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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-10-19 HHSCMINUTES OF THE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION City Clerk Conference Center 300 E. Superstition Blvd., Apache Junction, AZ October 19, 2009 - 1:00 P.M. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: JODENE WEETER, VICE CHAIRPERSON CHRISTA RIZZI ANDREW WHITENECK STAFF PRESENT: KATHLEEN CONNELLY, CITY CLERK JAN MASON,DEPUTY CITY CLERK OTHERS PRESENT: JASON RUSSELL BILL DOW, APACHE JUNCTION REACH OUT FOOD BANK JUDY BOREY, APACHE JUNCTION BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB MICHELLE DUENAS, TEMPE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB LUCY RANGEL, COMMUNITY ACTION HUMAN RESOURCE AGENCY COURTNEY LANGER, COMMUNITY ALLIANCE AGAINST FAMILY ABUSE ED CONTRERAS, COMMUNITY ALLIANCE AGAINST FAMILY ABUSE DAN TAYLOR, EAST VALLEY ADULT RESOURCES TERRY CRAWFORD, APACHE JUNCTION ADULT ACTIVITY CENTER MARY ANNE DOTY, JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT MARGE WALTER, SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN MENTAL HEALTH CENTER 1.Call to Order/Attendance. Vice Chairperson Weeter called the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason called the roll and advised there was a quorum present. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly commented Jason Russell is here; he is the newly -appointed commissioner that will be taking office the beginning of November. 3.Status report on applications for city human services funding. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated Community Alliance Against Family Abuse was fine for the first two quarters, but in the third quarter they had 43 sessions and 11 were for non -city HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 1 OF 40 residents.In the fourth quarter there were 40 sessions with 17 being for non -city residents; she had to disallow a total of $1,440.She also had some issues with Superstition Mountain Mental Health but she could not talk about that earlier with Rob present.None of the quarterly reports reached her and she had to call and ask for them.Ordinarily she would not call, but because there was confusion this year with the council changing the amounts late in the process, she went ahead and gave them the courtesy of contacting them.She did have to deduct some payments.They had an incorrect date on one and the others were non -city addresses.She had to disallow $876.50 in payments. There was a little bit of confusion with some of the other agencies but she believes it is because the person doing the reports has never read the contract.It was particularly true with Community Action Human Resource Agency.They billed $3,200 for two different quarters and they are only entitled to $1,600 per quarter.They would have to wait until the end of the year to see if they bill anything else and then see if they are entitled to the balance.They kept calling asking where their money is and they had to be told they had to wait until the end of the year.It would be helpful if the person doing the reporting is also familiar with the contract. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked why they were not receiving the contract. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they are receiving the contracts because they come back to her signed.She is assuming they keep their own copy.Whether or not they gave a copy to the person who is responsible for the documentation she does not know.They may ask them that. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated she would. Commissioner Rizzi asked if they could make that suggestion. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they could.They can also put it in the contract as a stipulation. Vice Chairperson Weeter questioned why they are doing any more if they are not correcting these errors. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she notified Community Alliance Against Family Abuse and Superstition Mountain Mental HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 2 OF 40 Health that they needed to be prepared today to explain why these things occurred and what measures they are going to put in place to make sure it does not happen again. Commissioner Rizzi stated she is for putting it in the contract. Then they are signing to knowing what they are to do. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented the person who is documenting it has to sign that contract, too. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated that would be a staff person.The person who signs the contract would usually be the head of the board, the chief executive officer, or someone like that. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated this is the treasurer or biller. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated frequently it is not.It is just a staff or clerical person and she thinks they are so far down from the top that they simply do not see the contract. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated that is not fair to them or the agency. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they may ask all of them about that. Commissioner Rizzi asked about the question they had earlier on how the economy has affected them. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she put that in the letter. They were asked to be ready to answer that. 4.Interview of selected applicants for city human services funding for FY 2009-10. Apache Junction Reach Out Food Bank was represented by Bill Dow, president of the board.Introductions were made around the room. Mr. Bill Dow stated they provide emergency food boxes to people with short term needs.The box will get them through a week or so.They service from Ellsworth Road to Queen Valley and south to just north of Queen Creek.They are on pace to service HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 3 OF 40 18,000 to 19,000 people, the highest in the last 5 years; 75% are within the city limits.They have spent more than they have taken in; 77% of the food budget has been spent with 3 months to go this year.They will spend more than they had planned because of the need.Half of what they have taken in for income has come from individual donations; the community has really stepped up.They understand most of the agencies they get funding from are hurting in their budgets.They have been dipping into their reserves and that is okay.An advantage they have is that the staff is completely volunteers.Their only overhead is their facility, which the city and county helped build with grants.They pay utilities and have vehicle maintenance for their truck.They had over 250 volunteers that contributed over 11,000 hours time.They let the summer people off for the winter and let the snowbird volunteers take over. Their three biggest months of need are October, November and December. Commissioner Whiteneck commented their needs have gone up but their request for funds has gone down. Mr. Bill Dow stated that is because the city cut back because of their budgetary constraints.They have had to step up their activities in order to get additional funding to make sure they meet their budgetary needs.They applied for additional grants, some of which they got.The community stepped up very nicely; about 51% of the money they have taken in is from individuals. Commissioner Rizzi commented they seem like a very well- organized organization.As he said, they have a little fund they could get into so that is very good planning. Mr. Bill Dow stated they have a reserve that should cover a year -and -a -half, but there are always needs.This year they had to replace the refrigeration unit on the truck.That was very expensive, but they had budgeted for that.That is when they have to dip into the reserves big time.The truck will have to be replaced in about two or three years so they are starting to save for that. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented where she lives there are a lot grapefruit and orange trees.They picked the fruit and brought it to the food bank and the volunteers were hustling. She was impressed. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 4 OF 40 Mr. Bill Dow stated he wished he knew them all as he only works there two days a week on Wednesdays evenings and Saturday mornings.The ones he knows are very dedicated and work very hard.They have a solid set of procedures and processes in place.Three of them hold restaurant manager cards as required by the state in order to serve food to the community, and they are subject to the county health department.It has been in existence for 26 years and has been a completely volunteer organization the entire time. Commissioner Rizzi stated that is awesome and she loves to hear that. Mr. Bill Dow stated he has been the president for the last four years and he finds it amazing that they have been able to maintain that over all these years. Commissioner Rizzi stated a lot of people have been helped by that organization. Mr. Bill Dow agreed.It adds up over the years when it is 18,000 to 19,000 per year. Commissioner Rizzi stated it does when it is compared to the population of the city.He had stated 75% of them are Apache Junction residents. Mr. Bill Dow stated there have been a little over 11,000 in the first nine months of this year from Apache Junction. Commissioner Rizzi commented she is sure that many of them are repeaters. Mr. Bill Dow stated they can only come once every sixty days. It is not like they are coming every week. Commissioner Rizzi asked if there are any requirements for the volunteers. Mr. Bill Dow stated there is not.They do not charge anything. It is all given to the people to meet their needs.He knows that Project Help, when they help some of the families, will ask them to come and volunteer.We call them community service workers and we will work with them. