Oregon 211

OR 211 Board of Directors

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

9:00 AM – Noon

Oregon Department of Emergency Management

Attendance: Jeri Shumate, Stephen Guntli, Len Hockley, June Sedarbaum, Jimi Smith, Wendy VanElverdinghe, Tom Page

Meeting Minutes Approval

Wendy apologized for not getting the December meeting minutes out prior to this meeting, and asked to bump approval of those minutes to the next meeting.

Fiscal Report

The Fiscal Year 2006 to Date Financial Report was distributed. Jeri made several corrections including:

· the first two entries under Expenses should be dated 2007 (not 2006)

· funds from DHS are logged as income at the time of the expenditure, with $2600 remaining

Wendy moved and Jimi 2nd acceptance of the fiscal report as amended. Motion carried.

The Board supported Jeri asking DHS for approval to use the remaining funds to support hiring a consultant (Tom Page) to do grant writing and fund raising for implementing the concept paper.

Board Members information:

Members missing from the meeting: Jonathan Brock has been out ill all month. Kathleen McHarg’s brother passed away unexpectedly yesterday. Members present expressed their condolences.

Howard Klink with United Way of the Columbia-Willamette expressed interest to serve on the OR 211 Board. Wendy moved and Len 2nd approving Howard’s membership on the OR 211 Board. Motion carried.

Legislative Update:

Jeri spoke with Ellen Lowe about introducing legislation this session to support OR 211. Because this year’s legislature is moving very quickly it is too late to submit proposals. Senator Joann Verger Co-Chairs the Emergency Preparedness and Ocean Policy Committee. It was suggested we talk to her to gauge her interest and support.

Regional Updates

Lane 211 – Len recently retired from White Bird. Priscilla Gould with United Way of Lane County briefed Representative Peter DeFazio and both Oregon Senators on National 211 legislation. DeFazio signed on as a co-sponsor. Wyden expressed concern about the fiscal impact and Smith was noncommittal. 211Lane.org received a grant from Home Depot USA for $2500. Work is being done to integrate 211 with 911 in Lane County. The I&R partners are developing the budget for next fiscal year reviewing all funding streams including grants that require matching funds.

211info – Changes in Multnomah County may be beneficial to 211info. Chair Wheeler and his Chief of Staff have scheduled a tour of the call center. The call center is now operational 24/7. They receive 1-3 calls per night, and are using a “Sleep Shift” since business is slow. The staff sleeps on a cot in the office, wakes up to respond to any call that comes in, and then returns to sleep. It is performed at a reduced rate or salary from a regular shift and helps keep costs down. An additional position has been approved for Oregon SafeNet, which is housed at 211info. Jeri is part of a national committee to develop training for volunteers during disasters, based on her work in the gulf coast after Katrina.

Southern Oregon 211 – Roy was not present to give an update.

Strategic Discussion – Wendy distributed two maps, one of Community Action Agencies across Oregon, the other Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence Regions. The intent is to look at current regions used by I&R organizations to see if they help to inform where call centers should be located.

Concept Paper: Thanks to Stephen for drafting this. We need to make sure the current points entice legislators and funders to support the concepts. The section on “Why 211” needs to be expanded, including the return on investment (ROI).

Tom Page expressed interest in working with OR 211. He was the Executive Director of WIN 211 while they developed the strategy and funding to create the Washington 211 network. Eight call centers in Washington provide full state coverage.

We discussed strategies for fund raising that would enable us to hire a consultant to do fund development for OR 211. First, we will ask DHS to approve use of the remaining funds toward this purpose. Jeri mentioned that her board understood that 211info will be better able to do its work if Oregon has full 211 coverage. Jeri and Stephen will approach Howard Klink at United Way for $5000. Wendy agreed to ask CADO for $1000.

Tom Page left the room while the Board discussed a contractual arrangement with him.

Wendy moved and June 2nd that OR 211 is committed to work with Tom Page to build OR 211, and should enter into a contractual agreement. Motion carried.

Tom returned and Jeri excused herself while the Board discussed a proposal to 211info.

Len moved and Stephen 2nd that a formal request be made to 211info for $5000 to support building OR 211. Motion carried (Jeri abstained because of conflict of interest).

Wendy moved and Len 2nd authorizing Jeri Shumate to open a checking account for OR 211, with Jeri and Kathleen McHarg as signers. Motion carried.

Tasks:

Stephen agreed to do a second draft of the concept paper.

Jeri agreed to contact DHS about use of the remaining funds ($2600) (see above).

Jeri agreed to call a special meeting of the 211info Board for our special request of funding.

Wendy will ask CADO to support OR 211 for $1000.

Len agreed to raise $1000 to support OR 211.

Jeri will contact Howard to arrange a meeting, welcome him to the Board and ask about potential funding. Stephen and Tom will attend as well.

Next Meeting: Jeri will email the Board to schedule the next meeting, potentially the fourth Wednesday of February (28).

Wendy reminded the Board that she will be on medical leave from Feb 13 through the beginning of April.

Meeting adjourned.