NoRTEC
MINUTES
WIB AND GOVERNING BOARD
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2003
MT. SHASTA, CA

1. CALL TO ORDER

   The meeting was called to order by J. Madden, WIB Chair, and J. Reese, Governing Board Chair, at 9:05 a.m.

2. ROLL CALL

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

3. WIB APPROVAL OF MINUTES, JULY 31, 2003

   A motion by B. Maffett, seconded by T. Cochran, for WIB approval of the July 31, 2003, minutes as posted, passed the WIB unanimously.

   A motion by G. Russell, seconded by B. Dennison, for Governing Board approval of the July 31, 2003, minutes as posted, passed the Governing Board unanimously.

4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA (ACTION)

   A motion by T. Cochran, seconded by J. Giessner, for WIB approval of the October 31, 2003, agenda with an addition of an Old Business item, entitled "wrap-up for yesterday's session," passed unanimously.
   
   A motion by B. Reiss, seconded by G. Russell, for Governing Board approval of the October 31, 2003, agenda with an addition of an Old Business item, entitled "wrap-up for yesterday's session," passed unanimously.

5. PUBLIC COMMENT (INFORMATION)

   Amara Thelen passed out EDD Information Bullet WIAB03-22 to the members, announcing the availability of training to local workforce investment areas in California. The program is intended to provide locally based and locally focused disability sensitivity and awareness training.

6. WIB APPOINTMENTS (INFORMATION)

   There were no WIB appointments. C. Brown said that a letter had been received nominating George Ortiz, President of California Human Development Corporation, to fill the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker seat, but it was too late to be included on this agenda. Brown said NoRTEC staff would follow-up to obtain an application and make sure all the paperwork was in order before the next meeting in January 2004.

7. PROGRAM COMMITTEE REPORT (ACTION)

   M. Piller presented the Program Committee Report.

   1. Program Monitoring

      M. Piller stated that there had been no programmatic monitoring visits made in the programs since the last WIB and Governing Board meeting.

   2. State Monitoring

      M. Piller said that there have been no State program monitoring visits since the last meeting, and that NoRTEC would probably not be visited until spring or summer of 2004.

   3. Client Numbers

      The following reports were reviewed and discussed. No problems were noted. (See agenda for links to reports.)

      - Job Seekers Accessing One-Stop Centers
      - Job Seekers Enrolled in the WIA Program
      - Outcome Information On Customers Leaving The Programs
      - One Stop Center Utilization Information
      - One Stop Center Employer Service Information

   4. NWI (Nurse Workforce Initiative)

      M. Piller said that the sixteen county region of NCEN (NoRTEC's nine counties, plus Colusa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sutter and Yuba Counties) was awarded a $2.1 million contract to provide Registered Nurse (RN) and Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) training to northern California residents. Data regarding the distribution of the $2.1 million and enrollments in the program so far were reviewed. No problems were noted. (See the agenda for the link to the report.)

      B. Dennison said he thought this was a very needed training program and asked if the funding could be increased. T. Brown said that the original amount of the contract had been $6 million from the 16 county area. Brown said that the State had cut the amount to $2.1 million. She said that NCEN had already requested additional funding, but had been turned down.

   5. Plant Closure Update

      The members reviewed the plant closures that have taken place in NoRTEC since the last meeting. (See agenda for a link to the plant closure report.)

      J. Trueblood said she would like to update the information, and shared that Jeld Wen (millwork manufacturing plant) in Lassen County would be closing its doors sometime in December 2003, and over 60 employees would be affected. She said that AFWD would be meeting with plant management on Monday, November 3.

      D. Conger added that Pacific Market in Crescent City was set to close, and 19 employees would lose their jobs.

      P. Cantrall said that she wanted to provide the members with a little good news for a change. She said that a company wants to set up a juniper chipping company at three sites in Modoc County. One in Alturas, one in Surprise Valley, and one at the old Big Valley Lumber site. She said this would open up around 50 jobs.

      J. Madden requested a new report to begin the next meeting. She said she would like to see some positive news regarding business start-ups, expansions, and layoff aversions.

   6. Featured Community Coordinator Report

      M. Piller said that the Committee did not select a "featured" report this quarter, as they were all good, and a new set of "award" criteria had not yet been developed. She said that highlights of each of the reports were outlined in the agenda, and she encouraged all members to read the reports because they were informative, and because each quarter someone always figured out a new "fun" way to present the information.

   7. Business First Report

      The following Business First Report update was given.

      1. Web site Technology Initiative (Update)

         C. Brown reported that over 100 websites had been published on the Internet as a result of the Website Initiative.

         Website Initiative 2003: http://www.websiteinitiative.org/

         Websites by County: /cb/pgb/business_websites.html

      2. Entrepreneur Training (Update)

         C. Brown said that NoRTEC had funded the the Venture Capital project a year ago as a pilot, and had asked for additional State funds as an "incentive" grant. He said the funding just came through, so they were starting up again. H. Oiler asked if the GCN group seemed to know what they were doing and if the funding they helped arrange had heavy strings attached. G. Mistal said she was just starting to work with GCN, and that they had been very helpful so far. She also said the finding was for fast growth and a quick sell, so not appropriate for those that wanted to keep control of their own business. worked with this group, and that they were very helpful.
         