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 5 OF 40 Commissioner Rizzi commented they are working in conjunction with Project Help in some ways. Mr. Bill Dow stated that is correct.A lot of people will drop off clothing and things at the food bank and we do not do clothing and other things.We make sure that gets to Project Help.Any volunteer helpers that we need, they push our way. We work together pretty well. Commissioner Rizzi commented he answered the questions well and she is very impressed with the organization. Mr. Bill Dow stated it is a great organization.He loves the people and they have a good board.They work hard to get the community awareness out to help with some of the funding and take care of some of the needs.It keeps him from having to do everything because he cannot. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked if he had any questions for the board. Mr. Bill Dow commented he knows that this last year was a hard year for the city.He asked if they see it turning around in terms of funding. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated the council approved $80,000 in the budget this year.It is the same as last year. Mr. Bill Dow commented it will be pretty much the same.He will let his board know that they have work to do in order to make sure they have enough funding to get through. The next agency to be interviewed was the boys and girls club, represented by Judy Borey, executive director for the Apache Junction branch, and Michelle Duenas, the area director. Introductions were made around the room. Ms. Judy Borey commented they are here to talk about their funding for 2009-2010.They have received some funding from Salt River Project for their Power Hour, but there are multiple components that still need to be funded.They have leased 15,000 square feet from the school district.They previously had only 2,300 square feet.They have a capacity to serve 299 children on the youth side and 150 on the teen side.They are HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 6 OF 40 running a leadership program with their teens on the youth side. Their after school programs and summer day camp provide a setting where academic achievement is supported and encouraged. The combination of these programs is called Project Learn, an educational program of the Boys and Girls Club of America developed with the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.This program has been shown to be highly effective based on an evaluation study completed by a staff member of the Columbia University School of Social Work.Their three strategies are commitment to learning, constructive use of time, and skill development.The programs fit into these different components.The high school students are getting college tutors through in-service programs.Project Learn is homework and tutoring.There is one to two hours of tutoring.If the child does not have homework, they can earn points by tutoring.The various components include high yield learning, leisure activities, Keystone, Torch Club, and Toastmasters.She described the latter's national program and competition wherein the winner is awarded a college scholarship.They recently had the national winner from Michelle's Tempe club. Ms. Michelle Duenas stated there are lots and lots of scholarship opportunities for the kids. Ms. Judy Borey stated he got to meet the president and has a picture of him shaking his hand in the office.It was an awesome experience.He is currently attending Arizona State University.They have found that a lot of their alumni tend to give back, either financially or doing different programs with the club.They are collaborating with school teachers and principals to assist those students that are struggling in their grades. Commissioner Rizzi asked if she meant tutoring. Ms. Judy Borey stated they are tutoring and also working with the teacher who feels that the student may have special needs in behavior.They also try to help them.They currently have 322 kids signed up through the end of April.They were a lot slower at this time of year previously.They had 168 city kids in the last quarter, but the total is 322.The others live in county islands. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 7 OF 40 Ms. Michelle Duenas stated Project Learn is actually a curriculum and philosophy.They have 5 curriculum areas and one of them is education.While education is traditionally kept separate, Project Learn infuses education into all the programs. It is not just the Power Hour.It is put into all the programs, including the sports program. Ms. Judy Borey stated they also have a technology program. There is education in everything we do. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly asked what effect the upcoming vote on the school bonds might have on their organization. Ms. Judy Borey stated they will probably get more and more kids. They have been seeing that number grow.They were maxed out at the other site. Commissioner Rizzi asked if it is the availability of the after school programs that is causing the increase. Ms. Judy Borey stated that could be part of it. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly asked if parents are not opting to get babysitters or have them stay at home if they are older children. Ms. Judy Borey stated the teens are not necessarily latchkey but yet they are.Sometimes they are home taking care of younger brothers and sisters.Sometimes there are issues at home where a parent comes in and finds 10 kids at the home that should not there.Then the club has 4 or 5 brothers and sisters all showing up and being signed in.It is a $20 membership to join the club. Commissioner Rizzi asked if that is for a year. Ms. Judy Borey stated that is correct. Commissioner Rizzi stated that is cheap. Ms. Judy Borey stated it is $2 a day.They now have to charge because they moved up to the Four Peaks area.It is a bigger facility with more staffing costs and so on. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 8 OF 40 Commissioner Rizzi asked if they provide transportation to the club. Ms. Judy Borey stated they provide it for Tufa on the border of Meridian in East Mesa. Commissioner Rizzi commented they are servicing areas outside of Apache Junction. Ms. Judy Borey stated those are not in the count for that grant. They follow the map.She continually asks Kathy if anything has changed by adding county islands.They do have the numbers. East Mesa would love to have a club on the border but it is a matter of economics for everybody.She gave the board calendars and information on their activities, including field trips and library visits. Commissioner Rizzi asked if there are extra fees for the field trips or if those fees are included in the membership fee. Ms. Judy Borey stated there are extra fees but they keep them pretty reasonable, such as $2 or $3, depending on what they are going to.They have a 14 -passenger van that goes everywhere with them.They use it to transport the children for the field trips, to flag football games and Prospector Park.They also put on a haunted house at Halloween. Commissioner Rizzi asked what the youngest age is that they will allow. Ms. Judy Borey stated they must be at least 5 years old.Now that most of the school districts have gone to all day kindergarten, they have had to.They have parents with kindergarteners and older kids.They had to start doing that a year ago. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated they have more working parents, too.She saw a recent report where 80% of the women are the major breadwinners.There is still a glass ceiling for women so it is a bad situation for everybody. Ms. Michelle Duenas stated they are also seeing single dads and grandparents raising the kids. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 9 OF 40 Ms. Judy Borey stated they offer free membership to the kids who are in Community Alliance Against Family Abuse, foster kids, those in Child Protective Services and children of military families. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly asked how the jamboree was. Ms. Judy Borey stated it was hot.The fair had half price tickets on Friday that drew everybody down to the county fair. That surprised them.But Saturday was well attended. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented she thought Friday night was well attended, also. Ms. Judy Borey added the Keystone kids made dozens of cookies and all of them were sold. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented the city will not have any more money than it had last year.She asked what they are going to do to fund the programs. Ms. Judy Borey stated they were fortunate to get some funding from Salt River Project this year which will help with the deficit.They will continue to write grants to find more funding. Commissioner Rizzi asked if it is an all volunteer organization. Ms. Judy Borey stated it is not.They have paid staff.To be chartered with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, they have to have paid staff. Commissioner Rizzi asked if they have fundraisers throughout the year. Ms. Judy Borey stated they do.They have three fundraisers; they probably do the most fundraisers out of all the branches in the valley.They have the Yesteryear event in May, the bowl-a- thon in August, and the golf tournament in September.They have seen a decline in fundraising dollars through those events. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented people do not have the money to spend, and they are afraid to spend what they do have. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 10 OF 40 Ms. Judy Borey stated they are constantly looking at ways to raise money.There are some restaurants here that will give them 10% for a certain day, and there are third party events. They keep the staff working at the clubhouse while the event is taking place, like the Apache Junction Jamboree shuttling.But there are events they need to be in attendance at. