NoRTEC
MINUTES
WIB AND GOVERNING BOARD
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2002
OROVILLE, CA

1. CALL TO ORDER

   The meeting was called to order by T. Cochran, WIB Vice Chair, and J. Reese, Governing Board Chair, at 10:00 AM.

2. ROLL CALL

   There was a quorum of the WIB and Governing Board. Roster

3. WIB APPROVAL OF MINUTES, OCTOBER 25, 2001

   A motion by B. Maffett, seconded by R. Sandler, for WIB approval of the October 25, 2001, minutes as mailed, passed the WIB unanimously.

   A motion by B. Reiss, seconded by G. Russell, for Governing Board approval of the October 25, 2001, minutes as mailed, passed the Governing Board unanimously.

4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA

   A motion by B. Laverty, seconded by D. Beeson, for WIB approval of the Agenda as mailed, passed the WIB unanimously.

   A motion by B. Reiss, seconded by G. Russell, for Governing Board approval of the Agenda as mailed, passed the Governing Board unanimously.

5. PUBLIC COMMENT

   There was no public comment.

6. WIB APPOINTMENT

   A motion by B. Reiss, seconded by G. Russell, to appoint the following three individuals to the NoRTEC WIB, passed the Governing Board unanimously.

   1. Mr. Jorge Lozano - Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker - "At Large"
   2. Ginne Mistal - Private Sector - Shasta County
   3. Mark Steffek - Economic Development - Modoc County

       

7. PROGRAM COMMITTEE REPORT

   M. Piller, Program Committee Chair, presented the Program Committee Report.

   1. Program Monitoring

      The NoRTEC Program monitoring schedule was presented.

      Butte PIC - March 19-20, 2002
      Job Training Center of Tehama County - March 21-22, 2002
      Alliance for Workforce Development (Alturas Office) - March 25, 2002
      Alliance for Workforce Development (Susanville Office) - March 26-27, 2002
      Alliance for Workforce Development (Quincy Office) - March 28-29, 2002
      Shasta PIC - April 16-17, 2002
      Trinity Occupational Training - April 18-19, 2002
      Rural Human Services - April 22-23, 2002
      Siskiyou Training & Employment Program - May 14-15, 2002

   2. State Monitoring

      M. Piller said there are currently no official State monitoring visits scheduled.

   3. Client Numbers

      Summary data on job seeker client services was presented (see agenda for web site links). T. Brown said that for now the numbers were for information, to get some baseline data that could be used for next year's contract negotiations. There were no questions or comments.

   4. Caregiver Training Initiative (CTI)

      NoRTEC was funded for a total of $2,690,210 under the Caregiver Training Initiative to develop and provide training opportunities to WIA and WtW eligible clients in a sixteen county region (Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, and Yuba Counties.) Approximately $1,200,000 is for NoRTEC County projects. The remaining $1,400,000 is for the other NCEN partners.

      T. Brown said the CTI project is pretty much on schedule. North Central Counties and Mendocino County Programs submitted plausible corrective action plans, both blaming a late start and promising to be up to speed soon. This will be reviewed again next quarter. (See agenda for a web site link.)

   5. Plant Closure Update

      M. Piller said NoRTEC was submitting a funding application to help those laid off from several plant closures in the NoRTEC nine county area of over the past 18 months. (See agenda for a web site link.)

   6. Featured Community Coordinator Report

      The selection for Community Coordinator report of the quarter was a tie between the Alliance for Workforce Development's Plumas County report and for the Job Training Center of Tehama County's report. The members applauded the efforts of both. (See agenda for web site links.)

   7. Regional Community Coordinator Activities

      Kathy Garcia, Community Coordinator, Tehama Job Training Center, provided a brief report on the "NCEN" Community Coordinators (from the 15 counties in the NoRTEC and NCCC consortiums) last meeting. At their January meeting, they discussed fund raising ideas for the annual "Economic & Demographic Profile Series" produced by the Center For Economic Development, applying for a "Technology" grant to provide e-commerce technical assistance to local business, marketing the one stops to local business, examples of how to become an asset to local business, and the Tehama Job Training Center recruitment plans for 450 positions for Rolling Hills Casino, being built in Corning. (See agenda for a web site link.)

   8. Business Report

      This meeting featured examples of successful efforts to assist local business in Trinity and Shasta Counties.

      1. Laird Crandall, Director, Trinity Occupational Training
         • General Enhancement - Computer lab in Hayfork for internet access and basic skills instruction (60 or so people a month). Lab in Weaverville. Provision of interview rooms in Hayfork and Weaverville. Provision of employer workshops (hiring and recruitment, payroll, permitting process, payroll taxes).
         • Start-up - Trinity Professional Pharmacy/Recruitment
         • Maintenance - Trinity River Lumber Company/Recruitment, Mamma LLama/New Hire OJT, State Farm Insurance/New Hire OJT, Jefferson State Products/Skills Upgrade OJT
         • Expansion - Imaginations

           L. Crandall said she thought they were doing a much better job of reaching out and helping local business under WIA than they used to under the old JTPA rules. She said their success in putting Business First was due to active outreach to small employers, customized services tailored to each businesses needs, positive working relationships, and their ability to deliver results.

      2. Jim Simpson, Deputy Director, Shasta PIC, and Dennis Maderios, Human Resources Manager, Chatsworth Products, Inc.
         • Business Retention - Chatsworth Products, Inc./Skills Upgrade Classroom & OJT Customized Training

           J. Simpson said he was excited about the ability to serve a local business in such a positive manner. He said the old rules were hard to shake, but the dedication to putting the Business First had paid off, and allowed them to develop a customized training program specifically tailored to the needs of the business.

