PDD NORTHEAST COMMUNITY BOARD MEETING
Saturday, May
15, 2004 8:45 am – 3:40 pm
Conference
Room, Imperial Inn
Cold Lake, Alberta
APPROVED MINUTES
Present:
Don Schultz, Donna Desjardins, Dr. Doug Fleming, Ralph Gorrie, Carmela Levesque,
Glenn Hennig, Colleen Marks, Caren Mueller, Floyd Thompson
Administration: Dr. Alex Hillyard, CEO; Lucille Froese, Recording Secretary
Guests:
Hansa Thaleshvar, Mayor, Town of Cold Lake; Audrey McFarlane, Chair, Cold Lake Community Council
A.
Don Schultz, Chair,
called the meeting to order at 8:45 am, May 15, 2004.
#04-05-773 MOTION: Ralph
Gorrie moved the Board approve the agenda as
presented. Carried unanimously.
C. Approval of Minutes
#04-05-774 MOTION: Donna
Desjardins moved the Board approve the
minutes as presented. Carried unanimously.
Colleen Marks, Legal
· Attended the Whitecourt Community Council Open House and Pizza Night with the Board Chair.
· Some individuals presented their concerns – Housing, AISH, Transportation. The Council has formed committees for these issues.
· Contacted Dave Broda, MLA for Redwater, and discussed our concerns about Housing, AISH, and Transportation.
· Attended the AARC Conference
· This conference was very worthwhile, the keynote speaker was wonderful.
· Attended a workshop on Board development
· Also attended a session with people from Calgary from the SCOPE Society, called Cooking Up Community Development, which was very good.
· Enjoyed the conference very much. The evening events went very well.
Ralph Gorrie, Vegreville
· April 28-30 AARC Conference
· Probably the best and most informative conference I have attended. The sessions were extremely interesting and valuable for a Board member. In particular Risk Management was the highlight for me. Sexuality in the PDD world was also very enlightening, to mention a few.
· May 12 – Provincial PDD Board Policy Review Committee Edmonton
· Continued to hear papers on the 2nd Century Community and what it means to PDD.
· The committee is recommending that it be a standing committee, as there is a need for all the many matters around risk management have to be addressed. This is particularly applicable to the concept of governance in which we operate. The relationship between Provincial and Community Boards needs to be more clearly defined.
· Next meeting scheduled for May 26.
· May 3 – VTSS
· We met with the reeve and a county councilor of the County of Minburn #27.
· It was valuable, as they have set aside $5000 for rural transportation.
· We are meeting further on May 17 with a suggested plan for them as VTSS will continue to be the administrative head for the operations with the town.
· VTSS is sponsoring the Rick Hanson “Wheels in Motion” on June 13. Fifty percent of the participation challenge money is being applied to VTSS
Caren Mueller, Vimy
· Attended the Athabasca Community Council meeting on May 11, 2004.
· Discussed Community Development and Community Connections.
· Bill Tidsbury talked about the audit review process – general information.
· Edwin Parr School has an interagency meeting on community capacity scheduled for September.
· Talked about community capacity funding from PDD – possibly a community kitchen to make meals, teach nutrition, learn how to shop – get together.
· The food bank has moved out of town so it is not as accessible to people.
· FCSS – twenty-percent of the families did not have enough money to feed their families.
· Native friendship center was interested but needs partners.
· Need a place with a kitchen for the group to meet.
· There will be no June Community Council meeting because of the Joint Community Council meeting. A Community Council meeting and wiener roast is being planned for July 13, 2004.
· Attended the AARC Conference – very impressed – all the sessions were very good.
· Attended a workshop about Can You Imagine, with Dave and Vivian Thickett, on how they implemented their programs. They had to fight to get started.
· Also attended a session on Judging, Understanding, Sensitivity, and Tolerance, given by three young men who talked about issues in school, etc. driving home the perspective that we are people too. Talked about how to make people more tolerant, more inclusive. One young man had Fragile X (has difficulty with loud noises, big groups, etc.)
· The presentation was excellent and I left with a lot of good things.
Doug Fleming, Westlock
· Attended the Inclusive Board Workshop in Westlock with our Board Chair and CEO.
· Appreciated information given by of the self-advocates.
· The WIN Board is continuing to follow-up on the work started there.
