PRESENT: Jenni Tilton-Flood, Celeste Branham, Ed Barrett, Pam Proulx-Curry, Luke Shorty, Zak Maher, Maryalice Crofton
The members convened at 3pm using the virtual meeting technology.
Discussion items:
Commission exploration of DEI. Celeste reported that she has identified a qualified consultant whose background fits well with the Commission’s work. Thenera Bailey of SISGI is working with several state service commissions on these very issues. Dr. Bailey is able to do a workshop for the Commission on November 19 and then will work with Celeste to develop a longer-term customized plan that fits whatever budget the Commission has. Executive Committee members indicated they are looking forward to undertaking the longer term project with her.
Approval of commission budget. The federal agency issued instructions for submitting the application for Commission operating funds on November 1. They set a due date of November 12 which means there are only 8 working days to put together the request and no time for Commissioner review. Maryalice proposes to submit the budgets (Commission Support and Training/Technical Assistance) with the understanding the budgets would be amended prior to the award to reflect any changes the Commission directs. The budgets will be on the November 19 agenda. It was noted that the ARP funds awarded under the Commission support grant are minimal for Maine ($88,000/year for 3 years) and only cover the proposed Climate Corps Coordinator position. The federal agency insists these funds must be matched despite Congressional intent and there are a number of objections being filed with the goal of having the ARP funds be relieved of match. CNCS is the only federal agency to not waive match on ARP funds.
November meeting discussion. Committee members compiled the agenda for November.
Exec review of agency work plan. Members were given copies of the draft work plan for the next year and asked to review it for anything identified in the board retreat that didn’t make it into the plan. Comments and feedback are due November 10. Maryalice will edit the plan and provide to the full board with business meeting materials. They will be asked to review and discuss at the meeting. After edits, the plan will be final.
Process for approving self-paced (online) New Commissioner orientation. The six-part Commissioner orientation series is slated to become an online “course.” Making this change will allow the face-to-face meetings with new Commissioners to focus more on answering questions and clarifying points. Maryalice is building the base for the course and asked for reviewers. Pam, Luke, and Celeste volunteered. Three modules are nearly ready and will be passed to reviewers after the Commission meeting.
Reports from task forces. Nearly all the task forces will meet over the next two weeks. Jenni thanked Celeste for agreeing to chair the Maine Service Fellows. Celeste reported that she has reached out to potential members of the Maine Service Fellows group and expects to have one meeting before the end of the year.
Calendar items for Commissioners. Two events will need Commissioner participation. The AmeriCorps Induction on 11/15; Public Input event for Climate Corps report in Dec (date TBD when Research TF meets on 11/19).
There being no other business, the members dispersed at 4:04 pm.