Board Members Present:  Doug Fraley, Andrea Gargani, Norm Gilbert, Bob Krogman, Charles Rose,

      Jeannette Vaupel.

Board Members Absent:   Janice Abizaid, Julia Fullerton, Regina Parker.

Other Persons Present:     Office Staff - Elizabeth Carney, Heidi Muntjanoff.

                                          Community Member – Margaret Elmer. 

I.                   CALL TO ORDER

The DeKalb County Community Mental Health Board meeting was called to order by the

Board President, Doug Fraley, at 7:09 p.m.

II.                AGENDA

Ms. Vaupel moved that the agenda be approved as presented; seconded by Mr. Gilbert. The

motion passed.            

III.             INTRODUCTIONS

Ms. Carney introduced the Board’s new members, Ms.Andrea Gargani and Mr. Charles Rose. The Board members introduced themselves and welcomed the new members.

IV.              MINUTES

Mr. Gilbert moved that the minutes of the September 2005 Board meeting be approved as

presented; seconded by Mr. Krogman. The motion passed.

 V.            CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ms. Carney reported that she sent Representative Hastert a letter regarding the proposed drastic cuts in Medicaid, asking him to preserve funding for services for the severely and persistently mentally ill. 

Ms. Carney reviewed NAMI’s current newsletter. She noted that “NAMI” continues to be the legal name for the organization, but that the acronym now stands for National Alliance on Mental Illness.  And she brought the Board’s attention to the article on the formation of the Kane County Mental Health Court.   

Ms. Carney brought attention to a newspaper article in which John Kroos, Executive Director of Opportunity House was given the Outstanding Citizen Award by the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce.  She sent him a letter of congratulations on behalf of the Board.

Ms. Vaupel handed out a brochure about the 8^th Annual Alzheimer’s Education conference to be held November 3, 2005, 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Rock River Branch in Dixon.

Ms. Vaupel reported on a pharmacy program that is available from DeKalb County Government.  She stated the program will provide discounts on prescription medications

for any DeKalb County resident who does not have pharmacy benefits.

The Board discussed the upcoming Medicare pharmacy program and local resources

that are available to assist persons in making a decision about whether or not to participate in the program.

  VII.     FINANCE REPORTS

Mr. Gilbert moved to approve the October agency claims as submitted in the amount of $114,909.03; seconded by Mr. Krogman. On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Gilbert moved to approve the October office claims as submitted in the amount of $2,782.53; seconded by Ms. Vaupel. On a roll call vote, the motion passed unanimously. 

Ms. Carney reviewed the Board’s expenditures for the current fiscal year through September 30, 2005.  She also reviewed a summary of the Grant Year 2006 funding allocations to date.  The Board discussed some options for unallocated revenue in the grants

line item.   Ms. Carney also reported that the County Board is still in the Fiscal Year 2006 budget process and that there will be a vote on the Mental Health Board levy in November.

In response to the Board’s prior request, Ms. Carney reviewed capital allocations for the Ben Gordon Center from FY 1989 to FY 2005.  She also noted that she will reflect the Board’s annual in-kind contribution to the Ben Gordon Center for building rental on future financial reports.  She stated that the Center’s Fiscal Year 2004 audit estimated the fair market value for rent to be $112,000. 

  VIII.  DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Ms. Carney reviewed the progress on the Ben Gordon Center roof repair project.  She requested that the Board move to hire an architect to manage the project, from the assessment to the final evaluation of the work.  She suggested that the Board work with

the architect who recently provided this service for the County Public Safety Building. 

The Board discussed the benefits of having an architect provide oversight of a project of this type and the expected fees.  

Mr. Gilbert moved to authorize the Executive Director to contact the architect and to request that he submit an assessment of the roof with recommendations for repair or replacement, and a proposed contract for his services; seconded by Mr. Krogman.  The motion passed. 

Ms. Carney updated the Board on Ben Gordon Center’s psychiatrist recruitment process.

She stated that three recent candidates did not want to pursue the position, but that the

Center reports that they are currently negotiating with another candidate.

Ms. Carney noted that Reality House staff have been attending trainings on the Medicare Pharmacy Program so that they can provide one-on-one assistance to Reality House clients, and that Elder Care Services has co-sponsored educational sessions for community agencies’ staff members.   

Ms. Carney requested that the Board approve its Meeting and Funding Hearings calendar for 2006 in November rather than January, and to hold the hearings in February or March,

rather than April as was done in 2005.  This would give the agencies that receive Board funding earlier notification of the amount of their allocations.  The Board discussed the challenges that this change could pose for the Board office, but was agreeable to the change. 

Ms. Carney reported that three different groups have approached the Board with ideas for services that would utilize the Underserved Populations grant.   She will continue to work with these groups and will bring the funding requests to the Board when the applications are

received. 

Ms. Muntjanoff presented information from the GAINS TAPA Center Jail Diversion

Teleconference.  She stated that persons who are incarcerated lose their Medicaid benefits

and that there is usually a delay in reinstatement when they return to the community setting

as they have to reapply for benefits.  The focus of the teleconference was to identify methods to expedite reinstatement of benefits so that medical and mental health needs could be met in a timely fashion after incarceration.

  IX.   COMMITTEE REPORTS

            There were no committee reports.

  X.      OLD BUSINESS

Mr. Fraley and Mr. Krogman reported on their review of the By-Laws and presented a list

of questions and topics for the Board’s consideration.  The Board tabled further discussion to the next meeting so that members would have time to review the issues.

The current Board Committee assignments were reviewed.  Mr. Fraley suggested the Board members identify the committee(s) on which they would like to serve at the next meeting. 

Mr. Krogman’s term will expire in December 2005.  Mr. Gilbert moved that the Board

recommend that Mr. Krogman be re-appointed by the County Board Chairman for a four-year term; seconded by Ms. Vaupel.  The motion passed.  

Ms. Carney updated the Board about the county veteran’s assistance commission that will start providing services in December.  Given the Board’s interest in the mental health needs of local returning veterans, she will identify what mental health services will be available to returning veterans through the commission and report back to the Board. 

   XI.    NEW BUSINESS

            Mr. Gilbert raised the issue of the County Administration’s suggestion in the Fiscal Year

            2006 Budget Narrative that the Community Mental Health Board may want to move to

            office space in a proposed new county building.  The Board discussed the processes

            involved in communicating about this project and the information that will be needed to

            assess this possibility.  The discussion was tabled until additional information is available.  

V.                 COMMUNITY INPUT

Ms. Margaret Elmer presented a brochure to the Board, “Network of Care for Behavioral Health.”  She requested to give a ten-minute presentation at the next Board meeting about

this on-line mental health resource. 

  XII.    ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Gilbert moved to adjourn the meeting.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:54 p.m.

_____________________________________________

Regina Parker, Secretary/Treasurer

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