Easy Does It
Board of Directors Meeting
Minutes for April 25, 2002

Present: Jonah Markowitz, Hale Zukas, Todd Groves, Felix Knauth, Peter Trier, Winston Ching, Michai Freeman; Carol Horne, Kyle Eminger; Rose Acampora.; on the phone: Jonathan Gold
Not in attendance: Leslie Gordon, Daniel Drake, Dina Valicenti.
Jesse Townley arrives at 7 pm.
Kyle Eminger arrives at 7:15 pm.
Hale left sometime around 7:30 pm

Meeting started at: 6:55 pm; Peter Trier, Chair

Minutes:
Approval of minutes 2/28/02:
Jonah makes motion to approve; Winston seconds; Jonathan abstains; Motion passes.

Public Comment:
Jonah: Berkeley Dispute Resolution has new phone number is: 548-2777; Susan Parker's book, Tumbling After, is available in bookstores.
Felix: Read a public comment; will be attached.
Introduction of Michai Freeman, replacing Erin.
Jay Taylor is being replaced by Willamena.
Michai Freeman: looking forward to getting know board members and clients.

Minutes:
Approval of minutes 3/26/02:
Winston Ching: could not read, needs large print.
Jonah makes motion to table minutes.

Agenda:
Jonah: under 10 - move E to A and move everything down one; put c from discussion to last action item.
Peter: add to action items: proposal made to create a personnel committee; add after attendant management service
Felix: must get to Attendant Management Service
Jesse: add newsletter w/brochure
Peter: 8:45 pm go into executive session; only board members
Jonah: Development committee hasn't me for a while.
Mission Statement between brochure approval and comp time.

Questions
Jesse: Any major changes in personnel? April: Hired one male and one female; lost one male.

Attendant Management Services program description
Peter: any comments?
Jonah: motion to approve proposal; second Jesse; Jonathan abstains;
Jesse: important step in ongoing evolution in case management program;
Kyle: I wish that considering this situation with budget expansion separate program attendant/transportation; Question: why are we expanding so much when budget is tight; It looks like a good start; I understand that it used to be the case management service; sounds nicer; we were kind of doing it anyway.
Felix: this is required in our contract with city of Berkeley. No expenditure of money; represents a savings. No limit to what case management means. Clients had run up $10,000 of taxpayer's money. This gives a limit. One initial meeting and four follow-ups.
Peter: all in favor; motion passes.

Brochure approval:
Kyle: logo looks like the sign on the door.
Peter: approved

Change of May meeting date:
Jonah: Move meeting to Tuesday 21
Jesse: Thurs is better.
Peter: Table it. Stay on Thurs 23.

Spring Newsletter:
Jesse: style questions; let board look over in terms of grammar and spelling; email to me with a week lead-time.
Felix: last one was 11 months ago, but trying to do once a month.

Personnel Committee:
Peter: what is difference between judicial and personnel committee?
I would like to approve the idea of the committee.
Jonah: make a motion that we approve to make Leslie chairperson of the personnel committee and members of those listed in proposal.
Michai: need to have someone on committee who knows employment rights
Peter: committee will look at general policies.
Felix: Procedural questions, your amending bylaws by forming a committee; state the purpose of committee, and then ask people to serve on it.
Jesse: establish committee first and then deal with membership of committee
Peter: I'd like to approve idea in principal.
Jesse: If this is a committee that is concerned with staff policy, this could be taken care of by executive committee; fold it into executive committee?
Jonah: I motion that we approve the establishment of a personnel committee to deal with personnel concerns, policies, to hear staff concerns,
Rose: why does board need to get involved in personnel?
Peter: staff needs a quiet place to hang out.
Felix: think it over, get it in writing, and bring to next meeting
Jesse: separate from grievance; work with paid staff; committee does not have ability to make action decisions; more an advisory committee.
THERE FOLLOWED MUCH DISCUSSION.
Todd: table it until next meeting
Jesse: not judiciary; I'm going to abstain.
Jonah: make a motion to table with the proviso that a full proposal from Peter and Leslie, and other additional parties, will come back in May and it will be one of the first items in the action plan. Second ( who seconded)
Peter: what happens when there are judicial appeals? I support tabling; proposal is good faith effort.
Motion passes.

Mission Statement:
Peter: did anyone write one?
Jesse: did anyone approve the mission statement in the brochure?
Felix: read it out loud from brochure.
Jesse: I can see additions to this, but not to hash out at board meeting right now.
Jonah: Denise had something at one time that we didn't get to approve.
Peter: will try to get a hold of Denise.

Comp Time:
Jonah: the reason that I brought this up is that we wanted to make a proposal to lengthen time an employee could use it.
Felix: this affects for people on staff, and we are comfortable with it as it is.
Peter: we want their opinion
Felix: will bring it back to you in May
Jesse: urge staff to get in touch with us confidentially if employees don't feel comfortable bringing it up in public.

Rapid Response:
Felix: sent them a proposal; $1000 a month for six months; step by step description of precisely what they want us to do. City approved it. Uses a resource that we can apply and make some money.
Kyle: what is this about?
Peter: explained.
Jonah: why does Rapid Response want to do this?
Felix: they would save money: currently paying $2000 to B&G
Jesse: can the board approve the signing of this contract?
Felix: do their dispatching for up to 24 hours a day, for $1000 plus buying and installing a separate phone line and paying that phone bill; approx. $128 per month; EDI gets about $273;
Jonathan: resource on staff that used to work for Rapid Response, use it; how would we respond to the question of what is Rapid Response?
Felix: they need to give us all that info.
Jonathan: anything we don't know we won't do/answer.
Peter: (who made the motion) Motion to approve; jesse seconds; motion passes.

Changing by-laws to expand to 13 members:
Peter: not in favor of
Felix: if we have good people can we bring them as a candidate?
Jonah: I'd like Felix to know that he has been heard but we're not going to rush it.
Jonathan: motion to amend the by-laws to up to 13 members on board, but it's not a mandate; if good people arrive we want to invite them; Jonah: seconds
Peter: I won't vote for it as is.
Jonah: would it be okay if either board members or Felix found good possibilities, could we invite them to the meeting?
Jesse: Call to question: Motion to amend the by-laws to allow up to 13 members on board.
Peter: Currently says the board shall be 11.
Jesse: withdraw my call.
Jonathan: a procedure by which 2/3 or ¾ of majority over the 11.
Peter: roll call
Rose: Jonah, no; Jesse, no, Todd, yes, Kyle, no, Jonathan, yes, Winston, no, Peter, no.
Motion does not pass.
Jonathan: move to add clause to by-laws with a 2/3 vote of the board the clause of 11 may be overridden.
Jesse: don't think this is necessary; if we want to raise it we can when that person becomes available; if it comes up or if we have a ton of applicants I think we should do it then.
Jonathan: procedure? Could we do that all in one night; withdraws motion.
Peter: proposal: go to executive session until no later than 9 pm.
Jonathan: withdraw action item for website; just found out that we changed website managers today;
Jesse: Item tabled.
Jonah: Motion to go into executive session; second Peter; Peter moves that staff can stay.
Jonah: motion to invite Michai, Felix, Susan, and Rose to stay.
Felix: prefer only I stay.
8:45 pm: Rose, Michai, and Carol leave.