STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL
 September 16, 2020
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
FULL SILC Meeting
ZOOM

Members and Ex-Officios Attending:  Carrie Dudley, Deborah Ritcey, Erin Hall, Jeff Dickinson, Andrew Harmon, Shellie Lemelin, Susan Wolf-Downes, Marcia Golembeski, Joan Marcoux
Staff: Jennifer Beaulieu (SILC Assistant) 
Guests: Lorrie Ripley (Client Assistance Program, Governor’s Commission on Disability) and Sarah Sweeney (SILC Nominee) 
Communication Access: Jola Leary (ASL Interpreter) and Christine Bricault (ASL Interpreter)
The SILC meeting was called to order at 1:10 PM by Chair Carrie Dudley. Attendance was taken via roll call. 
*Quorum was reached mid-meeting.
Voting on the minutes was held off till the middle of the meeting when quorum was reached.

NOTE: As noted by Deborah Ritcey at the Full SILC Meeting on November 18th of 2020, Erin’s votes in these minutes aren’t valid because her term expired in August 2020. 

Approval of Minutes
* Second Vice-Chair Deborah Ritcey made a motion to accept the May minutes.
Second: 			Member Shellie Lemelin				
Discussion:			None				
All in Favor: Yes		Abstaining: Interim Secretary Erin Hall
Motion Carried.

Recognition of Andrew Harmon’s Service to the NH SILC
Carrie would like to recognize Andrew Harmon’s service to the NH SILC. Andrew has been on the NH SILC for two terms. After taking a year off, he can reapply for membership. 
Carrie asked if Andrew would comment on his experience with the SILC. Andrew noted that he always appreciated this group for trying to forward accessibility and services for individuals with disabilities. His last comment in response to Carrie’s question is that he is grateful for the opportunity and that it has been a wonderful experience. 
Jen reported that she sent him a digital copy via email and will be sending out a physical copy of the certificate via mail. 
Bylaws Discussion
Carrie moved on to discuss the Bylaws. Deborah went over each amendment using the companion document she sent out.  
A.	Article 2 Changes
Deborah first went over the changes she made to Article 2. She added in the definitions for the DSE (Designated State Entity) and the year. She also changed the language around the working relationship with NH VR (Vocational Rehabilitation) on the SPIL (State Plan for Independent Living) process to align with the Rehab Act. She had questions about who was the Commissioner listed in the Bylaws and the supervision of the staff. Jeff mentioned that the Commissioner would be the ACL (Administration of Community Living). Discussion occurred around the supervision of the staff. It was agreed to change the language for the supervision of staff from “as needed” to “regularly”. 
B.	Article 3 Changes
Deborah moved on to the changes she made to Article 3. For Section 2, she would like to clarify the process of appointing new members. The process will be that the resumes/applications will be sent to a nominating committee who would bring it forth to the full council to vote on. If the potential member is approved by the full council, the documents will be send to the Governor for possible appointment. She mentioned that this change goes back to the SPIL and how we are going to be mindful of the diversity of SILC members. We want to make sure we have cross-disability and statewide representation. Also on Section 2, she made the Director of a CIL (Center for Independent Living) as a voting member to reflect what’s in the Rehab Act. She also clarified the Ex-Officio/non-voting members such as the DSE in this section. 
Deborah moved on to Section 6, which mentions unexcused absences may result in a member being asked to resign. Deborah changed the language to mention that the board of directors may remove a member or officer for any reason. Discussion occurred. Jeff noted that she should remove “…for any reason” in the section. This section was brought up again later in the meeting. Deborah mentioned that the Executive Committee should actually send their recommendations for the removal of a member or officer to the full council. Erin mentioned that the removal of members or officers should be discussed in Executive Session (when the public is excused from a meeting to discuss matters such as personal affairs). Joan asked that communication access remain if a council or committee goes into Executive Session. 
Deborah moved on to Section 8, which mentions that meetings will be held at least quarterly. She changed it so there will be a full SILC meeting every other month. 
Andrew asked about the membership number which is listed in the Bylaws on Section 1. He thinks that the 18 membership number is too high. Discussion occurred around the membership number. It was agreed to change the membership number to 11 through 18. 
C.	Article 4 Changes
Deborah moved on to Article 4.  Deborah mentioned that Section 1 gives the Chair the ability to elect or nominate officers deemed necessary for the functioning of the council. She added to that section to include when there is an unexpected vacancy of an Executive Committee member. She added to Section 2 that the Chair will have the ability to vote and in a tie-breaker, the vote will go towards the vote of the Chair. Deborah moved on Section 5 which mentions the Immediate Past Chair shall assist in the transition of the new Chair and will serve as a non-voting member on the Executive Committee but retain their voting ability on the full council. She included in this section that if an Immediate Past Chair’s term expired, they will remain on the Executive Committee and the Council for one year as a non-voting Ex-Officio.  

