Commission Minutes

Public Comment Period (Tilton-Flood): No members of the public requested an opportunity to speak.

Present: Chair Jenifer Tilton-Flood, Ed Barrett, Susan Cheesman, Susan Hawthorne, Matt L’Italien, Jessica Nixon, Robert Meinders, John Portela, Pamela Proulx-Curry, Luke Shorty

Call to Order: Chair Tilton-Flood called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m.

Welcome, Announcements, Agenda Adjustments: Commissioners introduced themselves and stated which seats they held on the Commission. Staff were also introduced. Hawthorne answered the quiz question correctly. Executive Director Maryalice Crofton that the 2022 Commission Staff Workplan has been finalized and posted. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda.

Consent Agenda: There were no concerns about the consent agenda. MOVED by Portela to approve the agenda. SECONDED by Tilton-Flood. Vote on the motion: In favor – Barrett, Cheeseman, L’Italien, Meinders, Nixon, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Tilton-Flood. Opposed – none. Motion passed.

Items approved by the motion were the Commission meeting minutes for November 19, 2021, and that the reports of the Executive Committee meeting for December 9, 2021 and the Excellence and Expertise Task Force meeting for December 1, 2021 be accepted.

Planning and Future Initiatives.  There were no items for this month.

Focus on Mission Responsibilities. There were no items for this month.

Business Reports

Grant Selection and Performance Task Force (Barrett): Barrett said that the task force recommended Maine Conservation Corps’ continuation aplication for a second year of funding. MCC is struggling with enrollment and needs to submit more precise performance measures that provide data on members who are not in field teams.

MOVED by Barrett to approve Maine Conservation Corps’ continuation grant for the 2022 fiscal year. SECONDED by Portela.

Vote on the motion: In favor – Barrett, Cheeseman, L’Italien, Meinders, Nixon, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Tilton-Flood. Opposed – none. Motion passed.

Barrett then progressed to the task force’s recommendations for new applications.

MOVED by Barrett to approve KVCAP’s First4 AmeriCorps Program for a three-year fixed-amount grant and that it be submitted to the national competition with Commission support; the submission comes with the stipulation the corrections by grant reviewers are addressed before the federal submission deadline. SECONDED by Portela.

Vote on the motion: In favor – Barrett, Asselin-Hawthorne, L’Italien, Meinders, Nixon, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Tilton-Flood. Opposed – none. Motion passed.

Barrett MOVED that Goodwill Industries Multilingual Leadership Corps’ National Direct application for a three-year reimbursement grant be submitted for federal review with support from the Commission. SECONDED by Portela. Discussion on the motion clarified that a vote of approval for this motion would mean that the Commission would authorize federal submission while expecting Goodwill to correct errors in their application prior to submission.

Vote on the motion: In favor – Barrett, Asselin-Hawthorne, L’Italien, Meinders, Nixon, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Tilton-Flood. Opposed – none. Motion passed.

Crofton reported that the national direct competition for Public Health-related AmeriCorps programs was an off-cycle one that closed in November. CNCS opted to accept not only multi-state applications but also proposals that would operate only in Maine (usually those go through the Commission). No single state applications were submitted for Maine but several multi-state programs indicate they will place members in Maine if selected for funding. The Commission feedback to CNCS about support of the applications is due later today and funding announcements are due February. The task force reviewed the submissions and approved support of the following applicants: Epilepsy Foundation New England (Massachusetts), FoodCorps, Inc. (Oregon), National Network of Public Health Institutes (Louisiana + District of Columbia), Goodwill Industries of Northern New England (Maine + New Hampshire).

MOVED by Barret to express appreciation for peer reviewers for their recent work. SECONDED by Portela.

Vote on the motion: In favor – Barrett, Asselin-Hawthorne, L’Italien, Meinders, Nixon, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Tilton-Flood. Opposed – none. Motion passed.

Excellence and Expertise Task Force (Proulx-Curry): This task force did not have anything to report.

Communications Task Force (Portela): Portela explained that Senator Angus King’s podcast just interviewed Program Officer Kelsey Preecs; this episode will soon be released via Channel 8, Apple Podcasts, and Senator King’s website. Maine Audobon’s quarterly magazine will soon interview Preecs as well.

Portela also mentioned that Communications Officer Bryan Roche is working on a contract with Maine Public Broadcasters that will allow for digital advertisements in addition to television broadcasts for PSAs; Roche hopes to improve social media outreach with the new contract.

Research and Evaluation Task Force (Shorty): Shorty informed the Commission that the Climate Corps draft document is in excellent shape, though unfortunately the public input session for Climate Corps had low attendees. Crofton stated that funding for the Climate Corps coordinator position would come from ARP funds for 2022.

Maine Service Fellows Task Force (Crofton): Crofton noted that Branham has solidified the membership of the MSF advisory council and it held its first meeting. In order to provide support to the committee, Preecs will devote a portion of her time to MSF committee work and her time will be covered using funds originally intended for the MSF coordinator position that has yet to be filled.

National Public Policy Committee of States (Crofton, Portela): The most recent America Service Commission conference call mentioned that the U.S. Senate committees have changed priorities and will focus on voting rights instead of Climate Corps funding.

DEI Subcommittee (Barrett): Barrett noted that the subcommittee is developing a revised identity statement for the Commission to adopt in February. The chair also will negotiate an agreement with Thenera Bailey to consult with the Commission during 2022.

AmeriCorps federal agency update (Cheesman): The Senate confirmed Michael Smith as the new CEO of the AmeriCorps federal agency on December 8th, 2021. Smith will focus on racial equity, climate corps, and workforce training in his new role. Previously, he served on the Social Innovation Fund under President Barack Obama.       

Cheeseman reported that a new funding program, AmeriCorps Seniors American Rescue Plan Senior Demonstration Program, will grant awards between $100,000 and $500,000 to programs engaging Americans fifty-five and older in pandemic recovery efforts. Community organizations can apply even if they lack experience with AmeriCorps grants. Applications are due in February.

Commission Staff Reports: Crofton stated that she requested state funding for half of the Office Administrator position from the Maine State Legislature. She also requested more funding for Maine Service Fellows.

Business Wrap-Up:  The next Commission meeting will be on February 8th, 2022.
Chair Tilton-Flood adjourned the business meeting at 11:16 a.m.