Commission Minutes

Swearing-In of New Commissioners: Dedimus John Portela administered oaths to Phillip Bosse, Jenni Tilton-Flood, William Guidon, Jr., Janet May, Jeffrey McCabe, and Thomas Meuser.

Public Comment Period: Dipper Castaldo, Assistant Executive Director of the Maine Prisoner Re-Entry Network appeared over Zoom to ask the Commission several questions about a rejected grant proposal.

Present: Jenifer Tilton-Flood, Ed Barrett (remote), F. Celeste Branham (remote), Margaret Brownlee, Phillip Bosse, Becky Hayes-Boober (remote), Susan Cheesman (remote), William Guidon Jr., Jacinda Goodwin (remote), Stacie Haines, Janet May, Jeffrey McCabe, Rob Meinders (remote), Thomas Meuser, John Portela, Pamela Proulx-Curry, Nathaniel Rudy (remote), Luke Shorty (remote), Julia Van Steenberghe.

Guests: John Portela. Bill Birney and Lance Boire of Maine Volunteer Foundation.

Call to Order: Chair Tilton-Flood called the meeting to order at 10:08 a.m.

Welcome, Announcements, Agenda Adjustments: Commissioners introduced themselves and stated which seats they held on the Commission. Staff were also introduced. Executive Director Crofton announced that Bosse, Hayes-Boober, and Shorty answered the December quiz question correctly. Tilton-Flood praised former Commissioner John Portela for 13 years of service to the Commission. Portela thanked the Commission for all its efforts improving community life in Maine.

Addition to Agenda: Tilton-Flood added a proposal to establish a Maine Climate Corps Task Force to Focus on Mission Responsibilities portion of the meeting.

Consent Agenda: MOVED by Proulx-Curry to approve the consent agenda. SECONDED by Haines. 

Vote on the motion: In favor – Tilton-Flood, Barrett, Branham, Brownlee, Bosse, Hayes-Boober, Guidon Jr., Goodwin, Haines, Hawthorne, May, McCabe, Meinders, Meuser, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Van Steenberghe. Opposed – none. Motion passed.

Items approved by the motion were the Commission meeting minutes for October 22, 2022, the reports of the Executive Committee meetings for November 7 and December 6, 2022, the reports of the Communications and Public Policy Task Force for October 25, 2022 and November 29, 2022, and the reports of the Research and Evaluation Task Force for October 19, 2022 and November 16, 2022 be accepted.

Planning and Future Initiatives 
A.    Maine Volunteer Foundation Update
(Birney): The board is developing procedures to improve MVF’s funding list. Board recruitment is ongoing. Birney introduced the newest MVF board member, Lance Boire, to the Commission. Birney then explained MVF to new Commission members, noting that it is the nonprofit arm of Volunteer Maine tasked with fundraising for programs. At the moment, MVF holds approximately $39,000 in funds.

B.    Maine Service Fellows (Hurner): So far, MSF project applications focus on EMS capacity, ambulance driver support, energy conservation, and economic opportunity. Current recruitment goals aim to place applicants by January. The only requirements for being a Maine Service Fellow are willingness to commit to a year of service and completion of a post-secondary education program (including associate’s degrees). Only 2 of 3 applicants can be funded with the resources in hand. The initial design advisory committee needs to be refreshed as the ongoing advisory committee.

Focus on Mission Responsibilities
A. 2023 Workplan Based on Strategic Plan
(Tilton-Flood, Crofton)
In response to questions from Brownlee, Barrett clarified that Crofton and staff handle execution of the duties in question, whereas the Commission is looking at long-term policy and mission goals while holding staff accountable for results.

MOVED by Barrett to accept the staff workplan. SECONDED by Branham.

In favor – Tilton-Flood, Barrett, Branham, Bosse, Hayes-Boober, Guidon Jr., Goodwin, Haines, Hawthorne, May, McCabe, Meinders, Meuser, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty. Opposed – Brownlee. Abstained – Van Steenberghe.  Motion passed.

Business Reports 
A. Grant Selection and Performance Task Force recommendations for new AmeriCorps State Competitive Grant and two AmeriCorps Continuation Applications
(Barrett): 

MOVED by Barrett that that the Greater Portland Council of Government’s AmeriCorps proposal for a 3-year fixed amount grant be forwarded to the national competition if corrections and modifications listed in the task force report can be negotiated before the federal submission deadline of January 4, 2023. The first-year funding request of $276,000 Federal Share supporting 12-member service years distributed over 12 slots. The proposed cost per member service year is $23,000. SECOND by Branham

In favor – Tilton-Flood, Barrett, Branham, Brownlee, Bosse, Hayes-Boober, Guidon Jr., Goodwin, Haines, Hawthorne, May, McCabe, Meinders, Meuser, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Van Steenberghe. Opposed – none. Motion passed.