· Attended one day of the AARC Conference. Really found David Hingsburger’s session on Facts & Myths Regarding Sexuality to be excellent.
· The Westlock Community Council meeting is next week – they will be hosting a Pizza Night with the Library.
Glenn Hennig, Hilliard
· Attended the PC Convention in December – information gathering.
· One young lady spoke up about FASD. This was good. It is not typical of her type of people to attend the convention.
· Attended the AARC Conference
· Attended a workshop on Risk Management which was very intense – should have been a whole day session.
· Also attended the Second Century workshop, which was also very intense and should have been an all day session.
· Another session I attended was the Fish Philosophy. A fish company in Seattle decided to become world famous and did. One person said we cannot have people going around saying they have fun at work.
· Attended the Community Council meeting in Vegreville.
· Lawrence Noel was there, promoting the self-advocacy group.
· Two individuals are working on a letter to the “powers” on AISH.
· One person said he would like a job repairing bicycles. Another said that he could not get a job because employers are afraid of him.
Donna Desjardins, St. Paul
· Positive People Society of St. Paul
· A new executive was elected during their annual meeting held on February 29, 2004. New Chair of the Society is Donald Rook, Vice Chair is Betty Rook, Secretary is Daniel Desjardins and Treasurer is Judy Perepelecta. Past chair is Randy Jacobson.
· A large contingency from the society are planning on attending the Leadership Today annual meeting in Edmonton in June, 2004.
· St. Paul Abilities Network
· Announcement has now been made in the local paper that SPAN is partnering with the medical clinic, Portage College, some therapists and a local optician to build a new 50,000 sq. foot building in St. Paul. The land has now been purchased.
· Recognition was given to SPAN in the Edmonton Journal this week in the special section devoted to Northeast Alberta.
· They had a retreat at Lily Lake the same weekend as the AACL conference. Seventy participants attended.
· SPAN is having a golf tournament on July 16, 2004.
· Special Olympics St. Paul
· The bowling season just wound up with a large, very successful bowling tournament in St. Paul.
· Ball season has started, and the athletes are very enthusiastically out playing, in spite of the cold weather. Reminder to Board members and anyone in the Northeast region that the annual ball tournament will be held on August 28 and 29, 2004.
· Norm McLeod Awards
· I attended the Norm McLeod Awards this week, and was honoured to be asked to present certificates to the Leadership nominees. Gordon Draves (Gordie’s Woodworking in St. Paul) and Lori Letourneau were recipients. What a wonderful evening!
· St. Paul Community Council
· Had a great meeting on April 21, 2004 with approximately 30 people in attendance.
· Lots of active discussion around the cloud bursting activities that St. Paul developed at the conference.
· Also, lots of active discussion around empowerment. The council discussed making a presentation to our MLA Ray Danyluk regarding AISH, taking a session on how to vote (considering the fact that elections should soon be coming) and the role of the Office for Disability Issues.
· Next meeting will be May 19, 2004.
· The council has invited Lac La Biche, Cold Lake, Bonnyville, and Vegreville, Community Councils to join them for a joint meeting in June, 2004.
· Library Initiative
· Two successful “e-mail Mondays” have been held at the St. Paul Library.
· The Library Board and their staff are very excited about their new role in building Community Capacity. They have just received a grant from the Ashworth Estate funding (a special grant available to individuals with developmental disabilities in the St. Paul area) to expand their software and hardware capabilities for individuals with developmental disabilities. They have asked Dr. Moisey for assistance.
· Community Capacity
· Continues. There is a joint meeting of the Interagency Council and the St. Paul and Area Family Wellness Advisory Council every month. Lots of discussion, with PDD very much a part of it.
· AARC Annual General meeting – June 9, 2004
· I will be attending the AARC Annual General Meeting in Edmonton on June 9, 2004.
· FASD Conference
· I will be attending and bringing greetings from the Board on June 2, 2004.
· Audit Committee
· The committee will be meeting with the Auditor General’s department on June 15, 2004 for our exit meeting for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004 reporting.
· St. Paul Affordable Community Housing Society
· House is now under development.
· Advertisement has been placed in local paper for applicants that would qualify with the criteria.
Floyd Thompson, Lac La Biche
· Attended the Lac La Biche Community Council meeting
· Impressed with how they run the meeting. Like a family getting together to talk about concerns.
· Linda Dwyer and Alberta Cloutier are the Co-Chairs.
