MONTANA BOARD OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
- MEETING MINUTES -
September 30, 2009
The Montana Board of Veterans Affairs meeting was held in Glendive at the Eastern Montana State Veterans Home on Sept. 24, 2009. Chairman Don Kettner called the meeting to order at 2 p.m. The following individuals were present:
Don Kettner, Chairman Joe Foster, Administrator
Bob Pavlovich, Vice-Chairman Sylvia Beals, Member
Mary Creech, Member Larry Anderson, Rep. Rehberg
Keith Heavyrunner, Member Bruce Knutson, Sen. Tester
Byron Erickson, Member Lee Ann Hall, Budget Analyst
Tom Huddleston, Member
Harry LaFriniere, Member
Kelly Williams, Member
Senator Joe Tropila, Member
Chairman Kettner opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and thanked everyone for being present. He then asked if there were any additions or deletions to last meeting’s Minutes; and if none, that a motion be made to approve the Minutes as written. With no changes discussed or made, the motion to approve last meeting’s Minutes was so moved and seconded. The motion carried.
Beginning with the division’s operational update, Joe Foster provided the members the Montana Veterans Affairs Division’s financial report. The handout shows that as of June 30, 2009, the division’s veteran service officers’ work effort brought in $126,362,250 in federal VA benefits for veterans and their family members. This Fiscal Year 2009 total is approximately $10 million more than Fiscal Year 2008’s total. Another handout showed that as of June 30, 2009, 4448 claim products were generated and forwarded to the federal VA for action.
The division is in the process of hiring the 2009 legislatively authorized three additional veterans service officers. These three positions, along with the two full-time positions recently hired to operate the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery, brings the division’s full-time staff to 30 – three of whom are in the administrative office, five in the veterans cemetery program, and the remaining 22 in the veterans services program.
Two veterans service officer position located in Wolf Point and Havre – which were authorized during the 2007 Legislative Session – were ultimately approved with a legislatively-mandated claims production requirement. Mr. Foster reported that Wolf Point’s Fiscal Year 2009 goal was 44 claim products, and the end-of-year production was 55 claim products. Havre’s Fiscal Year 2009 goal was 53 claim products, and the end-of-year production was 86 claim products. Sheena Wilson, Governor Schweitzer’s Deputy Chief of Staff, sent Mr. Foster and the division staff an email congratulating everyone on the accomplishment. The email was provided board members.
The Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison has a total burial count of 2479, as of the end of Fiscal Year 2009. We are still waiting on our $1.1 million expansion and refurbishing project. Our going forward with the project is based upon whether or not the project is identified by the VA’s State Cemetery Grant Program as a Priority 1 project.
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The Eastern Montana State Veterans Cemetery near Miles City has a total burial count of 265, as of the end of Fiscal Year 2009. We now have a functioning contract with the Custer County Sheriff’s Department to ensure public access during non-duty hours/days. This contract was required due to vandalism at the cemetery.
The Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery in Missoula has a total burial count of 141, as of the end of Fiscal Year 2009. The cemetery has only been open for eight months. Many of these burials were veteran cremated remains which families had been holding, awaiting cemetery operations. The cemetery’s two full-time personnel were hired effective July 1, 2009.
The cemetery inspections conducted by National Cemetery Administration officials were extremely positive. All three cemeteries were recognized as compliant with National Shrine Standards, and outstanding in both appearance and operations. Mr. Foster nominated the veterans cemetery program staff for the 2009 Governor’s Award for Excellence; and the nomination was supported both by the Dept. of Military Affairs and Governor Schweitzer. The cemetery program personnel recognized in the formal ceremony honoring the State of Montana’s 2009 outstanding employees are Wayne Carlson, Nick Newlon, June Rychalski, Kurt Holmlund, Curt Aasved and Justin Murray.
Gary Gaub, Administrator of the Eastern Montana State Veterans Home in Glendive, provided a brief on the home’s operations. The 80-bed facility is almost full with 78 residents.
