BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM of OREGONBECC MEETING (regularly scheduled)

Thursday, March 24, 2016, at 3:30 PM

OREGON COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND535 SE 12th Ave (Portland office)

Conference line: 404-443-6397Participant code: 943611#

AGENDA

1. CALL TO ORDER- Chair Mirandaa. Roll callb. Disposition of minutes- January 28, 2016/February 11, 2016(action item)

2. PUBLIC COMMENTS (3 minutes per person)3. FINANCIAL REPORT- Director Morris4. TRAINING & EDUCATION

a. 2016 Spring In-serviceb. Sagebrush update

5. OLD BUSINESSa. Edith Green arbitration updateb. Legislative funding request, implementation

6. NEW BUSINESSa. Strategic planning session- LBV’s inputb. Vending machine procurement: review statement of work.

7. DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS8. NEXT MEETING - Chair Miranda

Thursday, May 26, 20169. ADJOURNMENT - Chair Miranda

VERBATIM

[started at 00:04:25]

Miranda: Well, it’s 3:30 pm so we’re gonna go ahead and get started. So we’ll start out with roll call. Um, start with the BECC, we have, uh, let’s see, Char Mckinzie?

Hawkins-Mckinzie: Here.

Miranda: Cathy Dominique?

Dominique: I’m here. I’m on the floor.

Miranda: Tessa Brown.

Brown: I’m here.

Miranda: Ken Gerlitz?

Gerlitz: Presidente.

Miranda: Harold Young? [silence] Harold Young? He’s not with us yet. Um, Lewanda Miranda, so we still have quorum. We’ll go with the managers: Art Stevenson.

A.Stevenson: I’m here.

Miranda: Jerry Bird.

Bird: Here.

Miranda: Uh, Carole Kinney.

Kinney: Here.

Miranda: Derrick Stevenson? [silence] Derrick Stevenson? Gordon Smith?

Smith: Here.

Miranda: Lin Jaynes. [silence] Lin Jaynes? I think Lin Jaynes might be here; it’s just really hard to hear her. Are you there, Lin? [silence] Or maybe not. Uh, Steve Gordon? [silence] Steve Gordon? Randy Hauth? [odd noises] Randy Hauth? Sal Barraza? [silence] Salvador Barraza? Steve Jackson? [silence] Steve Jackson? Okay, Harold Young, are you with us?

Young: Yep, I’m here.

Miranda: Okay, so we got a…

Smith: Howdy Harold.

Miranda: …full Board. Um, Agency staff?

Morris: Eric is here this afternoon.

Miranda: You going solo?

Morris: Yep. It’s just me.

Miranda: Any visitors?

Hoddle: Yeah. Vance Hoddle with Canteen Vending.

Miranda: Okay. Vance Hoddle. Any other visitors?

Johnson: Hello. Pete Johnson…

Verschueren: Lynne Verschueren … oh, sorry.

Johnson: That’s okay. Pete Johnson with Quail Mountain in Klamath Falls and Medford.

Gerlitz: Hi, Pete.

Johnson: How you doing?

Gerlitz: Okay.

Miranda: Any other visitors?

Verschueren: Yes. Lynne Verschueren with Canteen in Portland, as well.

Miranda: Hi, Lynne.

Verschueren: Hi.

Miranda: Any other visitors? [silence] Okay. Vance, Pete, Lynne is what I heard for visitors. All righty. Okay, dis... disposition of minutes, we have January 28, 2016 and February 11, 2016. I’d like to make a motion that we adopt those minutes. Do I have a second?

Brown: I second.

Miranda: Tessa seconds. I’ll do a roll call vote. Um, Harold Young?

Young: Yes.

Miranda: Ken Gerlitz?

Gerlitz: Yes.

Miranda: Tessa Brown?

Brown: Yeah.

Miranda: Char Mc… Char Hawkins.

Hawkins-Mckinzie: Yes.

