Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Members In Attendance
· Chair Cheryl Gonzalez (University of North Florida)
· Michelle Andrewin (Palm Beach School District)
· Julius Davis (VoltAir Consulting Engineers)
· Janet Harris-Lange (Agenda Dynamics, Inc.)
· Mariana Lugaro (United Data Technologies)
· Barbara Rhodes Melvin (First Florida Integrity Bank)
· Jay Narang (GDKN Corporation)
· Paul Roldan (Allgen Financial Services)
· Brian Williams (Martin, Hild, PA)
· Christine Yerkes (Yerkes South, Inc)
Staff In Attendance from the Department of Management Services
· Hue Reynolds Executive Director, Office of Supplier Diversity (OSD)
· Maggie Mickler, Communications Director
· Allison Rudd, Stakeholder Relations Coordinator, OSD
· Carmen M. Claudio, Administrative Assistant, OSD
· Paul Rendleman, Assistant General Counsel
· Jim Burkhart, Assistant General Counsel
Others In Attendance
· Bill Wilson, Director of Legislative and Cabinet Affairs, Department of Economic Opportunity
· Mark Snow, Office of the General Counsel, University of North Florida
Call to Order
· The meeting was called to order at 2:04 p.m.
Agenda
· Director Reynolds requested that the agenda be modified to remove Secretary Chad Poppell from the agenda and to change Executive Director Cissy Proctor from the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) to Bill Wilson, Director of Legislative and Cabinet Affairs from DEO.
· The agenda was approved with changes.
Meeting Minutes
· The meeting minutes of September 7, 2016, meeting were presented and no changes were made. The Council approved the minutes as presented by unanimous consent.
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
· Bill Wilson, Director of Legislative and Cabinet Affairs with DEO expressed his regrets for Director Proctor being unable to join the meeting. Director Proctor also called Chair Gonzalez directly relaying her schedule conflict prior to the meeting.
· Mr. Wilson presented the function of DEO and the various programs within the department that support small businesses. Mr. Wilson shared his appreciation for working with the Council members and the department’s work with DMS. DEO was developed in an effort to streamline the work of three legacy agencies, including the Agency for Workforce Innovation, Community Affairs and the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development. Currently, DEO has its focus on three primary areas: workforce, strategic business development and community development.
· The areas of workforce are covered through the Career Source Network in 24 regions. The department has taken a holistic approach in all of these areas to increase the number of individuals who enter the workforce, how this impacts the state and how this builds up communities as a whole.
· Vice Chair Jay Narang asked about the strategic business area of development when it comes to big corporations and the activities around NASA. Mr. Wilson explained that there is an effort to bring industries that would normally do the same types of things from up north to Florida. This enables the existing human capital in the space coast region to benefit from these job opportunities.
· Vice Chair Narang asked a follow up question regarding the large corporations and where DEO can help small businesses. Mr. Wilson explained that small businesses are the lifeblood of the state, and the large corporations that were mentioned only comprise 10 or 20 percent of the state. He noted that work with the Small Business Development Center Network, loan and finance programs, along with the various programs within DEO can help train up small businesses for future growth. Mr. Wilson informed the Council of the importance of sharing leads with DEO and how the agency can work to assist these businesses who want to expand or relocate to Florida.
· Mr. Wilson stated that he would share Marianne Arbulu’s information to the Council members. Ms. Arbulu provides information and various program that help small businesses including the Florida Capital Access Program.
· Chair Gonzalez also shared that last week she met with DEO and DMS, to discuss various initiatives set forth in the Annual Report. A future follow up meeting will take place to discuss these items further. The three items discussed during the meeting included the following:
1. The definition of “small business”.
2. Revision of the Microfinance Law.
3. Discussion of a small business participation study. Following the meeting, the Council provided DEO with copies of the Council’s materials related to this.
Sunshine Law
· Paul Rendleman and Jim Burkhart of the Office of the General Counsel, Florida Department of Management Services, provided information on the Sunshine Law and its impact on the Council pertaining to public meetings.
· During this discussion, attorney Mark Snow of the Office of the General Counsel, University of North Florida, also joined the call.
· Chair Gonzalez sought clarification on information being sent out to Council and Committee members as general information purposes. Mr. Burkhart explained that while information sharing is appropriate, he cautioned the dangers of potential discussion about the information that is not done in the public.
· As an administrative solution, OSD proposed to compile all of the information that is meant to be shared with the Council or Committee and send out with the meeting materials prior to each meeting. This enables appropriate public record retention and allows for any commentary about the information to be stated during a publicly noticed meeting.
· Chair Gonzalez expressed concern regarding the delay in obtaining information when it is handled in a combined fashion as proposed.
· Due to the time, the remaining agenda items were tabled for the next Council meeting in December. A motion was made by Vice Chair Narang and seconded by Barbara Melvin to move the remaining agenda items to the next meeting. This includes the election and the annual report materials. The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 pm.
Next Scheduled Council Meeting: December 7, 2016
Florida Advisory Council on Small and Minority Business Development
Florida Department of Management Services