GOVERNING BOARD MEETING
Wednesday, May 24, 2017 – 12 Noon
BRAG’s Cache County Office – Conference Room
170 North Main Street in Logan
M I N U T E S
PRESENT
County Executive Craig Buttars Commissioner Jeff Scott
Commissioner Bill Cox Council Member Karl Ward
Mayor Roger Fridal Commissioner Norm Weston
Council Member Greg Merrill Mayor Sim Weston
Mayor Craig Petersen
EXCUSED
Commissioner Stan Summers Commissioner Jeff Hadfield
Mayor Darrell Simmons Mayor Tyler Vincent
Mayor John Spuhler Commissioner Tom Weston
BRAG STAFF PRESENT
Roger Jones Debbie Lee
Michelle Benson Karen Merkley
Danielle Schirner Loran Kowallis
Janice Jacobsen-Clark Melissa Lewis
Tricia Fuller Shanna Anderson
Jill Davis
OTHERS PRESENT
Ryan Wilcox Senator Mike Lee’s Office
Kay Roper Senior Companion Program Volunteer
Halima M. Ali Housing Authority and Refugee Volunteer
WELCOME, INTRODUCTIONS AND MINUTES
Mayor Sim Weston, Chairman, opened the meeting and welcomed everyone. Introductions of all those in attendance were made.
Mayor Sim Weston asked if there were any changes or additions to the minutes of March 29, 2017. The minutes were APPROVED unanimously with a MOTION by Mayor Fridal and SECOND by Commissioner Jeff Scott.
VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION
Three volunteers were recognized and thanked for their outstanding service in helping BRAG staff provide needed services. As a token of appreciation, Chairman Sim Weston presented each volunteer with a beautiful bouquet of roses. In an effort to better acquaint the Governing Board Members with the background and qualifications of BRAG staff members, each staff presenter introduced themselves before introducing the volunteer to be recognized. Bios for the following BRAG staff and the volunteers are included in the Governing Board Binder with these minutes.
Senior Companion Program – Kay Roper
by Michelle Benson, Director of Aging Services (21 years with BRAG)
Kay Roper is 80 years young and has been a volunteer for Bear River Senior Companion Program for over 15 years. In fact, Kay was one of the first volunteers to join the Senior Companion Program. During her time with the SCP, she has done over 9,982 hours of service and traveled 17,447 miles while serving 48 clients.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance – Danielle Schirner
by Janice Clark, Human Services Specialist
Danielle Schirner is a student at USU studying Family Finance. Danielle was the Site Coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at the BRAG site which consisted of fifteen volunteers. This year the VITA program filed 1,432 tax returns and helped 471 clients receive $1,229,694 returned to them including $447,382 in earned income credits. An estimated $252,000 in tax preparation savings resulted from the volunteer help.
Housing Authority – Halima M. Ali
by Jill Davis, Case Manager (23 years with BRAG)
Tricia Fuller, Section 8 Coordinator (26 years with BRAG)
Halima Ali came to Cache Valley from Somalia 20 years ago with her husband. Her husband works for Logan City and together they have been a tremendous help to the refugee families locally as well as in the Salt Lake Area. Halima offers her interpretation skills by going to appointments with other refugee families and helping them receive the assistance they are in need of.
Tricia Fuller has worked at the BRAG office for 26 years. During that time she primarily worked in Housing Authority helping run the Housing Choice Voucher Program which helps families on a monthly basis pay a portion of their rent. She has seen firsthand how the program helps a family stabilize their situation so that they can refocus and become involved in activities that improve their quality of life and lead them to self-sufficiency. Tricia shared that as BRAG staff, we do more than administer state and federal programs. We help individuals and families. We listen to them. We connect them with other resources in the area that will be help to them. We advocate on their behalf where necessary and appropriate. We provide moral support.
Fuller recognized Stefanie Jones, BRAG’s Homeless Coordinator, as a great example of this type of help offered by BRAG staff. Recently, Stefanie met with a woman who is a single parent of two young girls as the primary bread winner of the family left them. Although this woman was employed, she could not afford rent and was evicted and her family became homeless. Stefanie offered the services of her program to help the woman secure housing and kept in contact with her often. Within a short period, this woman located affordable housing and did so without needing any funds from BRAG’s program. This client sent an email thanking Stefanie for being the only one that was kind-hearted and understanding and helping her feel like there was hope in the world.
Text from client email to Stefanie Jones - Sunday, May 14, 2017
“Thank you for being the only one that was so kind-hearted and understanding and made me feel like I wasn’t a bad person for being homeless. It’s because of people like you that makes me feel like there’s hope in the world. I don’t know if you are a mother but if you are Happy Mother’s Day and I hope you have the best day ever. You deserve it. Thank you again for all your help that you have helped me with when I was homeless with my girls, even if it wasn’t financially it was still more help than I can express. I appreciate it. You are the only one that was so kind-hearted.”
RETIREMENT RECOGNITION
Roger Jones recognized and thanked Loran Kowallis, Weatherization Director, for his 28 years of service at BRAG. Loran commented that he started at BRAG as a “temp” when he was 17 years old and it turned into a 28 year career. Loran supervised up to 16 people on the crew. Loran will be retiring at the end of June 2017. Loran was presented with a retirement gift.
Aging Services Report
Members of BRAG Aging Staff introduced themselves and shared inspirational and touching stories of clients that have benefited from Aging Services.
