleconference. Awardees are as follows:
Consumers: Ms. Mercedes Bell, Ms. Lillian Knoll, Mr. Michael Reese, Ms. Diana Schmitthausler, Mr. Ruta Sharangpani, Ms. Patricia Wagner.
Employers: Fazoli's of
Battle Creek, StelterPartners of Grand Rapids, and Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) of Warren.
Community Partners: Community Choices of
Westland, Jennifer Graham (Certified Orientation & Mobility Specialist), and Mid Michigan Industries of Mt. Pleasant.
Mr. Jones congratulated all the recipients for their dedication and hard work.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Terry Eagle (via email) expressed his intention to continue to advocate for blind citizens of
Michigan, and to thank the Commission for audio-streaming the meetings.
Ms. Sheila Ashcraft (via email) congratulated Ms. Allen on her selection as vice chair and thanked the board and MCB staff for expressing appreciation of her service as commissioner. She welcomed the new board members and encouraged the board to continue its good work and for blind consumers to continue to present challenges, based on consumer choice and realistic goals.
Mr. George Wurtzel, Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind, said his organization appreciated the support of MCB and the State Board of Education in
Camp Tuhsmeheta activities and operations, and highlighted forthcoming activities at the camp. Mr. Wurtzel encouraged people to check out their website
www.campt.org
for details of activities and for job postings.
Mr. Richard Clay, an MCB client, said he represented a group called Advocates for the Blind, and presented a print letter (no other format) to the board, entailing ongoing complaints about the Detroit Office staff, practices and procedures which he says have been documented, and listing seven recommendations for improvement. Mr. Clay hoped their organization could work with MCB in the future on this and other statewide issues affecting consumers who are blind.
Recessed for break at
12:13 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The meeting was reconvened at
1:20 p.m.
BUSINESS
ENTERPRISE
PROGRAM REPORT
As a continuation of the client recognition theme for the meeting, Ms. Constance Zanger, BEP Manager, announced the awards made to BEP operators at their spring 2007 annual meeting. Ms. Zanger introduced BEP Promotional Agents Mr. Dave Robinson and Mr. James Hull, who announced the co-awardees, Ms. Bonnie Coleman of
Lansing who was in attendance, and Mr. Timothy Taylor of Escanaba.
Ms. Zanger conveyed the regrets of Mr. Rob Essenberg, Elected Operators Committee (EOC) chair, that he could not attend the meeting. Ms. Zanger recapped ongoing activities concerning the U.S. Postal Services contract with MCB and other operations in two state buildings.
Ms. Zanger referred the board to the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decision regarding a hearing for Mr. Phillip Brand, provided in the meeting packet sent to the board. Ms. Zanger said BEP recommended affirming the decision of the ALJ to allow a six month probationary period for Mr. Brand.
MS. ALLEN MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. WOLFE, TO ACCEPT THE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE DECISION FOR A SIX MONTH PROBATIONARY PERIOD, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Discussion was held regarding benchmarks and timeline of the probationary plan; Ms. Zanger said BEP has developed a recommended plan to implement the six month probation.
Ms. Zanger referred the board to the EOC motions, previously provided to the board in its meeting packet, two of which required action by the board.
A motion (identified as #1 in board materials) was made to extend from six months to one year the minimum time period a vendor must stay in an operation before they may move to another location.
MS. TAECKENS MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MR. EAGLE, TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDATION TO EXTEND THE MINIMUM TIME PERIOD FROM SIX MONTHS TO ONE YEAR THAT A VENDOR MUST STAY IN AN OPERATION, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
A motion (identified as # 2 in board materials) to revise the current Operator Selection System, which was established to consider qualifications of operators for purposes of promotion on other than seniority status. Ms. Zanger said the current system has been in place for about three years. The five changes initially recommended by the EOC involve profit expectation, building management reports, health and safety reports, agreement violations, and compliance review. A sixth change was added to remove negative points for late payment of set-aside fees.
Discussion was held regarding details of the six recommendations and essentials of the Operator Selection System. Ms. Zanger said the BEP staff was generally in support of the recommended changes, with the exception of the elimination of late fees for the set-aside payments, and could not therefore recommend adoption of the changes.
MR. EAGLE MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. ALLEN, TO TABLE THE DECISION ON RECOMMENDED CHANGES TO THE OPERATOR SELECTION SYSTEM, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Ms. Zanger also presented motions from EOC regarding a new On the Job Experience evaluation document and a revision to the procedure for vending machine refunds. These motions did not require action by the board.
