Tuesday, June 3, 2014

1. Roll Call: present- Marylee, Kathy, Patrick, Barb (phone), Meryem, Sarah F., Brad, Dave Miller
2. Open in prayer by Kathy
3. Motion to accept May 2014 meeting minutes by Sarah. Meryem seconded. Minutes approved.
4. Mission Review
   1. Staffing: We have 7 Youth Empowerment Specialists (YES people), which brings us to a head count of 13 paid employees.
   2. Operating plan review: had been left fairly open-ended for a mid-term goal (2016). Patrick suggested an outreach goal. Marylee told us about the 10-year plan for Fairbanks, of which we are a major player now. We have met one of the goals (providing shelter for homeless youth), but she pointed out that the goal of more transitional housing options for youth could be something we take on.
   3. Priorites Review:
      1. We are moving along in meeting our first priority (health & wellness incentives for employees, comprehensive feedback for E.D.).
      2. We are moving forward with priority two (finalize a funding model that fully sustains the host parent), in that we have a host parent in place. We have yet to find a solid funding source and we need to be overtly intentional about contacting churches about funding. Marylee thinks it’s viable to rely on churches for the funding, but that what each church donates will vary in amount and length. Meryem’s youth group has been collecting since February (probably about $300), which they would like to go to the house parent.
      3. Priority 4 (did I miss discussion of Priority 3?)- expand board (working on this with an applicant to review tonight)
      4. Priority 5- re-write business plan and have a solid plan for sustainability, being less dependent on one funding source. Brad said that ideally we would be able to sustain ourselves with funding that comes from: 1/3 donations, 1/3 grants, and 1/3 Clearwater.
      5. Priority 6- understanding financial statements training for board. For the next meeting, we will review a part of the “Understanding Financial Statements” document. Brad mentioned the difficulty of meetings so early in the month which make it hard to finalize a statement in time. Brad suggested that we discuss Classes and Fund Structures. We agreed to take a look at pg 3-10, paying particular attention to “Statement of Functional Expenses” on page 10.
5. Patrick signed Marylee’s timesheet.
6. Tami Manning’s Board application:
   1. Kathy moved to discuss her application.
      1. Executive session followed to discuss Tami Manning Board application. Brad and Barb didn’t have a chance to look at them, so we can make a unanimous decision. Sarah suggested that we discuss it between those of us who have seen it and then follow-up on the website with votes.
7. ED Report by Marylee:
   1. We are licensed for 11. We have 3 kids regularly staying (sometimes 1-2 others throughout the week). Most youth are out by 8am, back by 4pm. It feels like we’re starting over again with low numbers, but doing some outreach to work with that. It may be that in summer, they are happy to camp out. It also may be that they are uncomfortable with a 1-door facility with higher expectations for the youth who stay. The three we have are fitting in well. There is a specific 19 year old youth who would like to stay with us and Marylee was trying to provide shelter for her, but hasn’t heard yet.
   2. Staff changes:
      1. Tony is no longer with us.
      2. Fanta is a resource coordinator who will also be leaving at the end of June. Marylee and Nikki are re-thinking her role because it’s one more adult who needs to know the youths’ personal situations. It has been difficult for her to gain trust from youth. Instead of a person who will be a Resource Coordinator, it will be a shift that each employee takes turns working. This will save us some money, but also may be more comfortable for youth to interact with.
      3. James is working out really well- loves feeding the kids, conscientious about keeping the place clean. We need to work on funding this position.
      4. Arlis is an incredible gift!
      5. Hard thing: we’ve only transitioned fully with 13 volunteers—this is because of the fingerprinting and background check process. This is a big drop from 30.
      6. We have 3 interns for the summer: Shaundi (didn’t get other Shuree, & Ashley )
   3. MASST- Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training (Karen) working up to 29 hours a week through ALPA (who pays her). She is older and has had several grandchildren who have stayed at the church with FYA.
   4. Please pray for all the staff- who have had personal family challenges.
   5. We are spending so much money it is making Marylee nervous- she would like to have a much better feel for how much is going out.
   6. We will not owe ANY property taxes on either building!
   7. We got our bond back from the city but are still waiting to hear about the HAP- we still do not know about our funding that begins July 1^st. Our current HAP runs out June 30^th.
   8. Shopping on Thursdays is going really well- we frontload gift cards and our shoppers are able to spend from them. This means no one spends their own money for agency shopping and simplifies that process (no need for reimbursing, yay!).
   9. Issues with technology: Sarah’s computer completely crashed, Arlis’ is very slow, so Gary is going to build a new HP for her. The 5 computers that were donated are not useable. The Quickbooks account had a glitch when we converted from Brad’s computer to Arlis’ computer— it is now all working. THANK YOU, BRAD!