· Barb Chaffee facilitated a process for the Community Council on planning and goal setting – how do they see their role as individuals, share information, invite guest speakers, get new people to attend, regional update from board representative, develop friendship and relationships, send members to conferences, look at awards.
· I was invited to attend the Community Council meetings again.
· Work being done by CLALD is really coming along fast.
· Attended the AARC Conference
· Attended workshops on Risk Management, Community Development, and Advocacy. The sessions were too short, but gave a whole new perspective.
· Looking forward to the next three years on the Board.
Carmela Levesque
· Attended the Bonnyville Community Council meeting in April.
· Stacy Hodinsky of Catholic Social Services, was appointed as the new Co-Chair of the Bonnyville Community Council with Lawrence Noel.
· About 20 people attended and heard a presentation on AISH. The Council is going to do more of these kinds of things.
· I shared some examples of the community capacity initiatives that are happening in the Northeast Region.
· The Council is going to revisit the emerging statement that was put together a couple of years ago. They want to know what they are going to do with their Community Council and will use this to help decide what direction they want to go.
· Attended the Cold Lake Community Council meeting
· Lots of discussion about the Conference.
· Christine Cassie joined Audrey McFarlane as a Co-Chair.
· Attended the Bonnyville United Way Focus Group meeting for their Community Needs Assessment, on May 5th. Sat in on a session with policy makers.
· Attended the first group meeting on the planning process for the Conference.
Her Worship Hansa Thaleshvar, Mayor of Cold Lake
· Mayor Thaleshvar welcomed the Board to Cold Lake on behalf of the City Council and the community and gave a review of some of the activities the City of Cold Lake is involved in.
· The City of Cold Lake is engaged in doing a region wide assessment through United Way on the social needs of our community. The whole community is included through focus groups, questionnaires, etc.
· The second part to that is connecting to the Interagency Group. They are a group of people who come together once a month with enthusiasm, energy, and ideas as to what needs to be done in this community. They are also doing their own assessment.
· The City is also looking at a new identity for the whole community.
· Some individuals are now coming to City Council meetings and asking questions on issues that impact them, such as Housing, Transportation, and a men’s shelter.
Audrey McFarlane, Chair, Cold Lake Community Council
· Audrey welcomed the Board to Cold Lake on behalf of the Community Council.
· The Cold Lake Community Council meets monthly – a large number of persons with developmental disabilities attend.
· A round table gives people an opportunity to talk about issues and successes, personally or professionally. Get lots of good ideas and feedback.
· New Co-Chair, Christine Cassie, was working and unable to attend this Board meeting.
· Minutes are set up like a newsletter with plain language. The mailing list includes 80 or 90 people and organizations such as Portage College, the AISH worker, City of Cold Lake, and partners we connect with.
· Membership is open to anyone who wants to attend
· The Council is very excited about working with PDD and hosting the conference in November. Eighteen people attended the first conference organization meeting.
· Audrey also represented the Lakeland Centre for FASD and brought some information she distributed to the Board members.
· Appreciate good relationship with the Northeast Board, also appreciate having Helen Litwin from PDD as a member on the FASD diagnostic team.
· The Lakeland Centre for FASD is getting world recognition - often speaking to North American groups. Always highlight our partners at that table.
· The Centre hosts the annual FASD Conference, this year in Bonnyville - called “Beyond Awareness”.
1. Board
Communications & Operations
1.1
Northeast Board Quarterly Report for the Period January
1, 2004 to
March 31,
2004 (Fourth Quarter)
Recommendation: That the Board receive this report for information.
Purpose of Report: Information and discussion
The Northeast Board is required to provide quarterly reports to the Provincial Board on the nature of regional activities and results completed to support the business plan goals.
The Board reviewed and discussed the fourth quarter reports from the Northeast Board, which were presented as information to the Provincial Board administration for inclusion into the consolidated Provincial fourth quarterly report.
#04-05-775 MOTION: Colleen
Marks moved the Board accept the report as
information. Carried unanimously.
1.2
Joint Community Council meetings in June 2004
Recommendation: That the Board receive this report for information.
Purpose of Report: Information and discussion
Each year the Board engages Community Councils in discussion to solicit feedback, at Joint Community Council meetings. These events are held in the east and west sides of the region in a variety of communities, and the region arranges transportation and provides supper to those who are able to attend.
