Fairbanks Youth Advocates

Board Meeting 4-3-2014

5:00-7:00

 Call to Order: 5:03

Present:  Patrick Endres, Kathy Birch, Meryem Kugzruk, Sarah Finnell, Barbara Tyndall, Brad Johnston, Dave Miller, Marylee Bates

Visitor: Rodney Gaskins Executive Director; Fairbanks Rescue Mission  

Open in Prayer: Barb Tyndall opened in prayer

Executive Director—Marylee reported that our Community Care License came in the mail tonight!  FYA received many congratulations from organizations and agencies throughout Fairbanks.  She will be sending a variance request for the downstairs room.

Approve Minutes—Kathy moved to accept; Sarah seconded.  Approved unanimously.

Reviewed requirements annual operating plan review.   Sarah reiterated points. Board needs to look at these before next meeting.

OLD BUSINESS:

Executive Director Evaluation–Patrick posted ED job description on line.  He passed out a rough copy of the evaluation form .  Brad, Barb, and Patrick will meet Monday, April 7 at 5:00 to hammer out the details of this evaluation form.

Discussion of salary for ED.  Rodney suggested Marylee work herself into a 40-hour-a -week job.  We should have a vision of a realistic salary and work slowly towards that.  That gives incentive for the ED to work towards the goal.

Marylee asked that the board would consider paying a minimum of at least her full salary.  It is covered through the grants.  There are extra funds to manage the grant– 7.5%.  These can’t be spent any other way.  They should go towards salary.  Brad said we need to look at the actual costs at The Door before we assess this.  Marylee said we need to spend these funds before June.

Dave asked about paid personal leave.  Do they use it or lose it?  No cap has been set at this time.  He suggested we have a policy concerning this so it doesn’t build up to become a big cost to us.

Rodney said the job description we have is very detailed and should be covered in policy documents rather than in the evaluation form.

Mark Harris arrived.  He has looked at our application and will be filling it out in the near future.  He may be interested in the fundraising aspect of our board.  He suggested we get the consumers to be involved in fundraising; throw it out to them to see if they can come up with something that appeals to them.

Performance review—Rodney said 360 is always good.  He suggested the board should have actual comments on the form for each question.  He said those are most helpful to the  executive director.  Just checking boxes doesn’t say much.  The staff form is organized for their own words already.   Rodney said this is a tough job and our encouragement is valuable to keep Marylee here.  He said to make the forms simple (five questions). The questions should cover things like how the executive director interacts with clients, community, etc.  We can switch it up each year. line?  Rodney said it should all be consolidated.  All answers should be filed for each question and Marylee should receive all the data.  Sarah said we could compile it and have everyone look at the forms on Google doc via teleconference. Some could meet together on speaker phone.  We will work it out.

The “Don’t know” on the form is not a negative for Marylee.  Some things we just don’t know.

FYA Vehicle—The donated automobile is not yet registered.  We need letter for the  IRS proving we are a 501 C3.  The car should be worked over by a mechanic.  It is a 1998 Honda Civic.  We are required to provide transportation for our clients.  Meryrem will call two mechanics tomorrow to see if they can donate a safety check.  This is all we need at the moment.  Right now we can provide bus and taxi rides if kids need to be transported. Mark suggested training for staff in how to transport clients; from a risk management perspective.  A number of staff have come from other agencies and have been trained.  We need to get those who haven’t, trained eventually.  We don’t hold or restrict; we call the police if necessary.

FYA Office (Pink Building)—Dave said we need to fill out paperwork by April 15 to get funds to fix the energy issue for the building. Energy audit includes the boiler, windows, etc.  We are applying for this energy grant for non profits. Patrick asked what needs to happen to get the building ready in the next year.  Dave explained that the State of Alaska uses this money to upgrade buildings for the purpose of less pollution, etc.  We may need to come up with money some day to put a roof on it.  Patrick wants to paint it a different color.

ED Report—Marylee reported that we have served 2-7 kids a night the past few weeks.  Due to a glitch at the church, we need to move things out of First Presbyterian.  We may have the pastors from First Presbyterian over for lunch once we are open for business at The Door.  Kids can come through around 4:00.   They can come in earlier but staff are trying to remain childless from 8-4.

FYA is looking at extending security cameras to a three month contract.  Gary Pedretti is working on that.

The house parent position has been offered.  We are waiting for a background check.  After that a contract and room agreement will be drawn up.

Clearwater Counseling—Dave Bates reports that he has had the opportunity to hire two counselors recently.  One is doing an internship and the other is a group therapist.  They are strong believers and family people.  They meet in the pink house for therapy sessions.

The business managers position hasn’t been filled yet.  They have raised the rate of pay ($15 to $18) because we want highly qualified people.  Rodney recommended TDL Staffing to find that person.

FYA has two administrators (Marylee and Nicole) and seven staff at this time.

Donations come in daily; sometimes more than one.  Teens for Jeans collected 700 pair of jeans.  Clothes, food, items, lamps, dishes are items that have been donated.  We also receive financial donations.  Marylee read a note which described a cupcake party and auction where 15 women raised $900 in checks.

Marylee will spend the day at Covenant House in Anchorage tomorrow.

Moneywise—North Star Community Foundation wants to donate $5000 and want it matched.  Goldenheart Gold want FYA to be the recipient for their fundraiser ($3000 about).

Rodney said to screen donations for bedbugs.   Lot of hotels have them.

Big Thank You’s:  Meryem suggested a nice dinner for staff and others to show our appreciation at getting The Door open.  Board members would do the cooking.  It was decided that sandwiches would be good.  Lunches would be provided to First Presbyterian Church staff at The Door.  The Fairbanks Rescue Mission staff would be served on a Thursday at noon.  We also need to thank artists who donated artwork.  One suggestion was a personalized note or photo with painting.  Rodney suggested a picture of their artwork in the newsletter each month with their name.  Mark said perhaps the consumers could interview the artists and write an article about them.  Dave suggested a Word Document that is generic—photo of staff with the art and a note of thanks and appreciation.  These could be made ahead.

Treasurer’s Report:  Report is available on-line.  Brad reported that our income is in line with our budget.  We have spent 20% of our budget.  Patrick said we haven’t delineated the time and shared space in the Pink House between FYA and Clearwater Counseling.  The item was pushed back to May for completion. Travel budget has been spent.  Need to add vehicle insurance in our line item budget.

Board President Report: Patrick, Sarah, Marylee have produced a new newsletter.  They upgraded Google apps to non-profit status. Newsletter is coming up soon.  Brochures forthcoming.

Survey Results: Sarah reported that seven people (staff) responded to eight questions.  The survey showed that a health club membership would be the most appreciated incentive.  Brad suggested we let them have their birthday off.  Patrick said we could offer a couple of choices for incentives. Board thought this was a great gesture for us.  We should survey staff annually for updated results.

One Homeless Night—Meryrem reported that we are looking to expand this event to other groups and perhaps businesses.  In the past we raised $5000 with 20 kids.  We are hoping to get many more involved.

The next work group meets April 12.

Next board meeting for FYA—May 1 at 5:00.

Meeting adjourned 7:00

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Tyndall FYA Secretary