           D. Maderios said the general downturn in the economy had made it necessary for them to find a way to help their workforce become more competitive. He said the company had looked into ETP training, but did not feel it was workable for them. He said the idea for the WIA funded customized training grew out of a workshop he attended at Konocti where the idea of incumbent worker training was discussed. His employers were reluctant to get involved with "government help," but his involvement as a Board member of the Shasta PIC and now NoRTEC helped open the door. He advised other WIA providers to keep the "government workers" on site at a minimum, and to clearly outline their expectation up front. He said the experience had been very helpful for Chatsworth, and he encouraged the NoRTEC WIB and Governing Board to encourage their programs to keep their attention on helping local businesses meet their workforce development needs.

            

   9. Butte County One Stop Report

      Bill Finley, Director, Butte PIC, presented an overview of the "Teen Center" Youth program. The funding for the program was from a Youth Development Grant, combining WIA, Drug and Alcohol, and Behavioral Health funding at the State level. The primary features of the program are the restaurant, teen center, and counseling. Jeanne Mantle, Assistant Director, Butte PIC, introduced the Chef (a graduate of the Culinary Academy) and the youth working in the restaurant. The members and guests were then invited on a tour of the Butte Community Employment Center.

      A motion by B. Maffett, seconded by T. Cochran, for the approval of the Second Quarter Program Committee Report, passed the WIB unanimously.

      A motion by B. Reiss, seconded by G. Russell, for the approval of the Second Quarter Program Committee Report, passed the Governing Board unanimously.

8. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT

   B. Hamby, Finance Committee Chair, presented the second quarter Finance Committee report.

   1. PY 2001/2002 Funding

      Currently, NoRTEC has $18,848,928 in available funds for the PY 2001/2002 Program Year. Another $1,000,000 has been requested. If the requested $1,000,000 for plant closures is received, NoRTEC will have $19,848,928 available for the 2001/2002 program year.

      This represents a $17,299 decrease in total funding from the 2000/2001 program year. The receipt of additional special project funding, combined with a reduction in NoRTEC's allocated funds (Adult, Youth and Dislocated Worker), has put NoRTEC's total funding for the 2001/2002 program year at virtually the same level as the prior year.

   2. Approval of PY 2001/2002 Second Quarter Financial Reports

      B. Hamby asked if there were any questions about the second quarter finance committee reports. (See agenda for web site links.)

      Second Quarter Finance Reports:

      PY 2000/2001 Contracts Summary
      PY 2000/2001 Service Provider Contract Modifications
      PY 2000/2001 Program Expenditure Report
      PY 2000/2001 NoRTEC Administrative Entity Expenditure Report
      PY 2000/2001 NoRTEC WIB and Governing Board Expenditure Report

      L. Wright asked why some of the counties were apparently under spending for the time period. M. Cross said he thought it was mostly due to the reluctance to fully spend now when the future funding levels were so uncertain. He said he sympathized, but the catch was that under expenditures now made it much more difficult for NoRTEC to get additional funding from the State. They are not interested in NoRTEC's internal problems, just NoRTEC's overall expenditure rates. So counties that are fully utilizing their funding and need more could be in jeopardy from the under expenditures in other counties that do not need (cannot/will not/have not yet spent) what they have.

      R. Sandler asked how the expenditures were going this year compared to last year? B. Hamby said M. Cross was preparing a report for the Finance Committee.

      A motion by M. Piller, seconded by D. Beeson, for the approval of the 2001/2002 second quarter Finance Reports, passed the WIB unanimously.

      A motion by G. Russell, seconded by I. Fust, for the approval of the 2001/2002 second quarter Finance Reports, passed the Governing Board unanimously.

9. STATUS OF FUNDING APPLICATIONS

   C. Brown said there was no news yet on the two lingering NoRTEC applications for Governor's 15% funds to provide internet connectivity and upgrades as well as staff development. He said he knew it was a long shot, and was doubtful if either request would be funded. He said there was no recognition for the multiple area merger to form NoRTEC and the unique challenges of serving this large rural area.

   C. Brown said the application for $1,000,000 was to serve the individuals laid off from the numerous plant closures throughout NoRTEC, and the $250,000 was still an idea, to provide web site development and short term hosting for local businesses.

   A motion by S. LaBriere, seconded by B. Maffett, for the approval of NoRTEC staff submitting an application for $1,000,000 for Plant Closures, and an application for approximately $250,000 for Small Business Web Sites, passed the WIB unanimously.

   A motion by B. Reiss, seconded by I. Fust, for the approval of NoRTEC staff submitting an application for $1,000,000 for Plant Closures, and an application for approximately $250,000 for Small Business Web Sites, passed the Governing Board unanimously.

10. WHAT'S HAPPENING?

    There was a brief discussion of the "What's Happening?" agenda items. S. Acebo said she thought the Community Colleges were taken by surprise with the Governor's proposal, and had no interest in taking over the Adult Education or ROP programs. She said they were more concerned with the loss of CalWORKs funds ($900,000 for Butte College). C. Brown said he thought inertia would win.

11. OLD BUSINESS

    There was no Old Business.

12. NEW BUSINESS

    The next WIB and Governing Board meeting is planned for Thursday, April 25, 2002, in Redding.

13. OLD BUSINESS

    There being no further Old or New Business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:20 P.M.