State Extension Council Association

Minutes of the Board of Directors of the Iowa Association of County Extension Councils

January 10, 2015

The Board of Directors of the Iowa Association of County Extension Councils met at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center in Ames on January 10, 2015. President Jennifer Penning called the meeting to order. Additional board members present include Al Pokorny, Mike Stocker, Kerry Aistrope, Mary Giese, Charles Ertzinger, Barb Sauser, Judi Hertle, John Dockendorff, Michael Ryan, Tim Hibma, Kathy Ebert, Jayne Lupkes, Pam Oelrich, Don Moore, and Dave Turner. Also present were Cathann Kress, Bob Dodds, John-Paul Chaisson-Cárdenas, Tim Borich,Terry Maloy, Mark Settle, and Julie Baumler.

There were no additions to the agenda. Don moved to approve the minutes from the September 24, 2014 board meeting. Mike Stocker seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Kathy Ebert gave the treasurer’s report. We have a balance of $12,763.25 in our checking account. The CD balance is $8,819.68. There was a bill of $258.10 presented by Julie Baumler for reimbursement for printing, office supplies, and the Survey Gizmo subscription. Jayne moved to approve the treasurer’s report and bill. Dave Turner seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Jennifer reported that the following regions are up for board elections this spring: Regions 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 15, 18. Nomination committees made up of the outgoing board member, the regional director, and one other council member are recommended to identify candidates. Nomination forms are due March 15. Terry will send out information to the regional directors and council members in each of those regions.

An ISUEO Update was given by Dr. Cathann Kress, Vice President for Extension and Outreach. The following program updates were highlighted:  ISUEO is on track to reach 1/5 of Iowa’s farm land owners and operators at face-to-face meetings  The Iowa Government Finance Initiative helps city and county governments more easily access analyses of their financial situation  Human Sciences worked on priority setting and identified the following priorites: food safety, family finance, nutrition & health (over)  ISUEO is looking into expanding our partnership with Dept. of Education at ISU.  Online educational materials counts were at nearly 250,000 digital downloads and 2.5 million web visitors in the past year. Dr. Kress reported that for the FY16 Budget they are anticipating an increase in federal revenue streams – mostly recovery of previously earmakered appropriations, changes in federal policies. They are anticipating state appropriations to stay flat.

ISUEO will be working to identfy and recruit a new Assistant Vice-President of County Services. Bob Dodds is serving as an interim. There will be a national search for the position. Before starting the search, we need to work on the following:  Role of regional director, how should they fill that role, who should be in the role?  Strategic plan – needs to be finished  Continuing to strengthen the partnership between counties and ISUEO Dr. Kress said they will probably start the search in the summer.

County Foundations were discussed by Dr. Kress. She is concerned that some county foundations are inconsistent in how they are being managed. There is a plan to put together a check-list and guidelines for things these foundations need to do to stay legal and operate effectively. They should be working to support the work the councils are doing. There needs to be a clear communication link.

Giving to the Iowa 4-H Foundation is down while county foundations are up. The only part of the state foundation that is up is the county portion (invested in the endowment). The Foundation may wish to talk to the Association in the future to get some guidance on how to approach this with county foundations.

Dr. Kress discussed eXtension – a national effort to create a virtual presence for extension nationally. The biggest concern with it is that it didn’t match with how the internet worked (i.e. it never came up on a regular internet search). Staff-rich states were not receiving compensation for participation. Therefore, ISUEO has opted not to participate in it now. They are instead investing their resources in beefing up our own web presence.

A 4-H Center update was given. They are continuing to plan camps for this coming year. We have 2 years left on the lease and will honor it. There is no operational swimming pool and no plans to have one in the near future. There are also remaining maintenance issues. After this season, we will need to sit down with the 4-H Foundation to determine what needs to be done to be able to continue to have programming out there. Leadership Positions:

Director of Operations, Nancy Brananman, has resigned. Dr. Kress has not yet decided how to fill the position. The Senior Director position provides a coordinating effort between program directors and is being filled. They have an offer out and hope to be able to announce in the next week.

A County Services Update was given by Bob Dodds, Interim Asst. Vice President, County Services. He has been on board for one week now. He has already heard from some council members and appreciates continuing to hear from them with concerns and suggestions. Region 20 will be covered by

2 a program specialist during Bob’s iterim period. He said he is thrilled with the progress IACEC has made in the past couple of years in their service to councils.

Tim Borich, Director, Community and Economic Development Extension and Outreach gave an update on his program. He reported that the needs assessments in counties last year yielded community & economic development as the #3 priority. Borich also highlighted programs and activities they offer to communities. He also noted that they have worked with counties/regions to fund local CED positions via MOU’s that are developed with ISU.

