Northern Area Local Workforce Development Board

Minutes

December 7, 2007
10:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Hotel Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM 

Members Present: Lou Baker, Richard Bustos, Jim Berrigan, Mary Jean Christensen, Bennie Cohoe, Albert Delgado, Emerson Farley, Carlos Gonzales, Vince Howell, Sondra Match, Moise Medina, Harry Montoya, Jolene Nelson
Charles Pacheco, Luis Padilla, Ralph Richards, Joe Rodman, Dr. Emily Salazar, Sandy Sandoval, Ralph Vigil, Chris Wray

Members Absent: Richard Bustos, Bennie Cohoe, Dennis Cruz, Gilbert Foster, Ann Holl, Dr. Melissa Lomax, Jolene Nelson

Others Present: Patrick Colvin, Adult Program Manager; Adrian Ortiz, Youth Program Manager; Sara Jones, Office Manager; Margaret Garduno, Performance, Marketing and Data Coordinator; Alex Martinez, SER Jobs for Progress;  Maggie Lujan, SER Jobs for Progress;  Alan Richardson, SER, Jobs for Progress; Diana Ceres, SER, Jobs for Progress; Rick Sandoval, Zlotnick, Laws & Sandoval; Rita Garcia McManus, HELP, Patrick Martinez, HELP, NM; Patrick Sullivan, LACDC; Stephanie Gonzales, DWS; Jeff Barela; DWS.

1. Oath of Office.  Vice-Chair Baker reported there are no new Board Members requiring the Oath of Office at this time.
   
   
2. Roll Call and Approval of Agenda.  Vice-Chair Baker called the meeting to order at 10:00 am. Roll Call by the recording secretary indicated that there was a quorum. Vice Chair Baker called for any changes or additions to the agenda.  NALWDB Executive Director, Jerry Gaussoin requested two additional items be added to the agenda:  1) Under Agenda Item IV. Financial Report, add  Item IV. A "Adjustment to Employee Pension Plan"; 2) Under Agenda Item VI. Executive Director's Report, add Item VI.A  "Presentation by Insure New Mexico".    Mr. Medina made a motion to approve the December 7, 2008 Board Meeting Agenda as amended, seconded by Mr. Vigil.  Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
   
   
3. Minutes, August 17, 2007.  Vice-Chair Baker asked for changes or additions to the minutes of the October 19, 2007 Board Meeting.  Hearing none, she called for a motion to approve the minutes as amended.  Mr. Montoya made a motion to approve the minutes as presented, seconded by Mr. Vigil.  Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.  
   
   
4. Financial Report ending October 31, 2007.  Mr. Rick Sandoval, fiscal agent for NALWDB, provided a brief summary of the preliminary Financial Report provided by Zlotnick, Laws and Sandoval (as information only) pending the reallocation of certain funding streams.  He discussed the DWS Fiscal Monitoring Review response that was prepared by NALWDB staff, reviewed by his agency and submitted to DWS on November 27, 2007.  To date there has been no response from DWS.
   
   
   1. Employee Pension Plan.  Executive Director, Jerry Gaussoin explained that the NALWDB was notified by the employee retirement plan administrator, BISYS, that new IRS regulations are requiring two (2) corporate resolutions be adopted by the Board in order to stay in compliance with Federal Law.  Mr. Gaussoin stated the resolutions would not change the retirement plan in any way.
      
      Mr. Gonzales made a motion to adopt the two (2) corporate resolutions as required by the IRS relating to the NALWDB employee retirement plan, seconded by Mr. Medina.  Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
      
      
5. Chair's Report.  In the absence of Chair Anaya, Vice-Chair Baker stated there would not be a Chair's Report.
   
   
6. Executive Director's Report.  Mr. Gaussoin gave the following report:
   
   Audits
   The PY 2005 Audit has been initially reviewed by the Office of the State Auditor with recommendations made to and implemented by the Kardas firm. The NALWDB expects the PY 2005 audit to be released by the Office of the State Auditor within the month. The Kardas firm started the PY 2006 audit on December 3, 2006 and expects to have it ready to be submitted to the State Auditor before January 1, 2008. With the completion of PY 2006, the NALWDB will be in full compliance with the yearly audit requirement.  
   
   Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) Fiscal Review
   The NALWDB response to the DWS fiscal review was submitted within the deadline of November 27, 2007. The response included full documentation for the credit card charges for PY 06; as well as draft policies for use of Agency cell phones, the Agency credit card; and a revision to the Agency Reimbursement policy for expenses associated with the Board. The response is under review by DWS. 
   
