10 June 2025

PRESENT: Kelsey Preecs, Tom Meuser, Kristen Grant, Janet May

STAFF: Maureen Kendzierski, Michael Ashmore, Lucy Martin

Meeting started at 3:03

Meeting Minutes

  1. Welcome
  2. Service Fellows Update
    1. LD876
      1. Passed and tabled for special appropriations table
      2. Hopeful for it to be moved to the next session or potentially the appropriations committee changing the fiscal note
      3. Communicate to the appropriations committee the importance of Maine Service Fellows as young professionals whose skills have been identified as pertinent and paramount to accomplishing the projects that towns have identified as important to their community resilience
      4. Members of the appropriations committee:
        1. Senator Margaret Rotundo - Chair
           Senator Sue Bernard
           Senator Cameron Reny
           Representative Drew Gattine - Chair
           Representative Amy Arata
           Representative Mark Blier
           Representative Michael Brennan
           Representative Kristen Cloutier
           Representative Deqa Dhalac
           Representative Jack Ducharme
           Representative Kenneth Fredette
           Representative Ambureen Rana
           Representative Holly Stover
    2. Project and Site recruitment
      1. Five sites are fully staffed four have begun their service
      2. Van Buren, Cherryfield, Dover-Foxcroft, Deer Isle & Stonington,
      3. Gianluca with CEBE in Norway helped local communities get $300,000 of CRP funding and will be ending his service at the end of June and going to graduate school abroad in Europe
      4. Have Maine Service Fellows present their work to the Commission at a future Commission board meeting
      5. Get Maine Service Fellows in front of a Chamber of Commerce to promote their work and try and develop more funding ties
      6. Having video or visual representation of what the Fellows are engaging in to use as promotional material on social media platforms as well as to send to potential funders
      7. Guidance and talking points for site recruitment to distribute to Commissioners
      8. Asking the MSF to take pictures and getting in the habit of documenting their service activities
      9. Branding guide is being created for the Maine Service Fellows
      10. Tabling or presenting at the Maine Municipal Association convention in October
      11. Housing is a key issue that needs to be addressed and could use the support of Commissioners in finding and funding housing opportunities
        1. Tom suggested the use of Nesterly which connects older adults who have space in their homes with short/long term renters looking for housing; Tom has a contact with Nesterly to connect with
        2. Connect the Deer Isle/Stonington fellow with Nesterly
  3. Climate Corps Network
    1. Resources for the current programs
    2. New participating programs
      1. Talking points of criteria and benefits of participation to present to the Commissioners
      2. Maine Won’t Wait climate action goals
      3. Finding funding for Maine Climate Corps
      4. Current governor’s administration is ending – Commissioner possibility of reaching out to current gubernatorial candidates; create messaging to create space in their platforms as it has long term implications
      5. Climate Corps Network has an intrinsic value
      6. Add to the September retreat agenda
  4. NGA service to career policy academy
    1. Meeting on June 25th between workforce partners, service programs, and intermediaries to support development of a pathway from service member to career through apprenticeships
  5. AmeriCorps General Update
    1. Formula funding allocated
      1. Funding is available to fund all the continuations plus the newly awarded applicant
    2. Injunction awarded
      1. Set the clock back to April status quo
      2. Told the federal agency that they were required to notify the programs that were part of the litigation that they could restart
      3. Challenge is that members have had to pivot from the pause in funding and while many of them have been able to stay some have not
      4. There is also the concern that this reinstatement might not be permanent and the potential risks that that would pose
  6. Volunteer Leadership Conference Planning Committee
    1. New logo
    2. Speaker proposals
    3. Sponsor assistance
    4. Panelists
    5. Registration
      1. Open the registration no later than Monday
      2. Website update
    6. Final Agenda

Meeting ended at: 4:00 p.m.