Miranda: Um, Cathy Dominique?

Dominique: Yes.

Miranda: Lewanda Miranda. So it passes unanimously. Public comments, three minutes per person. Um, do we have any public comments?

Hauth: I, uh, I have a public comment. This is Randy Hauth.

Miranda: Okay, Randy.

Hauth: Yeah, I would like to, uh, just state for the record: several weeks ago, I think, an email was circulated, sent out by, uh, Lewanda Miranda and, I believe, identified that I was spreading poisonous lies and it identified that I was trying to incite panic and it also identified that I was looking to run for the Chair position and the reason I was doing those was to position myself for the Chair position in… in, um, Fall. And I just wanted to say that that’s inaccurate. Not only was it an immature response to my… my belief, but it was also inaccurate. There have been behind-the-scenes dealings and assignments. There are still persons that are paying late set-aside, not reporting on time, not paying their repayments and it appears that it may be several Board members. Also, people are being treated non-uniformly, um, unfairly and, with that being said, I wish to resign my position as the Financial Subcommittee Chair. I brought information to the Elected Committee and it appears that you guys either don’t care or you’re not able to get the information either. But I’m not going to waste my time and be part of that public body. So I just wanted to clear that up for the record. Thank you very much.

[00:10:03]

Miranda: Any other public comments?

Bird: Jerry Bird!

Miranda: Okay, Jerry.

Bird: Yeah, I just got one that I’m gonna comment on and it’s the report we got and it does show that past due set-aside is growing. I mean… I don’t know what to say. What is going on? What… how can it be growing when you guys removed a person from a unit for not paying it? You know, if they’re Board members, or I don’t who they are, but there should not… $40,000 in

back set-aside and it continues is… is… I don’t know. It says a lot for this Board and this Agency, I think. Thank you.

Miranda: Any other public comments?

A.Stevenson: Yeah, this is Art Stevenson.

Miranda: Okay, Art.

A.Stevenson: For the record, I want to state that yesterday I sent to the Elected Committee an email letting them know that I was not willing to relinquish the Oregon Commission for the Blind contract obligations to me concerning subcontracting. And I also want to state for the record that I have sought the advocacy of the Elected Committee on a couple complaints that I filed against the Agency and the Elected Committee has not taken any action concerning those complaints which is mandated under the law. And so for the record I want to say that that is occurring. Thank you.

Miranda: Any other comments? [silence] Any other comments? [silence] Okay, hearing none, we’ll move on. Financial report, Director Morris?

Morris: Yes, Chair… Chair Miranda. I appreciate that. Um, I did…

Miranda: Can I ask you a couple questions about the financial report before we get going?

Morris: Yes.

Miranda: Um, I did have a couple questions too.

Morris: Okay.

Miranda: Staff members – there’s a column in there that is empty. Could you tell us why it… I believe it’s, uh, October 2015 and I believe it’s August 2015 as well.

Morris: Chair Miranda, are you talking about the budget-to-actual section of the financial report?

Miranda: Yeah.

Morris: Yeah, if that is empty… I’m trying to scroll through it to see, myself. And it’s… it’s one of those reports that is not… that would not be my favorite report from an accessibility standpoint ‘cause it is rows and rows and rows of, um, information that I get from the Accounting Department and if that stuff is missing I will follow up with Accounting to find out why. Um… yeah.

Miranda: And then I also did notice that the back… old set-aside is at $42,000 and is… I know that some people are on repayment plans; are they all… are they all in compliance with their repayment?

Morris: Uh, you know…

Miranda: Or are we having issues?