   NALWDB Cost Allocation Plan
   The federally required NALWDB Cost Allocation Plan was submitted to the Department of Workforce Solutions on December 6, 2007; in advance of the DWS established deadline of December 7, 2007. The Plan submittal follows a series of DWS meetings, training/technical assistance, and an initial review that has taken place since late September 2007. The NALWDB Fiscal Agent and staff are presently implementing procedures and policies that will insure that the NALWDB is in compliance with the Plan and will implement a review of the Plan and procedures at the 3rd Quarter to insure that the Plan is being implemented.   I want to acknowledge Rick Sandoval, the NALWDB Fiscal Agent, and Dennis Arnold, SER Chief Financial Officer, aid and technical assistance in completing this project.
   
   Service Provider Training
   It is being arranged with Workforce Solutions that DWS staff will provide VOSS and other data reporting training on December 17, 2007. Additionally, NALWDB staff will follow the DWS training by conducting Performance Measures related training on January 4, 2008. These training are being implemented as a first step towards the establishment of better communications and the provision of technical assistance to the NALWDB Service Providers to insure that the NALWDB meets or exceeds the USDOL established Performance Measures.
   
   PY05/FY06 Close Out
   The NALWDB Fiscal Agent is working to complete the submittal of the PY05/FY06 Special Funding Awards Close-Out Package. This Close-Out includes the 10% and 25% awards the NALWDB received in PY05-06. All of these funds were expended on the various targeted projects the NALWDB sponsored; including the original Summer initiative coordinated with the New Mexico Department of Labor. The Close-Out is due later in the month.
   
   
7. Consent Agenda.  The following items were approved by the Executive Committee at their meeting on November 16, 2007.
   
   
   1. Approval of NALWDB Response to DWS Fiscal Monitoring Review.      
      Mr. Rodman made a motion to approve the recommendation of the Planning and Budget Committee to have the Rules Committee review the response to the DWS Fiscal Monitoring Review, make recommendations and report back to Chair Anaya and Executive Director Gaussoin for a final response by November 27, 2007 seconded by Mr. Berrigan.  Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
      
      Vice-Chair Baker recommended further discussion regarding the DWS Fiscal Monitoring Review during the Planning and Budget Committee Report.
                    
      Vice-Chair Baker suggested adding an agenda item to future agendas for "Welcome and Introductions" subject to the Board Chair's approval
       
      
   2. Presentations.  Mr. Gaussoin asked Board Member Albert Delgado to introduce the Guest Speaker.  Mr. Delgado introduced Ms. Tony Atencio who gave a presentation to the Board about a new healthcare program being introduced in New Mexico entitled "Insure New Mexico".
      
      Ms. Baker thanked Ms. Atencio for her presentation.
      
      
8. Committee Reports:
   1. Planning and Budget Report. 
      November 15th, 2007 Agenda
      
      1.   Planning and Budget Committee Chair, Sandy Sandoval, made a motion to  amend  the Agenda  allowing for  the Consent Agenda item "Approval of NALWDB Response to DWS Fiscal Monitoring Review"  to be moved to the Planning & Budget Committee Report for discussion and vote to approve/disapprove; seconded by Mr. Howell.  Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
      
      2.  Mr. Sandoval reported that the Planning & Budget Committee met with the Rules Committee on November 15, 2007 to discuss the DWS Fiscal Monitoring Review.  The Committees agreed to make a recommendation to the Executive Committee regarding NALWDB's response to the audit review.  The Executive Committee met on November 16th and approved the recommendation (See Agenda Item VII).
      
      Mr. Sandoval made a motion to accept the recommendation of the Executive Committee requesting that the Rules Committee review the DWS Fiscal Monitoring Review response by NALWDB, make written recommendations to be submitted to Chair Anaya and Executive Director Gaussoin for editing with the final response to be submitted to DWS by November 27, 2007 seconded by Mr. Berrigan.  Motion passed by unanimous voice vote
      
      
   2. Performance & Marketing Committee Report
      October 30th, 2007 Agenda
      
      Performance and Marketing Committee Chair, Vince Howell, reported that the Committee met on October 30th, 2007 in Gallup.  The following goals were targeted for future consideration by the Board:
      
      
      • Political - connect with DWS Deputy Secretary Ray Gonzales to assist in moving the Committee's goals forward.
      • Marketing - inform our New Mexico constituents about our successes.
      • Communication - develop a communication strategy with our legislators and Chief Elected Officials.
      • Guidance - insure our providers have the guidance and training they need to be successful.
      • Resources - seek alternative sources for funding.
        
