Board Members Present:  Norm Gilbert, Robert Krogman, Regina Parker, Charles Rose, Andrea Gargani  

Board Members Absent:  Doug Fraley, Jeannette Vaupel, Janice Abizaid

Other Persons Present:  Office staff:  Elizabeth Carney, Kathy Ostdick.

                                          Community Members:  Richard Salazar, John Froom

I.  CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order by the Secretary, Regina Parker, at 7:01 p.m.

II.  AGENDA 

Mr. Gilbert moved to approve the agenda; seconded by Ms. Gargani.  The motion passed on a voice vote. 

III.  INTRODUCTIONS 

As not all Board members had met Ms. Gargani, she introduced herself and all members introduced themselves.     

IV.  MINUTES  

Mr. Krogman moved to approve the minutes of the December 2005 Board Meeting as presented; seconded by Mr. Gilbert.  The motion passed on a voice vote. 

V.  COMMUNITY INPUT   

Richard Salazar and John Froom gave an update on the “Pathways to Recovery” group that they had facilitated.  Response to the group was good; four to six participants came to each meeting and participants voiced appreciation for the opportunity to work on personal goals in a peer setting. 

Mr. Salazar and Mr. Froom also discussed the possibility of developing a “Recovery Specialist” position.  They noted that this would be filled by a consumer who could fulfill a variety of roles from advocate to recovery group facilitator.  The Board expressed interest in learning more about this

and requested that they meet with the Executive Director to discuss this.

VI.  CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS  

Ms. Carney presented several newspaper articles about activities of some funded agencies.

Ms. Carney discussed the Association of Community Mental Health Authorities conference that will

be held in Springfield in March.  The focus of the conference will be on the Department of Human Service’s transition to fee-for-service for mental health services. 

VII.  FINANCE REPORTS 

Ms. Carney presented the monthly revenue and expenditure report.   The expenditures are well within the expected monthly and year-to-date percentages.   

Mr. Gilbert moved to approve the December 2005 agency claims in the amount of $115,536.00;

seconded by Mr. Krogman.  The motion passed on a roll call vote. 

Mr. Gilbert moved to approve the December 2005 office claims in the amount of $1,250.60;

seconded by Mr. Rose.   The motion passed on a roll call vote.

VIII.  DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Ms. Carney presented the following information:

A.  Office organization is progressing nicely.  An additional fireproof cabinet will be needed

      soon.

B. Ms. Ostdick gave a brief summary of a seminar presented by Suicide Prevention Services

     in Batavia on Suicide in the Hispanic Community that was attended by herself and Ms.

     Abizaid. 

C.  The County Drug Court Feasibility Study Group has become the Drug Court Planning

      Team with support from the County Board.  The Team is headed by Judge Klein with

      Judge Stuckert.  A Court Administrator has been hired and she is responsible for

      program research and writing the grant proposal.  Ms. Carney will be participating on the

      team.

D.     The lease for the Board’s office space expires at the end of this month and it contains the option to request an extension of the lease for three years.  The Board discussed the current

space and the consensus was to request the extension. 

Mr. Gilbert moved to request that the Sycamore School District extend our office lease for three years; seconded by Mr. Krogman.  The motion passed unanimously on a roll call vote.

E.      Ms. Carney will be meeting soon with a representative of the Health Department and a Hispanic psychologist to discuss the mental health needs of the female Hispanic population served by the Health Department’s programs.  She will report the outcome of the

discussion to the Board.

.

F.      Ms. Carney handed out the County’s indemnification policy for the Board’s review.  She has requested clarification of the policy from the State’s Attorney’s office. 

G.     Ms. Carney and the Board discussed the intent of program funding, current procedures for assuring an agency’s accountability, and possible improvements in monitoring processes. 

IX.  COMMITTEE REPORTS   

There were no committee reports this month.

X.  OLD BUSINESS    

By-Laws:   The By-Laws have been reviewed by a Board committee and their findings discussed by the Board.  The consensus is that no changes are needed at this time. 

Mr. Krogman moved to accept the By-Laws as presented; seconded by Mr. Gilbert.  The motion passed unanimously on a voice vote.

Returning Veteran’s Mental Health needs:  Mr. Fraley and  Ms. Carney will be meeting with the Superintendent of the Veteran’s Commission soon and will give a report at the next Board meeting. 

New Members’ Orientation:  Ms. Carney reported that Ms. Gargani’s orientation was completed.

Board Office Space:  Ms. Carney discussed the memo from the County Deputy Administrator about the new Home Care building.  Ms. Ostdick and Ms. Carney are working on a comparative study of office space options and will present it when it is completed. 

Gordon Center Roof Project:  Tabled until February.   The architect will be present to discuss his

proposal for construction administration for the Gordon Center re-roofing project.    

Gordon Center Lease: The Board discussed the Gordon Center lease.  The following plan was established: to renew the lease for one (1) year now and to review the terms of the lease with the

possibility of revising the lease for the next lease period.    

Mr. Gilbert moved to request that the Gordon Center sign a one-year lease, with a subsequent lease being subject to future updates; seconded by Ms. Gargani.  The motion passed on a voice vote.

XI.  NEW BUSINESS

Ms. Carney announced that the County Board liaison, Ms. Fullerton, has resigned from the Board.

Ms. Carney talked to the County Board Chairman who said a member of the County Board would be appointed to the CMHB to meet the requirements of the Community Mental Health Act.

XII.  ADJOURNMENT     

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

________________________________________                __________________________________

Regina Parker, Board Secretary/Treasurer                              Kathy Ostdick, Recording Secretary

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