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked if they have a training program for an older teen that has not been involved with them before but wants to do some of the tutoring. Ms. Judy Borey stated they have a group called LIT that is the leader in the nurturing. They try to pick the LIT from the Keystone group because those kids already have started volunteering.Most of them have grown up in the program and are already entrenched in the philosophy.They know what is expected out of them.They get additional training as part of the LIT team.If they get to be pretty good, they hire them as junior staff.It gets them a paycheck for their efforts. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly asked if they are doing anything in the upcoming election. Ms. Judy Borey stated they will be having a booth in the Kid Zone.They will have activities there.Most of their activities in the community are free activities, as they feel they get charged enough at the gate.It is a good way for them to use up things without having to spend money on supplies. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked if there are specific areas of paid employees or levels or job descriptions. Ms. Judy Borey stated they all have job descriptions.They have part time employees and full time.Right now they have only two full time, which are herself and the branch secretary.The youth development director is typically full time, but right now they are on a hiring freeze so that person is part time with 38 hours. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated that is more than part time. Ms. Judy Borey stated sometimes he will work 38 hours and they give him a day off so that he stays under the guidelines they HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 11 OF 40 have to be under.They have to shuffle hours around kids that are in school. Commissioner Rizzi asked how many volunteers they have in this facility. Ms. Judy Borey stated they have about 15.They have 5 that come from Central Arizona College.Mesa Community College is also sending a crew.Central Arizona College will have 40 coming out for a project fun day with the radiology department.She added they keep good information for the data reports.Everything is done by computer and they can extract whatever information they need. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked if they have a room with computers for the kids to use. Ms. Judy Borey stated they have twenty computers on the youth side and ten computers on the teen side.They also have 3 computers for homework only in the Discovery Zone.They can check on the internet for information to do reports.They also have donated school supplies there, including backpacks.She requested they contact her if they have any other questions and invited them to the club to visit. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly asked what they are going to do with the old building. Ms. Judy Borey stated they are trying to lease it out or sell it.It is owned by the club. The next organization to be interviewed was Community Action Human Resource Agency, represented by Lucy Rangel. Introductions were made around the room. Ms. Lucy Rangel stated the program has been in existence for about 25 years.They assist the low income population in Pinal County with utilities, rent and mortgage assistance.They also have a weatherization and home repair program.The home repair program encompasses all of Pinal County.They do emergency home repair as well as minor roofing, minor plumbing and electrical. The emergency home repair program can go up to $50,000 per home. She combines various funding sources to get more bang for the buck.The city funding source comes in handy when they have HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 12 OF 40 clients they have already seen and they need to have weatherization done.Once they have been there they cannot go back to weatherize.If the client needs cooling, American Disability Act accessibility or heating, they can use the city funds for that.They also receive money from the Area Agency on Aging, part of the Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens.It is Title V money that is used for seniors 55 and over to assist with minor problems in the household.Those are the secondary funding sources they need to tap into.If they cannot use one, they try to use others so that they balance them out. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked what the requirements are to be eligible to get funding. Ms. Lucy Rangel stated there is an application process.They have to prove citizenship, be within our funding guidelines which currently is 150% of the government poverty guidelines, or for the weatherization it is 200%.They have to prove home ownership or ownership of the appliance for utility repair. They must have their social security cards, birth certificate, and proof of income.For utilities, they try to see if they can get them on a different time of use program where it will lower the utility bill.They not only go in and do the weatherization, they work with the utility company to put them on a time of use plan that is more beneficial for them. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked if they were doing anything with the community financially. Ms. Lucy Rangel stated the executive director is involved with various groups in the community who understand the plight of the community programs.They also assist the Eloy food bank; when it ran out of food they sent out an SOS and the community responded with a lot of food.They also need assistance with applying for grants. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly asked if they were able to work with Roger and Heather. Ms. Lucy Rangel stated she works hand in hand with Heather.In fact, once her emergency home repair department finishes a house, they are able to go in and make the home more energy efficient.They like to pair up with them to leverage the dollars to assist the client.If their scope of work goes a HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 13 OF 40 little bit over and they need some assistance with air conditioning money, that is when they get the other agencies to help fund it and then they do the weatherization on top of it. They try to pull it together to make sure the house is energy efficient when the repairs are done. Commissioner Rizzi asked how the local economy affected their organization. Ms. Lucy Rangel stated they have received almost 100 applications requesting assistance and their funding levels are not able to keep up with them.They have had to turn away so many families, not for the housing portion of it, but for the utility and rental portion of it.They have gone into each community and offered rental and utility assistance and they have already depleted the funding.They are now reaching out to the government and state to see if they can pull down the remaining money for the rest of the year.The amount of people walking through the door is phenomenal.They cannot choose one emergency from another because everyone is in a hard-pressed situation.They see that not only in the families they go out to do the home repair portion on, but it is their neighbors and family, too.Their agency was also able to pick up the mortgage modification program so that they can help people in mitigating with the bank.They also picked up another program called Your Way Home Arizona.If the home is foreclosed upon, there are state dollars that will help the family with a down payment or 20% discount from the final amount the family has to pay.The agency tries to encompass everything it sees out in the community.They do not close their doors; they begin all over again June 30.This year it has been harder for the community services department because of the mortgages. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked how many volunteers they have. Ms. Lucy Rangel stated she believes they have about 20 volunteers.They have 5 in the food bank, and 15 in the home alone safe alone program which is a personal alarm system.It would depend on the program, but the agency itself has about 20. There are additional volunteers in each community.The home alone program is all volunteers. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 14 OF 40 Commissioner Rizzi commented she had said they had run out of funding for rental assistance.When the funding comes in, she assumed it was allocated for the rental assistance. Ms. Lucy Rangel stated when the funding comes in they will continue.They are still taking clients and issuing guarantees to the utility company, knowing that they will get them the money.It keeps growing, but she does not believe they will ever reach the point where they say the money stops.It will hopefully lessen by the end of the year. Commissioner Rizzi asked if there is a specific portion that is for that and when those funds are gone they are gone until more funding comes in or are they able to adjust the funding. Ms. Lucy Rangel stated they are able to adjust where they can. They do receive Housing and Urban Development money, money from Arizona Public Service, Salt River Project, Southwest Gas, ED2 pledges what Arizona Public Service does, and there is some other funding. Commissioner Rizzi asked if they will have other fundraising besides the grants. Ms. Lucy Rangel stated they do not do fundraising.Their biggest moneymaker is Resource Roundup that is held in various locations throughout Pinal County every year.That is where they try to get the word out as to what is happening all over in Pinal County.The agency asks for donations and anyone that wants to give donations does.The United Way grant perpetuates itself.It is for $8,000, but the units cost $50 so if they run out in the first quarter, they able to pick up $12,000 or $13,000 from other donations that are sent to the agency and used to purchase the units.There is no administrative money associated with that.They try to pay the volunteers mileage out of donated funds for gas.Donations from the food bank, CCA, Central Arizona College and Pinal Gila County help perpetuate the program. Commissioner Whiteneck asked if they could use more money than the $8,000 that they are asking for, and, if so, why were they not requesting a larger number. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 15 OF 40 Ms. Lucy Rangel stated they felt $8,000 was an adequate amount to assist the community.They did not feel that they should be greedy as there are other organizations out there that are just as worthy as they are.They do pull down some grants to assist them.Eight thousand seemed like the perfect amount for them and it is $900 per household.This year they spent the money quickly, but then they moved on to another funding source.It comes in handy for those individuals that they cannot find alternate funding for.They do a lot of applications.If they cannot assist a family, then they contact others like Heather and Final County.The wonderful thing about Apache Junction is there are a lot of contractors that do pro bono work.If she has a client where she cannot find some money, and she needs cooling, she can call someone here and they will do the work. She cannot say that about any other community.It is just here that she can find that.It is a nice thing to have.In fact, one of your contractors here went into Mesa for one of their clients whose son was serving in Afghanistan.His mom was here and had no cooling; she is 90 years old.He called the agency from Afghanistan and asked if we could help them.The repairs would cost a couple thousand and she could not find anyone in Mesa to help her.The contractor here went there and did it pro bono. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented we need to do more for the people that are serving this country. There were no more questions for her.The next agency to be interviewed was Community Alliance Against Family Abuse, represented by Courtney Langer, executive director, and Ed Contreras, director of finance.Everyone introduced themselves. Ms. Courtney Langer stated they applied for $18,000 in funds, but they wish to amend their request.They are only asking for $5,300 now.They are currently experiencing a decline in clients from the city; they are getting a lot of people who live across the street from the city boundaries.Checking the current numbers, she cannot come in here and ask for $18,000. She can only go off of the history, trend and what they expect it to be.They are the local domestic violence provider, providing shelter and a safe home for women and children under 16.They provide a safe home network of quarterly meetings wherein community leaders and business leaders come together to hear a presentation from a guest speaker that talks about trends HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 16 OF 40 in domestic violence.The agency is in the schools with direct services, having an empowerment guide who is a licensed counselor and does one on one empowerment sessions.She also has an office at the Presbyterian Church and works at the shelter.There is no charge for these sessions.The challenge has been for those that live outside the city.Every person that uses their services, especially the one-on-one sessions, gets a satisfaction survey.They have a 98% very satisfied rating.The other 2% was satisfied.They have no negative ratings.In the past year 100 one-on-one sessions were provided to Apache Junction residents.They are presently asking for $5,175 of group sessions and $175 for promotional materials. One of their challenges is promoting the group sessions.People need to know that it is here.The sheriff's department has been promoting it, but that brings people from all over the county. They would like to make up some flyers and go to the police department and give them some to hand out, especially the victims' advocate department.They can leave them with the victims.They do their best to get the word out, but she thinks they need to do a little more. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented she is very impressed with their agency.Their church had a lady that came in and your agency was called.Someone showed up immediately and they have not seen the woman since.Whatever they did, they did it well. Ms. Courtney Langer stated that is the feedback she likes to hear. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly commented she had to knock off some of the non -city residents.Someone there tried to say there were more city residents.She told the person that they were not. Ms. Courtney Langer commented she wished there were.They need to make more city residents aware of the program.She spoke at the city council meeting and hopes to come back and speak periodically.She thinks they now have a higher presence as they are at more city events than they used to be.It is a slow process. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked how many volunteers they have. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 17 OF 40 Ms. Courtney Langer stated they have a database of 60 to 80 volunteers.They are revamping the volunteer program.They have 3 volunteers that are working on a regular basis for 10 to 20 hours a week calling the other volunteers to find out what their interests are and what they want to do.They are also recruiting other volunteers. Commissioner Rizzi commented she had wanted to ask how the current economy has affected their organization but she has answered that somewhat by advising they are having less clients. Ms. Courtney Langer commented they are having more clients because of the economy.It is becoming more traumatic and severe.They used to see a lot of emotional and mental abuse. Now they are seeing black eyes and broken bones.She thinks that a lot of people are in such fear that they want to leave the city or town that they are in and go to another.They live in Apache Junction, but they are so afraid of this person that is also in Apache Junction that they go all the way to Glendale because the abuse is becoming so severe.They not only want out of the vicinity, they want out of the county. Commissioner Rizzi commented that even though the numbers within the city are going down, the abuse itself is actually getting more serious. Ms. Courtney Langer stated they are getting more and more calls from other county, city and out-of-state people.They have literally been at the airport picking people up or at the airport dropping people off. Commissioner Rizzi stated they work in conjunction with the victims' services at the police department. Ms. Courtney Langer stated that is correct. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented the more you hear, the scarier it gets. Ms. Courtney Langer commented it is very scary.October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.They will have a candlelight vigil on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park. The mayor, herself, the police chief, and the founder of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 18 OF 40 Community Alliance Against Family Abuse Sharon Stinard will be speaking. Mr. Jason Russell asked if $100 is enough to advertise all this. Ms. Courtney Langer stated she would like more, but she does not want to ask for too much and be greedy.If they have more, she will take more.She would like to have $500 and be able to go all over the city, but she wanted to start slow. Mr. Jason Russell asked if she was going to do a mailer or drop flyers off door to door. Ms. Courtney Langer stated she wants to drop flyers off door to door.If she had the money for doing mailers, she would.She would like to do training with the police department and the victims' advocates.She would like to give them Domestic Violence 101 training. Mr. Ed Contreras stated they would like to put out flyers at different locations, depending on how much they can have.The more money, the more locations they can leave flyers at. Services are up about 20%.They are probably experiencing a 15% to 20% cut in their funding.Some services are so high that they do not have enough money.They got funding for emergency shelters.They have people they have to put up in the middle of the night or on weekends.Their policy is to do an intake before they bring them to the shelter, otherwise they are mixing people together that they do not know enough about too quickly. Those monies received from United Way and the stimulus money is already spent.They have a debt at the end of the year.It was already spent as of September, and they have 3 months more to go.The replenishment for those funds will not come until next year, which will probably be at the end of spring or early summer.They have such a need, it has doubled or tripled.It is difficult finding residences within the confines of Apache Junction.They actually have more members of the support group last year than they did the year before.They did not receive enough funds last year for Apache Junction versus those county- wide, or from several counties.They have people from Apache Junction that want to go to Glendale or Phoenix to get away far enough so they cannot be found.They have residents from Mesa that come over here because they do not want to be found.They have people from other areas that come to our shelter.It is a HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 19 OF 40 matter of timing.It fluctuates so much that it changes many times throughout the year.Right now they could justify the amount they are asking for based on the data from January. Ms. Courtney Langer stated in this economy it is very hard for her to come in and ask for a lower amount. City Clerk KathleenConnelly commented she has a concern in that a city ordinance and the state constitution allow them to provide for the health of city residents.She is not sure they can allocate money for promotional materials. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked what about education. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated we would have to prove that it goes directly to city residents. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented she has heard her say she was going to give it out at certain places. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated that was giving it out at the police department. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated some of the cops can be as abusive as other people.That is how it feels to women when in their homes.They need to have a good amount of training for what she is talking about. Ms. Courtney Langer stated they are completely different worlds. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly asked what the cost of the training would be. Ms. Courtney Langer stated it would be $300 to $500. Mr. Ed Contreras asked if she meant per person or total. Ms. Courtney Langer stated total. Mr. Ed Contreras asked if that would be for the victims' advocates training and the police department as well. Ms. Courtney Langer stated it would be.She could send a couple of her staff in to do a half day of training with them. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 20 OF 40 Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason asked how many people they could train during one session. Ms. Courtney Langer stated they could effectively train 15 in one session.If they want to do a large number, they can but it would not be as effective as it would in a smaller group.It is usually up to the group they are training as to how they want to handle it. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason stated it would be $300 to $500 per session with them not wanting more than 15 people per session. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated 20 would be pushing it. Commissioner Rizzi asked if they use the local motels when they have to put people up for the night. Ms. Courtney Langer stated the money that they got from FEMA was used for emergency motel rents.That money was gone as of the beginning of this month.The motel money comes in handy because you sometimes have men that are victims of domestic violence. They have a 24 -hour crisis line, but if someone calls them in the early morning, they put them up in a motel room instead of doing an intake at that time of the morning.They meet with them later in the morning. Commissioner Rizzi asked if the local motels were working with them on the prices when they do that or is it just whatever they are charging for the night. Mr. Ed Contreras stated they give them a special rate that fluctuates between the winter months and the rest of the year. Commissioner Rizzi commented they know it is Community Alliance Against Family Abuse and they work with them. Mr. Ed Contreras stated that is correct. Ms. Courtney Langer stated they also work with them on anonymity where they have to take a false name for a person. Mr. Jason Russell asked who is qualified as a resident when they go to another city to get services. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 21 OF 40 City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they have to have a driver's license showing a city address. Mr. Jason Russell commented they would have to seek services inside the city limits.If they went to Glendale, we would not be able to provide services for Apache Junction residents going to Glendale. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated we provide services for the empowerment sessions. Mr. Jason Russell asked if some of them drive to Glendale to get those sessions. Ms. Courtney Langer stated the other cities have their own shelters that provide those services to them.They facilitate in getting them over there, but the other shelters take over from there. Mr. Jason Russell commented there are no funds that are available for them there. Mr. Ed Contreras stated each shelter is different in how they do their services.They might give them counseling or have an empowerment session.The support groups are not only for those people in the shelter.There are people that do not need the shelter that stay with somebody else, but they need a support group to help get them through their situation.They may also need additional support services after they leave the shelter. Commissioner Rizzi asked if Community Alliance Against Family Abuse is just in Apache Junction or do they have facilities elsewhere.She asked if they were working with other organizations. Ms. Courtney Langer stated they are working with other organizations that let them use office space.They have an office space in Queen Creek for a couple of hours a week.They also have an office in the county courthouse.They have memorandum of understandings with those organizations. Commissioner Rizzi commented she understands that Sharon Stinard actually started Community Alliance Against Family Abuse.It is actually an Apache Junction based organization. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 22 OF 40 Ms. Courtney Langer stated that is correct. There were no more questions of this applicant and the interview ended.Mr. Jason Russell commented he would have to leave the meeting to get back to work.He stated he was looking forward to the next meeting.Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason advised him the next meeting would not be until next year as the commission was going to do their deliberations for the council recommendation immediately following today's interviews.Vice Chairperson Weeter commented he was welcome to attend the work session where they would be giving the recommendation to the council.Mr. Jason Russell stated he would be there. The next applicant was East Valley Adult Resources, represented by Executive Director Dan Taylor and Apache Junction Senior Center Director Terry Crawford.Introductions were made around the room. Mr. Dan Taylor passed out a fact sheet.He advised they have just changed their name again.Not too long ago it was changed to East Valley Senior Services; it is now East Valley Adult Resources.The centers are now called Active Adult Centers, so the senior center will now be called Apache Junction Active Adult Center.They did this because it defines their services as working with both the active adults and those confined to their homes.They have had a good response to the new name. They had their 30th anniversary in Apache Junction at the center in September and the 4th anniversary for the building they are in.They have grown fast and quickly every year since they started here.They finally started seeing some leveling off last year.None of the funding sources could keep up; last year they were $20,000 in the red for Apache Junction.It did not stop them from doing anything this past year, but if they had to do it for another year or two it would cause them to have to take a step back and see what they could do. Ms. Terry Crawford stated last year they had 1,575 new participants for lunches.They are estimating 24,000 meals in the facility this year.Numerous people come in with transportation issues about getting there; it is normally 15 to 26 per day.They are also looking for transportation for shopping.They have a little over 170 people on the home delivered meals list.For September they had 15 they had no funding for. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 23 OF 40 Mr. Dan Taylor stated they had to keep that group on the waiting list. Ms. Terry Crawford stated they provide frozen meals to those who need them.They are looking at between 5,000 to 7,200 meals a month that they prepare.She commented the activities they have at the senior center include line dancing, bingo, health activities, an exercise room, bike room, track, walking track, and nutrition programs.They offered flu shots last week.A.T. Still University has a program where they come to the center with all of their equipment and provide dental services on a sliding scale. Mr. Dan Taylor stated it has been a really good program.They have been able to get a grant for all the equipment.They come every Tuesday.It has been a great partnership.So many people have neglected that area of their health for many years.It can get to be very bad, even affecting your eating ability and also leading to other things.They have had a lot of support from the staff and students of A.T. Still.They are community- minded.He then passed out a draft brochure they are working on that shows all the different things they are able to do at the center. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she knew Roger Hacker was working on some grants in the past.She asked if he is working with Roger on any grants now. Mr. Dan Taylor stated they have only worked with him on the LTAF II grants.That is for the van transportation with volunteers and that was approved.It is funded through the lottery money that comes into the city for transportation. Commissioner Rizzi asked if transportation is a big issue with them. Mr. Dan Taylor stated it is.Getting the people to and from the senior center is one thing, but they also have to get them to and from the grocery store, medical center and even some to the veterans' clinic and Williams Field.They have put in a grant with the state for some funding to expand that program.It is an area they would like to do more in for the veterans. Research has shown there is a great need out there for that. They would like to expand it to be more as they need it as HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 24 OF 40 opposed to when they can offer it.It would be a service they could give on a regular basis. Commissioner Rizzi commented she has always wondered if the local school district could help out in those areas with transportation. Ms. Terry Crawford commented she could go on all day long about different programs they have started, such as for grandparents. Mr. Dan Taylor stated there are a lot of grandparents that take care of children these days.It is a big issue, not just here but in the whole country. There were no more questions and the interview was closed.The next applicant was Junior Achievement, represented by Mary Anne Doty.Introductions were made. Ms. Mary Anne Doty passed out their financial statement.Junior Achievement provides work force readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship education to the students of Arizona.Kids are the future and we should be concerned about them.One in three students graduate high school nationwide, however, the State of Arizona has one of the highest graduation rates.We also have the biggest gap between the poorest and the most affluent in Arizona.Our children are not being prepared for the future work force, such as jobs in technology.They need to understand why education is important.They expose them to a wide variety of careers, advise them of the education they will need, how much money they can make in the type of job, and they make the connection on needing to stay in school.They need to start early or they will not get the message.Junior Achievement is requesting funds for their town program.They have some mini -towns in Tempe with 26 different businesses, including city hall, where the children are trained for 4 weeks in classrooms where they learn about 130 different job opportunities that are in the town.They develop a resume, pick the 3 jobs they are most interested in, and interview for the jobs.They learn how to take out loans, be a chief executive officer, be salespeople, elect a mayor, and when fully prepared they come to the facility in Tempe and operate the miniature town for the school.Two schools from Apache Junction, Desert Vista and Peralta Trail, participate.There are 160 to 170 HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 25 OF 40 children from Apache Junction that participate.The cost to Junior Achievement per child is $78. Commissioner Rizzi asked if there is any cost to the parents. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated they have been charging $18 per student to help support the program.Some schools choose to come during discounted times, like the beginning of the school year.They charge $9 for the discounted times.They write a mini -grant for the schools that have difficulty with the field trip funding and give them to the schools to submit to companies like Wells Fargo, Target and others.That is just a small portion of the cost.As a non profit, they do fundraising for the rest of the costs.The remainder of the costs for those attending from Apache Junction is around $10,000.The commission's letter asked how the recession has impacted their fundraising.This past year they served almost 96,000 children statewide.This year they are cutting back to about 75,000. They do not know if they will be able to fundraise enough for 75,000, but that is their projection.They have seen about a 20% to 25% drop in their donations. Commissioner Rizzi asked what their organization is doing to get the word out.She did not think many people are aware that they exist and what they do. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated we actually do get a lot of publicity releases.Junior Achievement has been around since 1919 and almost 1.2 million children have participated in the program in Arizona since 1957.It was an urban answer to the 4H club. They market to every school in the state.They send out letters and emails about the programs.They had 360 schools participate in the program last year.They feel that their programs are very successful.Studies have shown that the children that go through their programs are far more likely to stay in school, go on to college, have a higher quality of life, and contribute back to their communities.They are better overall citizens for having gone through the Junior Achievement program. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly commented one of the requirements is that the funding can only be used for city residents.She asked how she would be able to show that these children are only city residents.Peralta Elementary is not within the city limits. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 26 OF 40 Ms. Mary Anne Doty was not aware that Peralta Elementary was not within the city limits.She commented Desert Vista Elementary is the bigger of the two schools.Peralta Trail has already come through the program.They came through in December. Desert Vista has the four that are left; they are scheduled on February 25. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated there also could be children going there that do not reside within the city limits but go to Desert Vista.Our funding can only go to city residents.They might live in the Pinal County area.The city needs reports confirming that the funding only went to city residents. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated they can get the list of students from the teachers; that is how they would know whether or not they live within the city limits.She does not know where Desert Vista is located in the city. There was general discussion as to the location of Desert Vista. Commissioner Rizzi commented the issue becomes their having several of them residing in the county.She asked how they would be able to determine who lives inside the city. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated they can get the addresses from all the teachers.She could not tell them at this time as they have not had this come up before, even with other cities such as Phoenix.They are expecting 90 students from Desert Vista. After they have paid their $18, the total cost would be $5,400. She could find out from the teachers at Desert Vista how many of the students live in the city. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated the teachers may not know. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated they would have their addresses. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it is not that easy.The teachers would have to be very familiar with the city limits. Ms. Mary Anne Doty commented she is saying if she had all of their addresses. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she would not rely upon the teacher saying that is a city address. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 27 OF 40 Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated they would ask the teachers for the addresses and then figure out if they were within the city limits. Commissioner Rizzi commented she would imagine it would be that way with each city, including others such as Phoenix that they are requesting funding from. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated they have never had this happen before.She has never had a city tell them they need to know if these kids reside within the city limits.The City of Chandler has been giving them money for 8 or 9 years. Commissioner Rizzi commented she is surprised that it would not be part of the process. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it is part of the state constitution.It is that city's decision if they want to ignore it. Commissioner Rizzi commented whoever is doing it must be able to verify it somehow. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated she cannot imagine that very many of the kids going to the Chandler schools do not live within the city limits. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason stated she lives on the border in a county island in Gilbert.Her kids attended a Chandler Unified School District school that is actually located in the Town of Gilbert. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated the City of Chandler gives them $10,000 per year.The cost for all of the Chandler kids was $400,000 total.She did not think they had to worry about their $10,000 going to kids that lived outside the city limits.The second highest number of kids they serve is in Chandler; the highest is in Phoenix.They serve 22,000 in Phoenix. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated when the numbers increase like that, it is less likely to go to non-residents. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated she is sure they could say that the $10,000 went to far more kids within the city limits.She does HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 28 OF 40 not believe it would have been a problem for them.Gilbert has never asked us to verify anything.No city has asked us to do that; this is the only time. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason asked if they were getting the funds from the school district or the city. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated they have never gotten any money from the school districts.They do not get regular funding from Phoenix.They have gotten some money for funding Work Force Connections, and money from Maricopa for Work Force Connections. They got the Community Development Block Grant funding from Phoenix one year.That was $25,000 and it had to be in the low income neighborhoods.They recently received $20,000 from Goodyear.Nobody has asked them for the addresses of the kids. They can get them from the teachers; they must have all their addresses. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she wanted to check to make sure that they can release that to us. Ms. Mary Anne Doty stated they cannot release the first and last name with the address.They can give them the initials with the address.That is because of privacy issues.They might be able to give them their first names, but not the last name. There were no more questions and the interview ended. The final applicant was Superstition Mountain Mental Health Center, represented by Marge Walter. Ms. Marge Walter commented they received a contract with the state a couple of weeks ago.The specific funding that they had gotten assistance for was for flex funds, which is the way for them to pass the money along and help people in the community with rental assistance or needing help getting to work because their car was broken down, and it was again cut.The state has very few dollars for this.They had $15,000 last year; they were only given $5,000 this year to be used specifically for children.There is no money for assisting adults.They are appreciative of anything given to them as it does not go for their expenses; it is strictly to help out the clients in need. Sometimes they are very basic needs. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 29 OF 40 Vice Chairperson Weeter commented last year they had a few things that were not allowed because they were not serving city residents.She asked what they have done to correct that problem. Ms. Marge Walter stated they have gotten another map.Last year the state system had decided that zip code 85220 was in Maricopa County, and Maricopa County was getting a lot of the money that should have gone to Apache Junction.It also happened with 85219. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason commented all the 852 codes that went to 851 were affected. Ms. Marge Walter stated that is correct.In order to help substantiate that the clients really were in Pinal County, the state asked them to do a Google map of all the addresses.She told them she was not going to do 2,800 Google maps.She took a street map, highlighted the streets where their clients lived and turned that over to the state.Then her staff had to rely on Google, which could give her accurate county information but not accurate city information.Hopefully they will get more money from the state when they realize all these people really are from Apache Junction. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason stated if they should need another map in the future, please call this department and we will give her another one. Ms. Marge Walter stated in the past they have done several times over the funded amount.They have stuck on 10 extra addresses just in case something is wrong.In this case it was more of a one on one type of thing so we did get some wrong. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly commented there were some really low charges from $29 to $50 whereas she is used to seeing $175 to $250 for direct counseling services.The minor charges puzzled her a bit. Ms. Marge Walter stated she could get with staff to find out what they were, but they do operate on a sliding fee scale.She might have put in some clients whose income was so low they only had to pay the $25 or a percentage over and above that.If it HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 30 OF 40 was for psychiatric services, she would say that is probably what it was. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she believed it was. Ms. Marge Walter stated they might have had to pay a little bit more because of the percentage. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked how many volunteers they have. Ms. Marge Walter stated they do not have a lot of volunteers. They occasionally get interns.They have someone in their office that is going through one of the programs over at Central Arizona College.They have some that work with the psychiatrists.It is an area, because of confidentiality and regulations, where they do not have a lot of volunteers. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked what their address is. Ms. Marge Walter stated the administrative office is located at 475 N. Plaza.They are across from the post office in Arroyo Hermosa Plaza.They have a building on each end. There were no other questions and the interview ended. 2.Approval of minutes of September 4, 2008; September 24, 2008 and September 29, 2009. Vice Chairperson Weeter called for a motion. Commissioner Whiteneck MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES. Commissioner Rizzi SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. 5.Consideration and action on recommendations for human services funding for FY 2009-10. Commissioner Whiteneck commented last year they divided people into two different categories:those that provided critical services like the food bank and those that provided services HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 31 OF 40 that were not really critical to anybody like the Boys and Girls Club. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented the request is way over what they have in money. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly commented even with Community Alliance Against Family Abuse going down, it is still more. Commissioner Rizzi stated she jotted down a few numbers and was able to come out with between $72,000 and $74,000.But she would like to change them a little bit and see what the others have. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated originally the requests were for $130,400 and there is $80,000. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated she is willing to hear what anybody has to say. Commissioner Whiteneck stated the food bank and health services are vital to the city and important.He would recommend going with 100% funding on those.The other organizations, he has seen the financials on the Boys and Girls Club, they are certainly not hurting.They have no trouble with fundraisers at all. Commissioner Rizzi agreed.She suggested between $10,000 and $12,000 for the Boys and Girls Club. Commissioner Whiteneck stated that would put them at $11,000. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked the city clerk where mental health is as far as where their finances are concerned. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she knows they receive funding from a number of different agencies such as Pinal-Gila Behavioral Association.She mentioned the state contracts, but they are only getting $5,000 earmarked for children.She is guessing that they are like any other agency that relies on federal, state and local dollars. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated they are in better shape than the food bank. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 32 OF 40 City Clerk Kathleen Connelly agreed. They have a dedicated funding source because they have contracts for services.Those amounts might have been reduced, but they still have contracts. The food bank is just what walks in the door. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated she would like to see them be able to increase the food bank because of the financial situation in this county. Commissioner Rizzi commented with what Community Alliance Against Family Abuse has presented, they can easily increase the amount for the food bank. Commissioner Whiteneck recommended full funding for the food bank. Commissioner Rizzi commented she would like to see them contribute a little more if they are allowed to do so. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they can. Commissioner Rizzi stated they only asked for that much last year. Commissioner Whiteneck commented that is why he has asked him why they had asked for that amount. Commissioner Rizzi commented she thinks it is just like he said, that they are aware of the cuts from the city council, and because of what they got last year, they were not sure what figures we would come up with. Commissioner Whiteneck commented they are very good on their budgeting, and he thinks they are expecting something close to that.He thinks that is what they need to shoot for without taking away from other vital resources for the city.He asked if they wanted to get everyone's vote on what they think the proportions should be and then average it. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated they can go down the list and see what everyone has determined.She would stay out of it and let them talk about it. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 33 OF 40 Commissioner Rizzi asked Commissioner Whiteneck what figures he had, but leave the food bank for last. Commissioner Whiteneck stated he had $11,000 for Boys and Girls Club. Commissioner Rizzi stated she had $10,000. Commissioner Whiteneck stated he had $8,000 for Community Action Human Resource Agency because of the importance of the work that they provide to the community. Commissioner Rizzi stated she would go with $8,000 or maybe a little more. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they use $900 per house, so if they are going to go up, it should probably be in increments of $900. Commissioner Whiteneck commented Community Action Against Family Abuse severely reduced their request for money.It is such a comparably small amount that he has no problem giving them the entire $5,300. Commissioner Rizzi agreed. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated that amount does not include the training sessions. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated she thinks it is extremely important to give them as much money as we possibly can for training because if they are starting to see broken bones and black eyes, the next thing they will see is a dead wife, a dead husband or a dead child.We need to be getting them that training. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they asked for $5,175 for the group sessions, with $125 for the promotional materials that she is not sure they can pay for.Each training session would be between $300 and $500 for up to 15 participants.She asked how many training sessions they would like to have.She would think $300 is probably low. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 34 OF 40 Vice Chairperson Weeter agreed.She thinks they need to look at 15 people in a group session.She asked how many police officers they have and how many first responders they have. Each one needs to be in this training.They are talking about a good number of people.She recommended at least 3 training sessions.She asked what the people thought who had been there longer. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason stated the police department is bigger than it was when she worked there.She recommended at least 3 sessions if not 4. Commissioner Whiteneck commented they have not hired any new people for the police department in awhile. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they also have the victims' advocates program, which has probably got at least 60 volunteers that would need training. Commissioner Whiteneck commented in that case 3 would sound appropriate. Commissioner Rizzi commented she would agree with at least 3, but she would go on the higher end of that. Commissioner Whiteneck asked how much they were. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they are between $300 and $500. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason stated she would go with the $500 cost. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated $300 sounds awfully low. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason stated they have $9,600 left. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they could spend $1,500 on the sessions. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated they were asking for $5,300 this year.If they give them $1,500 on top of that for training sessions, it would be $6,800. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 35 OF 40 City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated that included $125 for the promotional materials that she is not sure they can fund.She said they could drop it down to $5,200, plus the $1,500. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason commented if the promotional materials were given out to the police officers to hand out on calls, they would know if it was given to a resident. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they have not given out promotional materials before and she does not want to go down that path. Vice Chairperson Weeter asked if they could give out informational materials or would that be considered the same thing. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated it might be.It can be hard to prove direct service when it is a handout, but if they are providing training for police officers within the city limits, it is easily defensible for the use of city funds.She commented this would be $6,700 for Community Alliance Against Family Abuse. Commissioner Whiteneck stated the next one is East Valley Adult Services.He would give them $24,000. Commissioner Rizzi stated she would agree with that. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated they are pretty resourceful.She asked what he would do with Junior Achievement. Commissioner Whiteneck stated he would give them $500 just to help them get along. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated that is not going to work because she is not sure they will be able to prove to her how they would be able to use the funds to serve city residents. Commissioner Whiteneck stated he would like to give them token money where they can establish a way for next year when they do get around to it. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 36 OF 40 City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they have to provide money for direct services, not for them to go out and try to start a program. Commissioner Rizzi agreed.She went into this having a better opinion of their program but she thought their presentation was lacking.There were a couple of comments that she made that bothered her.She appeared to be prepared to fudge if she needed to and she does not like that.It blew her away when one has taxpayers funding you and you are willing to fudge.That is not acceptable.They have to be squeaky clean. Vice Chairperson Weeter commented about when she sat there and told them that none of the other cities have rules and here it is a state law. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated there are jurisdictions that completely ignore state law and the state constitution.Our attorneys have always said we will follow the law. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated if we people in places like this do not follow through, then we would have the same kind of mess that we have in government right now. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she looks at things personally. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated she does not mean it here in Apache Junction, she means if one looks at all of the things that are going on, people are not following through with what the original rules were made for.That bothers her, but they are not going to do that. Commissioner Whiteneck stated they have agreed to zero dollars for them. Commissioner Rizzi suggested giving the food bank their amount. Commissioner Whiteneck agreed. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated she could go along with that, but they need to look at Superstition Mountain Mental Health. They are asking for $15,000 this year. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 37 OF 40 Commissioner Whiteneck stated they are providing a service that is very important.If someone is having a breakdown, they are the point of last resort.He recommended the $15,000. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated she had no problems with that. Commissioner Rizzi stated she fully agreed, especially with this economy. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she thinks they wind up working hand and hand with Community Action Against Family Abuse, and perhaps the Boys and Girls Club. Commissioner Whiteneck stated the food bank is the last one.He fully agreed that full funding is in order for the food bank because of how critical their service is.They will manage it well.He does not think they should go over the requested amount because they have good budgeting skills.They actually budgeted for their vehicle replacements and repair services. They know what they are doing.He does not feel it would hurt them by not going over what they asked for, but he does not want to go under because he thinks they are very important to the community. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated if they have the money it should go there because we are seeing more and more people go without food.She commented if they have ever been a single parent, she can tell them that it is scary. Commissioner Whiteneck stated they have $900 left after what they had originally come up with.He suggested they find a good home for it.Everyone is about fully funded except for the Boys and Girls Club and the adults.He thinks the adult services are more important because fewer people want to give to old people compared to the charities that give to the Boys and Girls Club. He suggested they give the $900 to adult services if everyone is okay with that. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly called for a motion. Commissioner Whiteneck MOVED THE RECOMMENDATIONS, AS THEY STAND, ARE FOOD BANK $14,400; BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB $11,000; COMMUNITY ACTION HUMAN RESOURCES AGENCY $8,000; COMMUNITY ALLIANCE AGAINST FAMILY ABUSE $6,700; EAST VALLEY ADULT RESOURCES $24,900; HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 38 OF 40 NOTHING FOR JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT; AND SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN MENTAL HEALTH WAS $15,000. Deputy City Clerk Jan Mason asked if he also wanted to stipulate that $1,500 of the amount for Community Alliance Against Family Abuse go towards training. Commissioner Whiteneck AMENDED HIS MOTION TO STATE $1,500 OF THE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE AGAINST FAMILY ABUSE BUDGET IS ALLOCATED STRICTLY FOR TRAINING. Commissioner Rizzi SECONDED THE MOTION. VOTE:Unanimous. The motion carried. 6.Discussion on schedule for presenting recommendations to the city council. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she will work very hard to get this on the November 2 work session.Two weeks later it will be on the consent agenda.She will make sure all of them get a copy of her memo to the council.One of them should be there to explain to the council that these are your recommendations. Commissioner Whiteneck commented or if they ask questions like they did last year. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated they were all there last year. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated she does not expect them to cut the money like they did last year. Commissioner Whiteneck stated that was really upsetting to him and Jodene as it was a last minute thing.They had an alternate plan.There were a few things they did not want to see cut and some things they would have been okay with cutting.They did not want to see an across the board cut. Vice Chairperson Weeter stated they did not ask them anything, they just did it. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 39 OF 40 City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they did a 20% cut across the board.She does not believe there is a reduction in the budget this year. 7.Election of chairperson and vice chairperson. Commissioner Whiteneck NOMINATED JODENE WEETER AS THE CHAIRPERSON IN PLACE OF ROB. Commissioner Rizzi SECONDED THE MOTION. Commissioner Whiteneck MOVED SINCE COMMISSIONER RIZZI HAS ONLY BEEN HERE ONE TIME, HE COULD HANDLE THE VICE CHAIR IF SHE DOES NOT WANT IT. Commissioner Rizzi SECONDED THE MOTION. 8.Selection of future meeting dates. City Clerk Kathleen Connelly stated they do not need any in the immediate future. 9.Adjournment. Chairperson Weeter adjourned the meeting at 3:38 p.m. dene Weeter Chairperson Kathleen Connelly City Clerk HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION MEETING OCTOBER 19, 2009 PAGE 40 OF 40