Morris: Well, I think, as of December, we were having issues with people not paying on time and I think as we’ve tried to deal with that in a way that is, um... you know, like we experienced I think late last year with people. If people refuse to pay or pay late and, you know, the balance between the trying to be a VR Agency and help people through that process to get them in a position where they can pay versus holding them accountable and, you know, there’s not a lot of options in the current Rules. There’s just not. There’s either your licensed in the program or you’re not licensed in the program. So, um, you know, we heard a lot of cries for “We gotta recoup this set-aside monies from people.” And when we went to try to get people to do that and gave them multiple opportunities to do that, then we looked at licensure removal, then you hear the exact opposite argument of, “Why would you possibly try to remove somebody’s license.” So it is a fine line balancing between the two and we try to give people every opportunity. And I know, as of the last reports I saw recently, it is trending down, which is a good thing, but it does take time for people to pay those off.

Miranda: So, people are not in compliance with the repayment plans?

Morris: I believe they are now.

Miranda: Okay. All right. Thank you.

Morris: Yeah, so… would you like me to talk a little more on the quarter… on the final year-end report?

Miranda: Yes.

Morris: Okay. Um, we did try to get I formatted better for screen readers ‘cause I know some of the feedback we got was that it was very tough to read for screen readers. So I had Kathy work with the tech department to embed some… some of the screen reader tech for JAWS and Window-Eyes, that kind of thing in there to help with the spreadsheet itself. This is not a spreadsheet you should try to read on your iOS device, your iPhone or your Android, um, phone. It’s just… I would never try to do that just because it is gigantic. Some notable things to look at for the year: uh, we did see an increase, you know, in net income for the year, which is good. It’s up about $170,000 overall, which is about a 7% bump. Um, very positive. We did have some lower sales versus last year in the fourth quarter which isn’t unusual, just based on the fact that a lot of stuff is closed down during the holiday seasons. But, um, you know, that’s all on that front cover page, which I try to have an Executive Summary in there so you can kind of

look at a snapshot of the overall program. And you can see on that first page that we are having some challenges with people reporting on time. So, um, that’s something we’re tracking and we’ll keep reporting that on there so people can see that; that, you know, last year in January through December of ’14 about 72% on average people reporting on time and that dropped down to 67% in the same time period of January through December of ’15 with 67% of people getting it in on time. So, constantly trying to look at that and try to figure out easier ways. Um, we’ve been looking at some different options as we move forward for maybe having people be able to input their reports online but I’m still trying to chase that down with some potential software providers. So stay tuned for that.

Miranda: All right. Thank you. [silence] Is that it?

Morris: Uh, yeah, no. I just wanted to point one other thing: on the set-aside… on the set-aside tab, which is, uh… three or four tabs in there, our set-aside amount went up, pretty dramatically, from the previous quarter to the final quarter and that was due to Accounting giving me the proper, um, the full… When I would talk to Accounting before I would say, “Hey, what is our available cash to spend in… in the set-aside fund?” And they were giving me a very specific line, which was the monies coming in directly deposited into the account from blind managers for their set-aside payments. Well, that didn’t include a couple different column, er, a couple different ledger lines that they were putting unassigned vending into. So I… I made sure that now, as I report this, that it is the total amount of set-aside we have available to spend, so that’s why there’s a pretty dramatic bump up – about thirty grand, I think it was. And I noted that in the report. And you’ll see that… that figure remain constant as we move forward with that total amount of available funds to spend on set-aside activities. And that’s all I have.

[00:18:20]

Hauth: Uh, I have a question…

Miranda: Did you say…? Go ahead.

Hauth: …Chair Miranda, when you get a minute.

Miranda: Go ahead, Randy.

Hauth: Yeah, um, this is for Director Morris. I noticed that unassigned vending was reported on there and it looks like unassigned vending has been and is being currently collected. Can you tell me, in basis, what policy you’re following to collect that unassigned vending? Why that unassigned vending is going into the coffers of OCB? The state vending, it looks like. I know there are certain requirements that governs federal, um, but I’m just curious about how you guys are making that decision.

[silence]

Morris: I’m… I’m not sure how to answer your question, Randy.

Hauth: Well, it’s pretty simple. Should be.

Morris: Oh, okay.

Hauth: Are there any… are there any policies or…

Morris: There is not.