MOVED by Barrett that the Dept. of Agriculture, Conservation, Forestry/Maine Conservation Corps program be recommended for year 3 funding of the 3-year grant at the level of $707,020 Federal Share, supporting 30.74-member service years distributed over 60 slots. The proposed cost per member service year is $23,000. SECONDED by Tilton-Flood

Barrett clarified that slots requested by the grantee can be adjusted to include the correct number of team leaders and can also be altered over time based on recruitment and retainment.

Crofton clarified that AmeriCorps Competitive funds cannot be reallocated from one service project to another if a grantee does not spend all the funding awarded. The decisions related to these funds are not made by the Commission like the formula monies, they are made by the federal agency.

MOVED by Meuser to amend the motion to instead include 41 approved slots. SECONDED by Haines

In favor of amendment – Tilton-Flood, Barrett, Branham, Bosse, Hayes-Boober, Guidon Jr., Goodwin, Haines, Hawthorne, May, McCabe, Meinders, Meuser, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Van Steenberghe. Opposed – Brownlee. Motion passed. The amendment was passed.

In favor of Barrett’s motion (amended) – Tilton-Flood, Barrett, Branham, Bosse, Hayes-Boober, Guidon Jr., Goodwin, Haines, Hawthorne, May, McCabe, Meinders, Meuser, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Van Steenberghe. Opposed – none. Abstained – Brownlee. Motion passed.

MOVED by Barrett that the KVCAP-Educare/First4 AmeriCorps program be recommended for year 2 funding of the 3-year grant at the level of $265,896 Federal Share, supporting 12.31-member service years distributed over 25 slots. The proposed cost per member service year is $21,600. SECONDED by Hayes-Boober

In favor – Tilton-Flood, Barrett, Bosse, Hayes-Boober, Guidon Jr., Goodwin, Haines, Hawthorne, May, McCabe, Meinders, Meuser, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Van Steenberghe. Opposed – none. Abstained – Branham, Brownlee. Motion passed.

B. Research and Evaluation Task Force (Brewer, Haines): A draft of membership requirements in Maine Climate Corps Network was submitted to the Commission for approval. The draft conforms to the original Climate Corps statute and enables different projects to share common branding while mutually benefiting each other.

MOVED by Haines that the Maine Climate Corps Network Guidelines be approved. SECONDED by Tilton-Flood.

In favor – Tilton-Flood, Barrett, Branham, Bosse, Hayes-Boober, Guidon Jr., Goodwin, Haines, Hawthorne, May, McCabe, Meinders, Meuser, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Van Steenberghe. Opposed – none. Abstained – Brownlee. Motion passed.

MOTIONED by Haines to retire Research and Evaluation Task Force and create Maine Climate Corps Task Force. 
SECONDED by Meuser. During a brief discussion it was noted that research and evaluation could be folded into Excellence & Expertise because their work is naturally aligned.

In favor – Tilton-Flood, Barrett, Branham, Bosse, Hayes-Boober, Guidon Jr., Goodwin, Haines, Hawthorne, May, McCabe, Meinders, Meuser, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Van Steenberghe. Opposed – none. Abstained – Brownlee. Motion passed.

C. National Public Policy Committees (Crofton): The AmeriCorps agency did not get funding for Climate Corps; instead, funds will likely come from the EPA and HUD federal agencies. Also, the AmeriCorps federal agency is currently operating on a continuing budget resolution that uses last year’s budget allocations.

D. AmeriCorps Federal Agency Update (Cheesman): CEO Michael Smith testified before the US House’s Higher Education and Labor Committee on CNCS plans to address serious audit findings. He highlighted the importance of service and support for youth. Also, AmeriCorps and NCCC are releasing a proposal for a summer of service initiative for a second time; applications are due on January 6th, 2022.

E. Commission Staff Reports (Various): The Volunteer Generation ARPA grant application was not funded by CNCS. The Maine Climate Council Report (produced by an unrelated third-party) contains incorrect information about the Commission and its Climate Corps efforts; there was outreach to the Council to inform them of errors and ask for correction.

Business Wrap-Up:  
MOVED by Van Steenberghe to adjourn the business meeting. SECONDED by Guidon Jr.

In favor – Tilton-Flood, Barrett, Branham, Brownlee, Bosse, Hayes-Boober, Guidon Jr., Goodwin, Haines, Hawthorne, May, McCabe, Meinders, Meuser, Portela, Proulx-Curry, Rudy, Shorty, Van Steenberghe. Opposed – none. Motion passed.

Chair Tilton-Flood adjourned the business meeting at 12:53 p.m.