John Paul Chaisson-Cárdenas, 4-H Youth Development Program Leader, talked with the board. He has met with people in ¾ of the state at this point. In his discussions, he has found that 4-H program is solid. We need to think about how to make 4-H relevant for the next 7 generations. Two things need to be different in the future: 1. Found complacency in some places. Some things haven’t changed for years and there is no rationale beyond “we’ve always done it this way.” We haven’t figured out ways to engage a whole new generation of folks to be volunteers 2. Diversity – we have narrowed our doors over the years of who we consider to be 4-H’ers. Most people see a very narrow picture of 4-H. Sometimes attitudes have made this picture even more narrow. We do a pretty good job with kids who have disabilities. We haven’t done a good job advertising that though. We haven’t done a good job with the Latino population. How do we work on these?: 1. Professional development for staff (YFS and state staff). Teach staff ways to work with the community to identify needs. Inclusion training – everything we do is based on “are we asking the right questions?” 2. Creating partnerships with folks who are going to help us do the work. Kelly Tallman (state staff member) will work in the Dept. of Ed for inclusivity. Our Youth Field Specialists and County Youth Coordinators (CYCs) should be able to identify exact skills that they are working on with youth and using the lingo from the education field. 3. Redesigning programs to be relevant to today’s kids and communities. 4. Accelerators – introduction of kids who are not traditional 4-H’ers to “accelerate” their 4-H knowledge to be involved in the community club programs. Chaisson-Cárdenas would like feedback on how to deal with the following issues: 1. Progams get distorted when it jumps from ISU to the county. Part of it might be inequity of staff ability/experience/knowledge. CYCs are the fundamental cornerstone of 4-H work. 2. Turnover of CYCs is a problem. Two reasons: pay gap in some communities (counties don’t have the money) and training (long-term staff don’t upgrade their skills)

Chaisson-Cárdenas would like insight from councils. He suggested that perhaps IACEC members could be part of a focus group. Kerry, Pam, and Charles all volunteered.

Terry Maloy gave the executive director report. He continues to work with Whitfield & Eddy (W&E) to identify strategies for helping councils. They will focus on staff evaluations first. Also might perhaps develop a flow chart of decision-making as to when/if to go into closed session. Three counties have now been in touch with Whitfield & Eddy to discuss local legal issues. We have used 8 of the 15 hours this quarter. We did get 10 hours free service which included the webinar and survey.

3 Any unused hours will carry over into the next quarter. At this point, the first quarter will be complete on March 1. Dave moved to extend the agreement with Whitfield & Eddy for 3 months. John seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Terry was asked to have W&E look into health care stipends. Emily Ladewig put together a summary of how to work with it in the accounting program. Mike suggested that it be put on the website as well. Also, counties who go through the county supervisors for insurance have been identified as large employers.

As a result of some of his discussion with W&E, Terry wondered if it would be helpful for the association to have a personnel policy committee. Mary suggested we take a look at what committees our association needs between now and the next meeting.

Terry reported that the December Council Training went well. About 160 council members participated.

EAP renewals are due on Jan. 31. Terry reported that last year, we had good usage of the service by the employees when compared to many of the Employee & Family Resources customers. It’s nice to know that the service is being used.

Terry noted that IACEC is not covered by a treasurer’s bond/employee dishonesty bond. He asked the board for permission to get an estimate for coverage, as there is an increased need due to volunteer screening and offering legal services. Mike Ryan moved to have Terry procure a quote. Pam seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Drafts of an evaluation form for county staff members were handed out by Terry. The form and procedures were developed by a committee. He asked for feedback after board members have some time to take a look.

After lunch the IACEC committees met and reported.

The marketing committee discussed ways to increase IACEC’s visibility. Jayne moved to purchase 500 pens for under $3 each to be used at the upcoming legislative day. Dave seconded the motion. The motion carried.

The Policy and Finance committee discussed dues for 2015-16 and beyond. When staff salaries and travel are combined with our regular budget, Terry identified that the total expenses to run IACEC are around $100,000 per year. If we continue retaining Whitfield & Eddy, IACEC will be paying about $23,000 of that. As we go forward, we need to decide if we want to be self-supporting or subsidized. Mike Ryan pointed out that it would be $1,000/year/county if all counties joined. The committee would like to have a conference call with the policy & finance committee and then a conference call meeting with the full board to set dues. Cathann has indicated that she is still willing to continue her support, so there is no hurry to take on the total $100,000+ operational expenses. We need to support a dues increase with good rationale. There has been no increase in dues since IACEC’s inception in 1998.

4 The Legislative Committee reminded the group that IACEC Legislative Day is set for February 25, 2015. All the information is on the IACEC website. We will meet at the Wallace Building. Don moved to approve $50 mileage reimbursement for participants with 3 or more in their vehicle as well as full mileage reimbursement for board members. Dave seconded the motion. The motion carried.

A Legislative Update was given by Joe Murphy, State Relations Officer for ISU. He reported that the Iowa legislature remains unchanged in that the Republicans control the House and Democrats control the Senate. The Governor’s budget will be presented on Tuesday. It will be a tight budget year due to decreased ag markets. Tax reform will be fully implemented this year, as well as Medicaid increases, and education reform. He also noted that two new regents will be appointed this year.

Legiative Priorities for ISU  Operating Increase: 1.75% ($3.17M) increase  Extension & Outreach: $319,668 increase  Experiment station: $1 M increase  Student Innovation Center - experiential learning facility – primarily an engineering building: $8 M

Murphey noted that the Performance-based Funding Model is important for ISU. The legislature typically provides appropriations based on the Regents’ request, but they could adjust their funding to the old method if they decide.

No county concerns or issues were reported by the board as being heard from their regional members.

Mike Stocker moved to approve board member travel expenses of $2,464.53. Dave seconded the motion. The motion carried.

The next meeting is set for June 6.

Dave moved to adjourn. Mike Stocker seconded the motion. The motion carried.

Respectfully submitted,

Don Moore, Secretary