This year, these events will be held in Barrhead on June 17, 2004 and in St. Paul, where the meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 24th, 2004.
The Board reviewed and discussed the plan for the meetings and Board member attendance, as well as how to involve the Fort McMurray Community Council in these discussions.
The Joint Community Councils will review the 2004-2007 Business Plan and discuss both the Community Friendly Strategies and the detail of the initiatives that are related to each of the strategies. The proceedings from these events will be compiled and distributed to each Community Council for their information and review in the fall.
#04-05-776 MOTION: Caren Mueller moved the Board accept the report for
information. Carried unanimously.
1.3
Northeast Board Audit Committee: Terms of Reference
Recommendation: That the Board receive this report for information.
Purpose of Report: Information and discussion.
The Provincial Board for Persons with Developmental Disabilities approved the new terms of reference for their Board’s audit committee on February 12th, 2004.
The Board reviewed and discussed the Provincial Board Audit Committee Terms of Reference, as well as a draft Terms of Reference for the Northeast Board Audit Committee and membership on the Audit Committee. The Committee Chair is appointed by the Board Chair and at least one member of the Audit Committee must have some financial expertise.
The new terms of reference were developed to address the recommendations by the Auditor General to enhance the effectiveness of the audit committee when fulfilling their oversight responsibilities.
The Terms of Reference for the Northeast Alberta Community Board Audit Committee will be finalized at the next Board meeting in June.
#04-05-777 MOTION: Donna Desjardins moved the Board accept
the report for
information.
Carried unanimously.
1.4
Northeast Board Orientation: Continuation
Recommendation: That the Board receive this report for information.
Purpose of Report: Information.
The Board continued the orientation session for newly appointed and continuing Board members, which was begun on April 17, 2004 with a review of the type and nature of services and funding, and the demographics of individuals receiving service.
The Board also began a complete review of the Board Governance Policy Handbook with a review and discussion of three sections - Board Job Description, Role of Officers, and Code of Conduct. The remaining policies will be reviewed at upcoming Board meetings.
#04-05-778 MOTION: Doug Fleming moved the Board accept the
report for
information.
Carried unanimously.
1.5
Fort McMurray Representation/Liaison with Northeast
Board
Recommendation: That the Board receive this report for information.
Purpose of Report: Information and discussion.
Fort McMurray is a large community within the Northeast Region, which has had representation on the Northeast Board for the period April 1, 1998 until March 31st, 2004.
The new and continuing appointments for the Board did not include a representative from Fort McMurray but Board would like to continue to maintain a close liaison with the community of Fort McMurray and ensure that their interests are represented. The administration spoke to the Fort McMurray Community Council on behalf of the Board and the Council felt their current communication with the Northeast Alberta Community Board is very good.
The Board discussed ways to keep up their communication with the Fort McMurray Community Council and the possibility of arranging a session with them to discuss the Business Plan when the Board meeting is held in Fort McMurray in June.
#04-05-779 MOTION: Glenn Hennig moved the Board accept the
report for
information.
Carried unanimously.
1.6
Northeast Board 2004 Regional Conference: Planning
Update
Recommendation: That the Board receive this report for information.
Purpose of Report: To provide a summary of conference planning
activities to date.
The Northeast Alberta Community Board has begun planning for the 2004 Regional Conference in Cold Lake.
The current partners on the conference
planning committee are Dove Centre, Lakeland Center for FASD, Catholic Social
Services, Community Council Cold Lake, Bonnyville Community Council, the City
of Cold Lake, and FCSS.
A walk through of the conference venue, Lakeland Inn, occurred on May 4, 2004 followed by an initial meeting to identify potential partners to be included in the planning of the conference.
The Board discussed the format and plans for the conference, and reviewed a list of potential new partners for the conference.
#04-05-780 MOTION: Carmela
Levesque moved the Board accept the report for
information.
Carried unanimously.
1.7
Northeast Board 2005 Regional Conference: Request for
Submissions
Recommendation: That the Board receive this report for information.
Purpose of Report: Discussion and direction to the administration.
In preparation for the Northeast Alberta Seventh Annual Conference in November 2005, the Board asked that all community councils be offered the opportunity to submit a proposal to host the Conference.