Board member Bob Pavlovich gave a report on the Southwest Montana State Veterans Home’s site-selection study committee, which recently held its first meeting. The deadline for the site selection recommendation to Governor Schweitzer is April 10, 2010.
Joe Foster reported that the new Billings Community-Based Out-Patient Clinic will officially open at the end of September, and that two new Vet Centers have been approved for Great Falls and Kalispell. Currently, there are Vet Centers only in Billings and Missoula. The VA hosted a public hearing on Sept. 9, 2009 to discuss the possibilities of leasing 2 acres for homeless transitional housing at the Ft. Harrison VA Medical Center complex. Mr. Foster reported that Joe Underkofler, Director for the VA-Montana Health Care System, will be retiring; and that Ms. Susan Fuehrer has been appointed as the Acting Director for the next 90 days. Her current position is the Assistant Director of the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland.
Board member Tom Huddleston’s paper and DVD regarding his personal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was previously provided to the Board members. The disability and VA program regarding PTSD was briefly discussed. Mr. Huddleston also briefed the Board on a “Big Read” and Holter Museum function in Helena which features the book “The Things They Carried.” The activities surrounding this book and other veteran interactive events will last approximately five weeks in Helena.
The Veterans Affairs Division is currently undergoing a reorganization of its operational structure. Joe Foster stated that the fundamental rationale behind this is to strengthen the division’s veterans services program’s operational and supervisory processes. With the addition of the three new veterans service officers to be hired in Billings, Great Falls and
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Missoula, this authorized upward mobility for Dorothy Jarosz (Billings), Dave Capps (Great Falls), and Melinda Buxton (Missoula). Mr.Len Leibinger (Missoula) was selected as the new Operations/Regional Veteran Service Officer, and Kelly Ackerman (Belgrade) was selected as the new Regional Veteran Service Officer for Region 1.
Joe Foster informed the board that specific employees of the division have petitioned to form a union bargaining unit. A hearing was held on Sept. 22 to decide if the Veterans Service Officer IIs and the Budget Analyst are eligible. The Department of Military Affairs and Mr. Foster have taken the position that the VSO IIs and the Budget Analyst are supervisors, and are therefore not eligible to join a union. The hearing officer’s decision is expected in late October.
Joe Foster briefed the board regarding the newly authorized “Gold Star Family” license plate. A design committee will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 29; and is comprised of State Representative Franke Wilmer, Mr. Foster, and representatives of the state’s major veterans service organizations. The criteria by which a family member can purchase this license plate are based upon the Public Law which created the "Gold Star Lapel Pin." The license plate is expected to be available for purchase in early January 2010.
Mr. Foster then reported the briefing he provided attorneys/law students/interested citizenry at the request the University of Montana Law School regarding veterans services and issues. The hour-long presentation led to the fundamental message that veterans are best served if they utilize a trained, certified, accredited and experienced veterans service officer to provide the veteran claim product services; rather than friends, attorneys, independent agents, or the veteran - him/herself. Mr. Huddleston stated that attorneys should be welcome regarding veteran lawsuits. Mr. Foster agreed, stating that that particular issue is completely different than the issue of who should provide a veteran claim product services.
The new Post-9/11 GI Bill process is experiencing a huge backlog, which is having an enormous negative impact on veteran students and universities, alike. Board member Bruce Knutson stated that Montana University System has adopted policy to ensure that veterans waiting for the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill payments are not dismissed from school due to these financial circumstances that are beyond the students’ control. Per board request, Joe Foster will draft a letter for the chairman’s signature thanking Dr. Sheila Stearns, Commissioner of Higher Education, for her leadership and support regarding this issue.
After discussion, it was determined that the next board meeting will be held in Great Falls on February 11, 2010 at 2 p.m.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:45 p.m.
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Don Kettner, Chairman Lee Ann Hall, Recorder