        
      Mr. Howell further reported that the committee would like to seek waivers for some of the Performance Measures.  Mr. Gaussoin elaborated on this point and stated that the State has not requested any waivers thus far but his understanding is that the State is working in that direction. 
      
      Mr. Howell concluded his report by providing charts and reports regarding the following:
      
      
      1. PY 2007 1st Quarter Performance Report
      2. SER Monthly Report
      3. Youth Monthly Progress Report
         
         
   3. Youth Council Report.  Youth Council Chair, Joe Rodman reported that the Youth Council Committee met on December 5th, 2007 at the HELP, NM offices in Albuquerque and that performance issues were the main topic of discussion.  He made it clear to the Youth Providers that the Board's expectations are for the Youth Council to become increasingly pro-active in meeting performance measures.  Margaret Garduno, NALWDB Performance and Data Coordinator was in attendance to assist in answering questions and concerns from the Board and providers on VOSS and other technical issues.  NALWDB staff agreed to offer a technical assistance training on VOSS in Santa Fe sometime in January, 2008.  Vince Howell, Performance and Data Coordinator, was also in attendance and assured the Youth Council he would encourage the Board to provide guidance and resources to providers to assist them in meeting performance measures in the future and to continue seeking waivers from the State.
      
      Mr. Rodman stated that reports from the individual Youth Providers were given.  Mr Ortiz announced that a new Youth Request for Proposal (RFP) will be finalized in the next two weeks after which an Offerer's Conference will be scheduled.  The location for the conference will be discussed at the next Youth Council meeting in February.
      
      
   4. One Stop Committee Report
      
      Vice Chair Baker reported that as the new One Stop Committee Chair, she would first like to recognize the hard work and dedication that former OSC Chair Ralph Vigil gave to the Committee and second, she would like to poll the other members of the Committee for the purpose of scheduling the next OSC meeting.  Because there has not been a recent OSC meeting she had nothing further to report.
                 
      Board Member Charles Pacheco informed the Board that the Department of Workforce Solutions will be hosting "Integration Training" on January 8, 9 & 10th.
      
      Vice-Chair Baker asked to recess the meeting for lunch at 11:48 a.m.  Mr. Medina made a motion to move the meeting into recess, seconded by Mr. Sandoval.  Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.
      
      Vice-Chair Baker called the meeting back to order at 1:00 p.m.
      
      
   5. Rules Committee Report
      
      Rules Committee Chair, Jim Berrigan, stated he has submitted his letter of resignation from the NALWD Board as of December 31, 2007 due to his retirement and future relocation plans.  He introduced Patrick Sullivan, Director of Business, Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corps.  Mr. Sullivan has been nominated to represent business interests in Los Alamos County on the NALWD Board.  Following the approval and appointment by the Chief Elected Officials in Los Alamos County, Mr. Sullivan will be seated on the Board to fill the vacancy created by Mr. Berrigan's resignation.
      
      Vice-Chair Baker thanked Mr. Berrigan for his dedication and service to the Board and for serving as Rules Committee Chair.
      
      
9. Board Items:
   
   
   1. Committee Chairs and Membership.
      
      Jerry Gaussoin announced that Board Member Ann Holl representing business interests in Colfax County has also submitted her resignation from the Board effective December 31, 2007 due to her retirement.
      
      
   2. Board Meeting Dates.

      NALWDB staff presented a list of proposed dates and locations for the reminder of 2008 Board and Executive Committee meetings.

      Mr. Gonzales made a motion to approve the staff recommendations concerning  2008 meeting dates, seconded by Mr. Sandoval.  Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.

10. Comments from One Stop Operator.
    

Alex Martinez, Executive Director, SER Jobs for Progress reported that his organization was successful in their bid to provide One Stop Services to the Central Area in New Mexico. In addition, he announced that changes have been made within SER's organizational structure in the Northern Area that will affect their day to day operations. Mr. Martinez shared those changes with the Board stating that he will resume the lead role in managing the overall One Stop Facility and  services for the North.

11. Public Comment.

Vice-Chair Baker asked those in attendance for any additional comments.

• Performance and Marketing Chair, Vince Howell recommended forming a new committee to formally focus on seeking outside funding to help supplement the NALWDB budget.  A suggestion was made to take the recommendation to the Planning and Budget Committee as an action item.
• Board Member, Dr. Emily Salazar, thanked those who attended the Grand Opening of their newest dormitory at the Albuquerque Job Corps. Center.

12. Adjournment.

Vice-Chair Baker announced that the next regularly scheduled Board Meeting will be held on Friday, February 22, 2008 in El Rito, NM. 

Mr. Berrigan made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 2:10 pm, seconded by Mr. Sandoval. Motion passed by unanimous voice vote.