Hauth: Okay, so who’s making the decision on where that unassigned vending is going?

Morris: I do.

Hauth: Thanks.

Morris: Yep, no problem.

Miranda: Okay. Okay, Training and Education: 2016 Spring In-service. So we’re talking about having it in June and I think what we should do is probably have each manager send in to your rep, um, where you might want to have it and what you...

Smith: [laughs] I know where I want it!

Miranda: And not Seven Feathers!

[laughter]

Smith: I couldn’t resist.

Miranda: And also, any ideas for the training agenda would be very much appreciated. Does anyone want to talk about it? Spring In-service? Any ideas right now?

A.Stevenson: Chair Miranda, this is Art.

Miranda: Yes, Art.

A.Stevenson: So, you said in June. Do you have dates or…?

Miranda: What… what are you looking at, um, Eric?

Morris: Um…

Miranda: Do you know right now or would you… can you send something out?

Morris: Yeah, I…

Miranda: Do you have any idea right now?

Morris: I… I… Yes to both answers. Um, June 11th or 18th is kind of the middle of June before we actually get into official summer. Um, if you would like, we could send out a poll to all the managers that they could do online to say which was the better date for them.

Miranda: That would be super.

Morris: All right, I’ll have Kathy do that.

Miranda: Sagebrush update. I don’t know who the attendees were. I know you were, Randy. Um, would you like to give us an update on Sagebrush? And, after Randy, anyone else that attended?

Hauth: No, thank you.

Miranda: No? Any… did anyone else attend Sagebrush? [silence] Okay, hearing none… 5) Old Business: Edith Green Arbitration Update. Would you like to give that update, Eric?

Morris: Yeah, I can talk about Edith Green. That’s a… that’s a fun thing to talk about. So…

Miranda: That’s a good one.

Morris: Yeah. Um, and I apologize that I don’t have the exact date but, like, two weeks ago we got the arbitration decision back from the arbitration panel and it… A lot of times these arbitration panels, as everybody is familiar with it, it’s a three-person panel and you have a neutral party, a party representing either the Agency or the manager, and then a… the other… the opposite party, so you have three people. And most of the time these decisions come down split – it’s a two-to-one decision, for or against. In the case of Edith Green, it appears – and I just qualify the remark – it appears to be a unanimous decision because the GSA person… a unanimous decision for us being victorious in the arbitration, the GSA has not filed a dissenting opinion with the arbitration decision. Which is… I mean, it was a slam dunk in favor of the Commission, for us to get Edith Green back, but it’s unusual that the GSA attorney did not file a dissenting opinion. So, um, that was really big and big in the sense that it really is gonna hold, hopefully, GSA accountable in the sense of what they define and what a cafeteria is. Because they’ve said that all along that the Edith Green facility, which is not very big compared to what it used to be, is a cafeteria and it should go out for a competitive procurement. And we’ve all along said that it’s not even close. And the arbitration panel not only agreed with that, but the… the neutral party, the Chair of the arbitration panel went on to say when he had actually been in that building, many years ago before it was remodeled, that it’s nothing in comparison. So he was, you know, he had a personal connection, which he never talked about during any of the… the deliberations, until the actual decision came out. So it was great that they… not only