   10. Jeff Bizarro dropped off a giant donation of BBQ items.
   11. Working on building relationships with other youth-serving agencies.
   12. Upgrades- check out the pictures on the work party from last Saturday. Over 40 folks worked until 12:30 that night.
   13. Only 2 interested parties and 1 bid on upgrading our parking lot using Recycled Asphalt.
   14. Marylee made a request that we always only contact her directly if we have questions for anyone on staff. Otherwise it can be confusing.
   15. We got permission to have a third person in the girls’ room- this is how we went from 10-11 youth.
8. Roof repair for 132 10th
   1. We got two bids for fixing the roof on the old pink house. They are almost identical and within less than $100 of each other. Dave took a look at both bids and knows both companies. He said it’s interesting that neither mentioned what might happen if they see other necessary repairs. Marylee said that a good time to put a new roof on would be when she and Dave Bates are gone. There was a question about no mention of the type of metal that will be used to build the roof. Board asked for product clarification for actual roof materials. Dave and Patrick both preferred
      1. Brad moved to hire PLU, who did previous work on the interior of the house (pending materials & project clarification and assuming no price change). Second by Dave and unanimously approved by Board.
9. Car repairs discussion:
   1. Patrick’s biggest concern is that it’s a stick shift, so if folks can’t drive one, it could be a problem. Patrick would like us to get a vehicle that anyone in the position can drive (in a perfect world). We discussed the value of the car (about $1,800 -?) We could keep driving it, without making repairs, until we find a vehicle that better meets our needs. Brad asked about comparing the cost of contracting with a cab company with the repairs of the car. The problem with that is that Marylee is still dealing with the cab company we used when we were working out of LoveInc- the cab company sends incorrect bills.
      1. Brad moved that we operate it “as is” as long as it’s not a safety issue until we find something else or an alternative transportation plan for youth. Patrick seconded the motion. Decision approved.
10. Gift to Sarah Smith: Marylee suggested a jewelry piece that would be in the shape of a rosette, which were the pastries we sold at the Farmer’s Market that Sarah really liked and was a big idea of hers. Kathy contacted Taylor Jewelry Store and email/call their contact person and brought photos and ideas for Sarah’s gift. Marylee will find a more solid idea and bring it back to the board. We (the Board) will donate what each of us is willing to give towards the gift.
11. Committee Updates
    1. Brad- Financial:
       1. We transitioned record-keeping from Brad to Arlis. It has been difficult finding the time and being in the same place in order to get together to make the transition. There was an issue with a monthly grant reimbursement- involving Marylee’s pay raise. We’ll need to amend a number of things in the grant report.
    2. Public Information- Patrick:
       1. Jana considers our agency as top-priority for free work through Information Insights!
    3. Buildings (see above)
    4. Fundraising
       1. One Homeless Night (Meryem): Kathy and Meryem have been going to many churches and advertising. When school starts in August, we will make a big push to schools and youth organizations. Greater Giving has a way to set up personal profiles for the event and they would waive a portion of the bill, but it will cost us about $300 per year and $0.35 or 3.5% per transaction. Patrick says that sounds fairly reasonable. People are more likely to donate more with online opportunities. Youth can also put their profile online through social networks to gain funding. They can also send thank you notes to donors through the website.
       2. Meryem shared a brochure with other board members so they can give info. Barb dropped flyers before she left and will make more deliveries when she gets back. Marylee wants to confirm a few more pieces of information and then we can decide whether to go forward with the Greater Giving portal in July.
    5. Events & Volunteers
       1. Reorganization of committee- Sarah F. (tabled this conversation)
       2. Employee benefits/gym memberships-
          1. Kathy B. contacted all the health clubs in the area to find out what our options are for providing staff with a gym membership. Here are some notes:
             1. Alaska Club- we could pay part of someone’s membership. They could come over to FYA and do health classes for employees. No discount. Expensive.
             2. Elite Urban Fitness (University, near Fred Meyer)-
             3. Anytime Fitness (strip mall with TacoAzteca and Country Kitchen)- $35 per employee for corporations, can add/drop people at any time
             4. Mary Siah- Kids qualify as a family for the household. Adults- 10pass $45
             5. Planet Fitness hasn’t called Kathy back after connecting with regional boss.
          2. Kathy will make a spreadsheet in GoogleDocs so we can get a visual of how the options compare.
12. Next meeting: Tuesday, July 1^st, 5pm at Wilson & Wilson
13. Meeting Adjourned at 7:00pm

Respecfully submitted by Sarah Finnell