         C. Brown said that the project is underway, and the "North State CEOs and Entrepreneurs Conference" will take place in Chico on November 5, 2003. He said that GCN held a similar conference in Tahoe on October 9-10. The Tahoe Bonanza published a nice article about it:  /cb/pgb/GSN_100903.html

      3. One Stop Business Services

         C. Brown said that NoRTEC has put together a website that provides a comprehensive look at our full range of business services; /business_services/home.html. He said it is open to the public, but kind of hidden while we wait for the programs to develop websites of their own (so we have a place to refer folks to for local service delivery). Brown said that the best example of a local Business Services website so far is the Shasta website: http://www.shastabrc.com/
         
         Business Service Presentations - C. Brown said that normally we invite a number of local businesses to provide feedback on the services they received from our local programs, but due to the abbreviated nature of this meeting, and its location, this item would be tabled for this meeting, and will resume at our next regularly scheduled meeting.

   8. Staff Planning Retreat (Information)

      C. Brown said that NoRTEC hosted a NoRTEC Program staff retreat this October 15 and 16, 2003. He said the theme was "Integrating Business Services into all aspects of the One Stop's operations." The planning and discussion was facilitated by Sheila Crawford (Klamath, Oregon, WIA program) and Melanie Arthur, consultant. Brown said NoRTEC had 99 program staff in attendance, and by all accounts, the effort was a success. He said everybody left energized and armed with practical guidance for the further development of their business services, and the better integration of all staff in the provision of these services.

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

   A motion made by B. Dennison, and seconded by B. Reiss, for Governing Board approval of the First Quarter Program Committee Report passed unanimously.

    

8. FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT (ACTION)

   C. Martin, Finance Committee member, presented the Finance Committee report.

   1. PY 2003/2004 Funding

      C. Martin said that NoRTEC has $11,523,647 in available funds for the PY 2003/2004 Program Year. She added that another $4,016,837 has been requested, and if all the requested funds are received, NoRTEC will have $15,540,484 available for the 2003/2004 program year.

   2. Approval of PY 2002/2003 Fourth Quarter Financial Reports
      
      C. Martin stated that preliminary Fourth Quarter Financial Reports for PY 2002/2003 were presented at the July 2003 WIB and Governing Board meeting. She said that the final reports presented for approval at this meeting included some minor changes, but said that these final reports are not substantively different than the preliminary reports. She said that any changes were briefly described in the agenda.

      -PY 2002/2003 Contracts Summary
      -PY 2002/2003 Service Provider Contract Modifications
      -PY 2002/2003 Program Expenditure Report
      -PY 2002/2003 NoRTEC Administrative Entity Expenditure Report
      -PY 2002/2003 WIB and Governing Board Expenditure Report

      A motion made by B. Maffett, and seconded by T. Cochran, for WIB approval of the Final Fourth Quarter Finance Report passed unanimously.

      A motion made by B. Dennison, and seconded by B. Reiss, for Governing Board approval of the Final Fourth Quarter Finance Report passed unanimously.

   3. Approval of PY 2003/2004 First Quarter Financial Reports

      First quarter financial reports for PY 2003/2004 were presented to the members:

      - Contracts Summary
      - Service Provider Contract Modifications
      - Program Expenditure Report
      - Administrative Entity Expenditure Report
      - WIB and Governing Board Expenditure Report

      C. Martin noted that the committee did not have any concerns with the first quarter reports.

      A motion made by L. Bosetti, and seconded by T. Cochran, for WIB approval of the First Quarter Finance Committee report passed unanimously.

      A motion made by B. Reiss, and seconded by B. Dennison, for Governing Board approval of the First Quarter Finance Committee report passed unanimously.

9. 
   STATUS OF FUNDING APPLICATIONS (UPDATE)

    

   1. Prior Approval:

      C. Brown stated that the North STARRS II application was submitted, and that funding is pending approval of the Governor. Brown also reported that the Work Incentive application (job coaching for disabled participants) submitted as part of a State WIB application was not funded.
      
      Brown said that the Rapid Response application was submitted, and that we were being told it will be funded.

   2. New Applications:

      C. Brown reported that there were no new applications to submit.

10. OLD BUSINESS (INFORMATION)

    Board Orientation - The members discussed the prior day's Board Retreat. The "orientation" provided the backdrop for a free wheeling, information packed, uncensored question, answer and open discussion on all aspects of NoRTEC and its programs. We also had a nice presentation on Business Services from Kathy Garcia (Job Training Center of Tehama County) and Janis Trueblood (Alliance for Workforce Development), including a good discussion on progress in implementing a fee for service component to the Business Services program. C. Brown got to show off the NoRTEC Business Services website. (Click on the "Public" button on the NoRTEC site, and follow the "Business Services" link.) There was some discussion of providing additional incentives for outstanding program performance, but the idea was dismissed because of the concern that it would escalate the level of competition among the programs to an unfriendly level, and the current method of public acclaim for good performance seemed to be working. The consensus was that this one and a half day Board Meeting was better than Konocti for uninterrupted, in-depth WIB and Governing Board involvement, understanding, and consensus building regarding the business and "culture" of NoRTEC. The Mount Shasta Resort wasn't too bad either.
    

• NEW BUSINESS (DISCUSSION)
  
  
  1. The members noted that the next WIB and Governing Board meeting will be held on Thursday, January 29, 2004, in Chico.
     
     
  2. There was a good discussion about ways to influence the new Governor's approach to Workforce Investment, particularly to not use the discretionary funding for political purposes at the expense of the system, and how to keep the rural concerns on the table when competing with urban interests. Lou Bosetti offered to arrange a meeting with John Koeberer, a local businessman (Red Bluff), who was appointed to the transition team and the next Chair of the State Chamber of Commerce. There was unanimous consensus that C. Brown attend, along with a few members of the WIB and Governing Board.
     
     
• ADJOURNMENT

  There being no further Old or New Business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:07 a.m.