The Board reviewed and approved a draft letter to the Chairs and Co-Chairs of all Community Councils in the Northeast Region, informing them of this opportunity, with a submission deadline of June 30th, 2004. This letter will be sent to the Community Councils before the end of May.
The timeline will allow the host community for the 2005 Conference to have an opportunity to interact with the 2004 Conference Committee during the final planning stages of this year’s conference.
#04-05-781 MOTION: Floyd
Thompson moved the Board direct administration to
send the letter
to all Community Councils in the Northeast Region. Carried unanimously.
2.
Administration
2.1 Inclusive Board Workshops: Follow-up
Recommendation: That the Board receive this report for information.
Purpose of Report: Information and discussion on this initiative.
Individuals with developmental disabilities
are joining service provider boards in the region. Service provider boards are
beginning to ask questions about how to support and mentor those individuals
and in particular the WIN board has requested support in the inclusion of one
individual who has been appointed to their board.
Sherry Beamer and Mark Starford from the Board Resource Center in California came to Westlock and led five sessions to assist the WIN Board in developing their inclusive status and individuals who are interested in participating as members of an agency Board.
The Board reviewed and discussed a summary of each session and recommendations from the presenters and ways to ensure good representation in the Northeast region.
#04-05-782 MOTION: Caren Mueller
moved the Board accept the report as
information. Carried unanimously.
2.2 Regional Housing Initiatives: Update
Recommendation: That the Board receive this report for information.
Purpose of Report: Information and discussion on Housing initiatives
within the Region.
The Board reviewed a report on the progress of community housing initiatives in the Northeast Region, in St. Paul, Bonnyville, and Whitecourt.
The St. Paul Affordable Community Housing Society (SPACH) and the HOME Program from Edmonton will be holding two workshops in St. Paul for people who want to learn more about home ownership. The dates for the workshops are May 25th and May 29th.
SPACH has also advertised for applications from single parent families for an affordable rent-to-own home which is now under construction.
The next meeting of the Bonnyville Affordable Housing Group is scheduled for May 12, 2004.
The Whitecourt Community Council has recruited a realtor work with them and the group is looking at beginning an affordable housing initiative within the next month.
#04-05-783 MOTION: Donna Desjardins moved the Board accept
the report as
information.
Carried unanimously.
C.
Communications from Board Chair
·
The Provincial
Board will be discussing final allocations next month.
·
The Provincial
Board will also be discussing a proposal from Central Region regarding the
Michener site. Board members, please give
me your comments prior to the second Wednesday of June.
·
Attended the
Norm McLeod Awards evening on May 12, 2004.
·
Doing a number
of arbitrations for the Provincial Board.
·
Received
invitation to the Catholic Social Services AGM. Donna Desjardins, Vice Chair,
will attend on my behalf.
#04-05-784 MOTION: Don
Schultz moved his verbal report.
Carried unanimously.
H. Communications
from CEO
· North Central Governance Agreement Administration Working Committee
April 23, 2004: Update
· The working group met and is developing a Terms of Reference.
· May 6th, 2004 Meeting with Lori Cooper, CEO, Child and Family Services Authority re: Potential Governance Agreement
· They are interested in having a governance agreement.
· I will be giving a follow-up presentation to their Board on June 7th.
· August 24th Fort McMurray - will attend meeting of CEOs (Children’s, Health, School Jurisdictions) in Fort McMurray
· Fort McMurray has one FCSS so the municipal level of engagement may be different
· Due to the Christmas holidays, the date for the December Board meeting has been changed to December 11, 2004.
I. In-Camera Session
(Review organizational issues)
#04-05-785 MOTION: Ralph
Gorrie moved the Board go In-Camera to discuss
organizational issues, at 8:45 am. Carried
unanimously.
#04-05-786 MOTION: Glenn
Hennig moved to come out of Camera at
10:30 am. Carried unanimously.
#04-05-787 MOTION: Doug
Fleming moved the Board go back In-Camera to
discuss organizational issues, at 3:30 pm.
Carried
unanimously.
#04-05-788 MOTION: Colleen
Marks moved the Board come out of Camera at
3:40 pm. Carried unanimously.
J. Notice of
Motion/Request for Information
K. Proposed Meeting Dates
#04-05-789 MOTION: Doug Fleming moved the Board adjourn at 3:40 pm.
Carried
unanimously.
________________________________ ________________________________
Don Schultz, Chairman Dr.
Alex Hillyard, CEO