· Melissa Lewis, SSW, Case Manager (22 years with BRAG)
o Melissa shared experiences of two clients. One who was suicidal and with the assistance of the case manager, was able to get the paperwork and transportation needed to transfer him to the Marian Center in Salt Lake where the client can receive proper mental health treatment.
o Another client was concerned about not being able to pass upcoming home inspections. This client qualified for the Alternatives Program, which set her up with a weekly aide, who was able to organize and clean her apartment so she passed inspections. Her case manager was also able to help her apply for Medicaid and Food Stamps, meet weekly with Bear River Mental Health, and with Options for Independence for monthly budgeting assistance.
· Shanna Anderson, SSW, Case Manager
o Shanna is a case worker for the New Choices Waiver Program. The New Choices Waiver is a program through Medicaid that can help move an individual from a skilled nursing facility to live more independently and at lower cost in an assisted living facility.
o Shanna shared how the New Choices Waiver helped a 41 year old client who was in a car accident in August 2016. The client was hospitalized for months and then transferred to a post-acute care facility in Ogden. When BRAG received this referral and reviewed the specific needs of the client, they went to work to set up help for the client to be moved back to Cache Valley so she could be closer to her 12 year old daughter. The NCW program made it possible for several entities including Bear River Mental Health, Call-A-Ride, Home Health, and a contract with an Assisted Living Facility in Logan to work together for the benefit of this client.
o Roger Jones pointed out that this program not only benefits the client but also saves tax payer dollars.
· Carolyn Reed, CSW, In-Home Services Coordinator
o Carolyn assists clients in staying in their own home and helps provide support for the caregivers. Carolyn explained that often family members become caregivers without any training. BRAG offers a caregiver training program, and multiple caregiver support groups to assist family members in navigating the complex medical system and emotional demands of full time caregiving.
REVIEW AND APPROVE UPDATE TO FOUR-YEAR AREA AGING PLAN
Michelle Benson, BRAG Director of Aging Services, distributed and reviewed the Four Year Area Plan Summary for FY 2016-2019-Third Year of the Plan for FY 2018. This is an “annual update” year for the plan.
Michelle Benson reviewed the addition of the counseling piece which implements a model that is less expensive than the former RCI which required 10 counseling sessions. The change now allows for counseling sessions on an as needed basis, which could be 2 or 3 counseling sessions rather than the required 10 sessions as in the past.
Benson highlighted the Accomplishments for FY 2017-2018 as follows:
· People Make Things Work – Dedicated staff from BRAG and Senior Centers have been recognized for serving the older adult population with a wide array of services.
· Effective Community Partnerships – Partnerships with Cache Community Food Pantry, Even Steven’ Sandwiches and Great Harvest Bread.
o The Brigham City Senior Center partners with Utah Department on Natural Resources for 6 monthly fishing trips and wildlife viewing trips.
o Partnered with USU to conduct a Caregiver Needs Assessment.
Refer to Accomplishments for detail.
Benson asked for approval of the Area Agency on Aging Four-Year Plan: Fiscal Years 2016-2019 including the third year of the plan: Fiscal Year 2018-July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018. Commissioner Jeff Scott made the MOTION to approve the plan; Commissioner Norm Weston SECONDED and APPROVAL was unanimous.
PROPOSED BRAG BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017
Roger Jones, BRAG Executive Director of 30 years, with 44 years of total service, presented and reviewed the Proposed FY 2018 Budget of $7,666,517. Jones reviewed the BRAG Budget Packet including five department budgets, plus a summary. He described the ancillary activities including the newest acquisition, Box Elder Commons, in Brigham City as directed by the board.
§ Public Hearing on the Proposed FY 2018 Budget – Mayor Sim Weston, Chair, DECLARED the public hearing OPEN; the public hearing was advertised in The Box Elder News Journal and The Herald Journal.
Mayor Weston asked if there were any comments from the public related to the BRAG budget. No members of the public were in attendance to provide comments. Weston CLOSED the public hearing with a MOTION by County Executive Craig Buttars and SECOND by Commissioner Jeff Scott; APPROVAL was UNANIMOUS. The public hearing was CLOSED.
§ Recommendations from Compensation/Audit Committee
Results of the Compensation/Audit Committee Meeting held prior to today’s meeting were summarized. Three of the six committee members were in attendance. Those attending included: County Executive Craig Buttars, Mayor Sim Weston, and Council Member Karl Ward.
Committee members reviewed the FY 2018 Budget in detail and several information sheets prepared by Roger Jones. The following recommendations were agreed upon and made to the BRAG Governing Board:
1) Allow an amount up to 2% of total current year salaries to be used by the executive director for performance pay increases effective July 1, 2017.
2) Allow an additional up to 0.5% of total current year salaries for market adjustments for specific positions as needed.
Cache County Executive Craig Buttars made the MOTION to approve the FY 2018 budget and the two recommendations concerning compensation as stated above. Council Member Karl Ward SECONDED and the motion PASSED unanimously.
OTHER BUSINESS
Council Member Greg Merrill asked a question about President Trump’s proposed budget cuts and the possible impact on Medicaid. Michelle Benson noted that proposal in the President’s budget was hefty for Medicaid and mentioned Utah does not have an expanded Medicaid program.
Ryan Wilcox from Senator Mike Lee’s Office, explained that Congress generally does not pay much attention to the President’s budget. It is Congress that makes the final decision on the budget.
§ Approve Fiscal Year 2017 Quarterly Financial Statements
As required by the Utah State Auditor, BRAG Controller, Debbie Lee, distributed the BRAG financial summary for the quarter ending on 3-31-2017.
County Executive Craig Buttars made a MOTION to indicate that the governing board had opportunity to review the quarterly financial statements. It was SECONDED by Commissioner Jeff Scott and APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
ADJOURN
The meeting ADJOURNED at 1:50 p.m.
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