Other changes to the Bylaws were minor such as simple word changes and updating language to align with the Rehab Act.
Jeff made a point of order about how we are going to vote on the amendments. Discussion occurred. Erin mentioned that we could vote on each major change then have a final vote on the document as a whole with the amendments and the word changes. 
Approval for Amendment to Article 4, Section 2
* Second Vice-Chair Deborah Ritcey made a motion to approve the amendments to Article 4, Section 2.
Second: 			Member Marcia Golembeski				
Discussion:			None	
Roll Call:
Susan Wolf-Downes: Yes
Shellie Lemelin: Yes
Deborah Ritcey: Yes
Erin Hall: Yes
Marcia Golembeski: Yes
Joan Marcoux: Yes
All in Favor: Yes		Abstaining: None
Motion Carried.
Approval for Amendment to Article 3, Section 1
* Second Vice-Chair Deborah Ritcey made a motion to amend Article 3, Section 1 for the membership to consist of 11 to 18 council members.
Second: 			Member Joan Marcoux				
Discussion:			None	
Roll Call:
Shellie Lemelin: Yes I do
Marcia Golemebeski: Yes
Deborah Ritcey: Yes
Erin Hall: Yes
Joan Marcoux: Yes
All in Favor: Yes		Abstaining: None
Motion Carried.
Approval for Amendment to Article 3, Section 6
* Second Vice-Chair Deborah Ritcey in regards to Article 3, Section 6, made a motion to add in the following language for this section is that “The Executive Committee will make recommendations regarding the removal of a board member. The voting of this will take place during an Executive Session, any and all reasonable accommodations made for any council member will be included in Executive Sessions”
Second: 			Member Joan Marcoux				
Discussion:			None	
Roll Call:
Shellie Lemelin: I agree
Marcia Golemebeski: I agree
Deborah Ritcey: I agree
Erin Hall: Yes
Joan Marcoux: I agree
All in Favor: Yes		Abstaining: None
Motion Carried.
Approval for Bylaws
*Interim Secretary Erin Hall made a motion to approve the bylaws as amended and as wordsmith. 
Second: 			Second Vice-Chair Deborah Ritcey			
Discussion:			None	
Roll Call:
Shellie Lemelin: Aye
Marcia Golemebeski: I agree
Deborah Ritcey: Yes
Erin Hall: Yes
Joan Marcoux: Yes
All in Favor: Yes		Abstaining: None
Motion Carried.

Other Business
Susan announced that this is her last meeting. NDHHS (Northeast Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Services, Inc.) found a new Director who will take Susan’s place on the NH SILC.
Deborah reported that she created a grid/list of what levels of expertise we are looking for from members. Members and potential members would check the boxes on the list for the skills they have. Andrew raised some concerns over the accessibility of the list. Deborah noted that the list is pretty much straight forward but she will submit the list to Andrew to review. Carrie mentioned that it would be a good idea to, send the list to members to fill out before the next meeting. She will work with Deborah on that. 
Marcia asked if the SILC funding goes through the CIL now or GSIL (Granite State Independent Living). Discussion occurred around the Part B funds and the DSE agency that manages the funds. There were some concerns over how the agency that manages the funds is NH VR. Lorrie Ripley, who as the Client Assistance Program Ombudsman sits on the SRC (State Rehabilitation Council), reported that NH VR produces financials on a quarterly basis to the SRC, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble for NH VR to do the same for the SILC. She lastly mentioned that there needs to be someone representing the SILC on the SRC. Carrie will talk with Daniel (DSE representative) to see about having financials printed or emailed one week before the meeting. It should start with the fiscal year NH VR just completed. Andrew asked if there ever was a Treasurer on the Executive Committee. Deborah mentioned that she is working on having a fiscal committee that would review the financials from Part B contractors, NH VR, and our selves.
Deborah will clean up the Bylaws and send the finished copy to members.
Jen mentioned that we may need to make a certificate for Susan Wolf-Downs. Deborah had a question about the appointment of Susan’s replacement.
Approval for Adjournment of Meeting
*Second Vice-Chair made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Second: 			Chair Carrie Dudley				
Discussion:			None				
All in Favor: 	Yes		Abstaining: None
Motion Carried.
The meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m.
Minutes Recorded by Jennifer Beaulieu