Ms. Zanger also distributed a print handout with the results of a customer satisfaction survey on the operation and services of the BEP staff which was distributed to operators at their annual workshop. The survey garnered a 40 percent response from the 84 operators and BEP staff have set goals for improved services based on the results. The handout will be forwarded to the board.
MS. TAECKENS MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. WOLFE, TO ACCEPT THE BUSINESS
ENTERPRISE PROGRAM REPORT, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES REPORT
Ms. Sherri Heibeck, Administrative Services Manager, reported that all federal funds were matched for FY 2007, and with state spending restrictions in place, almost $1 million was carried forward to the new fiscal year. Ms. Heibeck said the challenge was to continue to find ways to match federal funds.
Ms. Heibeck advised the board of some upcoming technology updates including the Telephony system, used by BEP operators to call in monthly reports, being updated in January; and the need to replace aging computers throughout the agency.
Eight federal reports are due by January 1 and Ms. Heibeck said they were on target to complete these by the deadline.
Ms. Heibeck explained a new program called Performance Management proposed by the Department of Management and Budget under which a vendor could provide an assessment with a recommendation and estimate to replace the
MCB Training Center's Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system, with MCB financing the costs out of its budget at the equivalent cost of projected efficiency savings. A meeting is being held December 14 to discuss the arrangements and the assessment is scheduled to be done in January; if MCB chooses not to proceed, the assessment can still be used as back-up tool for MCB's repeated capital outlay requests to replace the outdated system which would not come directly out of MCB's budget.
Ms. Heibeck advised the board that Mike Ellis had agreed to do the audio-streaming for the meeting, not knowing if he could in fact be paid for this service due to new legislation passed that does not allow retired state employees receiving a state pension to work for the government after
October 1, 2007.
MS. TAECKENS MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. WOLFE, TO ACCEPT THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES REPORT, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
MCB TRAINING CENTER REPORT
Ms. Christine Boone, director of the
MCB Training Center, introduced new staff member, Dave Bowden, who will be an industrial arts instructor and assist with access technology, and explained new duties assumed by Bruce Schultz as a rehabilitation teacher working in support services and Mary Zemlich as an instructor for the DeafBlind. Ms. Boone corrected misinformation regarding Ms. Zemlich's certification included in the MCB Report.
Ms. Boone reported that Director Cannon has been selected as President-Elect for the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB) for 2008, making him responsible for their spring and fall conference agendas, and said he will serve as President in 2009.
In-service workshops on services to the DeafBlind and Older Blind communities were provided in November and Ms. Boone said it was especially helpful to have input from field staff who participated.
Ms. Boone said that, in addition to the HVAC system, obtaining a back-up generator to the center is of primary importance as well as updated computers to teach cutting edge technology systems to students. A meeting is being held December 17 to address the computer needs with the Department of Information Technology.
In conclusion, Ms. Boone announced the Holiday Open House to be held at the
Training Center December 19.
MS. ALLEN MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. WOLFE, TO ACCEPT THE MCB TRAINING CENTER REPORT, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Mr. Cannon referred the Board to the written MCB Report previously submitted to the Board. This report is posted on the MCB website and distributed to anyone who wishes to receive it. Mr. Cannon highlighted some of the many articles on blindness issues and activities.
Mr. Cannon reported that December 28 was the last day of work for his administrative assistant, Tish Kingaby, as she retires from state government. He said it was expected that a successor could be named by the end of the month.
October 1, 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the Michigan Commission for the Blind and Mr. Cannon said plans are being developed for the celebration of this anniversary.
Mr. Cannon recapped sections of his MCB report and commented specifically on the appointment of Tracy Justesen as Assistant Secretary, Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (DED-OSERS), under which fall the Rehabilitation Services Administration and the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Mr. Justesen is a strong advocate for the rights of people with disabilities and Mr. Cannon said this appointment has been received very favorably.
MS. TAECKENS MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MR. EAGLE, TO ACCEPT THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, AS PRESENTED. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
ADJOURNMENT
MS. ALLEN MOVED, SUPPORTED BY MS. WOLFE, TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
The meeting was adjourned at
2:40 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Friday, March 14, 2008 at the Victor Building, Lansing. The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m.
Jo Ann Pilarski, Chairperson
Date
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