NC Council on Developmental Disabilities
FINAL
Executive Committee Minutes
Date: April 19, 2021
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM

Members Present: Kerri Eaker, Allison Dodson, Cheryl Powell, Ryan Rotundo, Nessie Siler, Dan Smith
Members Absent: Bryan Dooley
Staff Present: Chris Hendricks, Melissa Swartz, JoAnn Toomey, Talley Wells, Shar’ron Williams, Letha Young
Guests/Council members Present: Sandy Terrell

I. Call to Order
Chair Kerri Eaker called the meeting to order of the Executive Committee (EC) and welcomed the members calling in.

II. Executive Director Update
A. Discussion of Guidance on Conflicts of Interest – Talley updated the members on the discussions with Sheryl Matney from NACDD/ITACC who gave guidance that individuals who may benefit from something the Council does that we make sure they are recused from the start – and that includes the appearance of a conflict of interest – regarding current and past initiatives. The members shared their feelings that there are still gray areas and agreed that while it can’t be resolved today, we do need to keep this topic current.

B. Update on Intellectual Property – Talley updated the members on our current contract with DRNC and the sub-contract they hold that has been recently reviewed by legal counsel at DHHS. The issue is the intellectual property and who owns it and who needs to purchase it, if needed. The question is, based on the guidance we have received, do we need to put out a competitive bid or can/should we extend the contract? We feel NCCDD does own the intellectual property but the issue is very complex. The current contract ends in December.

C. Next steps for leadership and self-advocacy – Talley updated the members that we do need to continue to support leadership and self-advocacy. DRNC and NCEN can apply for future initiatives, but we’ll have to be careful with unwinding proposalsand applications and making sure recusals occur as needed going forward (which we have done in the past).

D. Registry of Unmet Needs Initiative – There is a lot of momentum around this and NCCDD recently co-hosted a fantastic film event and hope to continue other events around this topic. The draft RFA that will be reviewed for release will be discussed further in the Community Living Committee at the May Council meeting, with a proposed increase in the funding.

E. Webinars/events – Other events will be coming up, including the Employment Webinars that started last week. Chris Hendricks will be sending more ideas to Talley.

F. Additional Vaccine Funds – ACL has additional funds related to COVID vaccines. The most recent stimulus act includes Councils. We have applied for the $118,000 that NC would be entitled to if the ACL grant application is approved. Talley is organizing a call next week to discuss how we can use these funds that meets the required purpose.

G. Bryan Dooley – We were saddened to hear about the passing of Bryan’s mother and we will be discussing this further to think of ways to support Bryan.

III. Approval of Minutes
The draft minutes for the March 15, 2021 Executive Committee meeting were reviewed and considered for approval.

MOTION: Ryan Rotundo made a motion to approve the draft minutes for the March 15, 2021 Executive Committee meeting. Nessie Siler seconded the motion. The motion was approved by unanimous vote.

IV. Financial Report and Expenses/Match Update
JoAnn Toomey reviewed the financial reports for the NCCDD. Talley shared that there was a no-cost extension on federal fiscal year 2020 but since those funds have been encumbered, we are in a good place at this point. There were no questions.

V. Council Meeting/Member Survey Review
The members reviewed and discussed the draft May Council meeting agenda. Since many members have voiced their opinion that they are ‘zoomed’ out, it was decided to keep the Thursday meeting as brief as possible.

VI. Conference Funding Request
None at this time.

VII. Ad Hoc Committees/Updates
Sandy Terrell updated the committee on the Five-Year Plan Ad Hoc Committee. They are meeting again this Friday and will be reviewing the 117 public comments that came in during the public release of the plan. For the most part there was a good representation from across the state. She felt we should be able to meet the August deadline and that we are on-target with deadlines at this point. Sandy stated that the map will serve us well of where we do need to prioritize areas where we didn’t get feedback for when we get out on the road again..

VIII. Personal Services Contract Review/Approval
None at this time.

IX. Other
A proposed time change for future EC meetings was discussed. The members all agreed that the Executive Committee meetings will begin at 10:30 AM for the rest of the year.

Cheryl Powell had a RFA idea on the Registry of Unmet Needs for someone who loses their caregiver/main support. That is a huge issue and Talley said we can propose it to a committee. Ryan has discussed this previously in his Community Living committee about natural supports and said this needs more focus. Discussion continued about ideas around this topic for future funding.

Talley said that soon we need to discuss the August Council meeting and if we want to have it in person – or just a portion of it. We are looking to purchase an OWL camera that would be helpful for those logging in virtually since it automatically adjusts to video the person speaking.

X. Adjourn
Allison Dodson made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ryan Rotundo seconded the motion and the meeting adjourned.