NC Council on Developmental Disabilities
FINAL
Executive Committee Minutes
Date: June 17, 2019
Time: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Members Present: Amanda Bergen, Kerri Eaker, Myron Gavin, Alex McArthur, Cheryl Powell, Nessie Siler
Members Absent: Aldea LaParr
Staff Present: David Ingram, Melissa Swartz, JoAnn Toomey, Yadira Vasquez

I. Call to Order
Chair Alex McArthur opened the meeting of the Executive Committee (EC) and welcomed the members calling in.

II. Approval of Minutes
The draft minutes of the May 20, 2019 Executive Committee meetings were reviewed.

MOTION: Amanda Bergen made a motion to approve the May 20, 2019 minutes. Kerri Eaker seconded the motion. The motion was approved by unanimous vote.

III. Financial Report and Expenses/Match Update
Yadira Vasquez reviewed the financial reports for the NCCDD. Currently, there is an estimated amount of $242,500 available for new initiatives effective October 1, 2019 from FFY 2020. All other funds for FFYs 2017-2020 have been identified to be spent, pending Council approval.

Alex McArthur thanked Yadira for the concise fiscal presentation and asked if all staff were aware of any delays with reports and Yadira explained that all initiatives were reviewed at the weekly staff meetings. Alex asked if the members had any other questions and there were none.

IV. Council Meeting/Member Survey or Agenda Review
The members reviewed and discussed ideas for the draft agenda for the August Council meeting. Several edits were made and the draft agenda will be reviewed again at the July meeting.

Council meeting dates for 2020 were discussed and the members agreed that the May 2020 Council meeting should be in either Greensboro or Winston-Salem. They asked that Cora Gibson explore venues in both cities and let them know the results at the July meeting. They will then approve the dates and locations to be recommended to the full Council in August.

V. Conference Funding Requests
None at this time.

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

VII. Ad Hoc Committees/Updates
None at this time.

VIII. Other
JoAnn Toomey updated the members regarding an Idea Portal Proposal that was received in May. The Systems Change Managers had completed a thorough review process and after JoAnn reviewed their recommendations, agreed with the consensus that a rejection letter be sent with an invitation to keep checking our website for new RFA opportunities and to refer them to current initiatives for potential inclusion in the registered apprenticeships and/or Pre-ETS activities. The members also agreed with this recommendation.

David Ingram discussed the restoration of the State Plan Ad Hoc Committee to initiate development activities involving stakeholder surveys and statewide listening sessions for the next Five-Year State Plan. The members agreed that David should contact the previous members involved, but that there appeared to be a need to include Council members from the east and gave several suggestions. A goal is that the committee can convene before the August Council meeting.

The members reviewed the applications for membership that had been sent to them earlier regarding upcoming reappointments and vacancies. They approved 10 applications to be forwarded to Boards and Commissions as options for appointment with 2 applications being highly recommended; all applications forwarded had been on file for membership to NCCDD; all either diverse in demographic location or ethnicity.

Cheryl Powell updated the members on the progress of the Leadership Development Training initiative. In Alex’s absence, she called in to a meeting on June 12th that was held at the NCCDD office with Corye Dunn, Susan McLean and Virginia Knowlton Marcus, as well as Melissa Swartz and JoAnn Toomey and that meaningful steps have been taken to lay the groundwork for this important opportunity. They continue to be excited about convening the advisory committee and stated that they are committed to the success of this initiative. However, they admitted that Center for Creative Leadership is better prepared for the administrative and reporting functions of the contract and they have reached out to them to explore this possibility. Disability Rights NC will continue to hold the contract and disperse the funding, but with some budget amendments within the contract, CCL will take over the bulk of the administrative and reporting functions. Melissa Swartz stated that she felt comfortable with this progress to release for payment DRNC’s April Request for Reimbursement.

The Executive Committee was pleased to hear this progress but will continue to want monthly progress reports. Considering DRNC requesting continuation funding at the August Council meeting, they’ll expect to get an update at their July meeting that reports on the advisory committee and CCL’s commitment regarding the administrative and reporting functions the will truly meet the scope of work obligations of this initiative.

Cheryl Powell updated the members on the NC Empowerment Network (NCEN) initiative. She stated that they are still waiting to receive the EIN from the IRS and was confident that they would not receive it in time for the July 1st start date of this NCCDD initiative. While disappointed for the NCEN that there was a delay, the Executive Committee members discussed making a motion to push out the start date for when all paperwork is completed and received.

MOTION: Kerri Eaker made a motion to approve delaying the start date of the NC Empowerment Network (NCEN) initiative from July 1, 2019 to the 1st day of the month following NCEN’s obtaining their federal EIN and any other documents that are required in order to enter into a contract with state entities. Amanda Bergen seconded the motion. Cheryl Powell recused herself from the vote since she is the Chairperson of the NCEN. The motion was approved by unanimous vote.

IX. Adjourn
Alex McArthur asked for a motion to adjourn before going into a closed session of the Executive Committee to discuss the Executive Director hiring process.

MOTION: Amanda Bergen made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Nessie Siler seconded the motion. The motion was approved and the meeting adjourned.