did they award us the permit for the location, they awarded us damages for lost income and attorney fees. And, um, you know, that sounds super good and super positive. It’s going to be a tough road to get damages out of the federal government. That’s what I’ve been advised by several people. Um, that mean… that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try to pursue it. We’ve already reached out to GSA about a week-and-a-half, two weeks ago and said, “Hey, we’re ready. We want to… we want to get things going in Edith Green.” And they were kind of… they’re a big organization, so they were kind of I think licking their wounds a little bit saying, “Well, you know, these damages – we… we don’t agree with that. And we gotta really look into how the, um, the permit’s gonna work and how we might try to do that.” So, we’ve given them a little bit of time to, I guess, wrap their heads around what they’re gonna do, ‘cause they are a big organization. But, um, we’re going to ping them again tomorrow. And so, if you’re wondering “Well, what’s the…” If GSA doesn’t do anything, it’s very similar, ‘cause it’s a federal agency, to federal… the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. So, um, it’s not a complicated path to enforcement with them through the federal District Court but, um, we’re hoping they won’t… We’ve been told all along that GSA will comply with arbitration decisions, so we’re giving them a little bit of time to comply. But, um, we’re super happy that we were, um, able to get that victory and it’s… it’s another victory for the Randolph-Sheppard Program across the United States because of the… the permit versus the competitive procurement around the actual definition of a cafeteria. So, we’re excited about that. It was a good win. And, um, yeah, that’s where we’re at right this second.

[00:25:40]

Miranda: Thank you for taking that to task for us. Okay, b) is legislative funding request, uh, implementation. You’re up, Eric.

Morris: Thank you Chair Miranda.

Miranda: [laughs]

Morris: Um, so… this… this agenda item rolls I think right into the next agenda item which is dealing with the… actually, it doesn’t. Sorry. An agenda item later on here we’re gonna talk about, which is the scope of work for our procurement, and that’s kind of where we’re at right now. So we’ve… to bring everybody back up to date we’ve got the, um, General Fund monies from the State to purchase vending machines. So that’s the first piece in the funding package. So in August we… the Commission needs to reach out to the… the federal government and ask for re-allotment. And what that is, is that VR agencies across the nation get, I believe… ah, I was just looking at the number today… two… a whole bunch of money. I’m not gonna quote figures that I don’t have right off the top of my head. VR agencies across the entire United States, both blind and general VR agencies, get hundreds of millions of dollars and they can’t spend it all. So what happens every August is those agencies say, “We can’t spend X number of dollars.” And last year VR agencies gave back a $125 million and some change. And then I… if I believe… if I’m recalling correctly, 34 agencies went back and said, “We want re-allotment dollars. We have matching funds to spend against them,” General Funds in their states, and the federal

government gave out, I believe, $124 million and some change in re-allotment last year. So we will go in August… we’ll notify RSA that we want re-allotment dollars, which is $3.3 million, I believe, to complete the funding package. So that… that’s the big step on the money side of it. In the meantime, we’re working – and we’ll talk about procurement here a little bit later in the agenda – we’re working on setting up the procurement to purchase vending machines and we’ll… we’ll go into a little more detail on that as soon as we get through the next couple items.

Miranda: And I’m… I have a question for you: On the, um, implementing this…

Morris: Sure.

Miranda: …when can we look at that to be taking place? And also, will we be having meetings and letting us in on, you know, to know a little bit more about what’s going on?

Morris: Yeah, I…

Miranda: ‘Cause everything’s kind of up in the air for everyone.

Morris: Well, and that… that’s the piece that the Agency and the Elected Committee are going to need to work on, is the… ‘cause some of the questions out there that I’ve heard kicked around is, you know, who… who’s gonna… who’s gonna… ‘cause we can’t drop nine hundred and some-odd machines on the state, you know, in one big air drop. So, um, by… you know, which managers are gonna want to participate first and how do we… how do we go about setting that schedule up; and then all of the details that go along with that, that’s the piece that I’m really gonna need the Committee and the members’ help with. And, um, but, like, recently I’ve just been really… working really hard with DAS to try to get the procurement set up ‘cause it’s… procurements, as some of you may or may not know, are super complicated. And so, the next big step is really having those meetings around, you know… What… what are the needs of the managers? What are the scheduling and what’s the timing and, um, getting those processes in place. So, yes, I mean… that’s coming soon.

A.Stevenson: Chair Miranda?

Miranda: Nine hundred and something machines, does that mean Dacia’s going full force to a hundred percent?

Morris: That’s the… that’s the intent.

Miranda: Okay, I want to ask anyone that’s willing… I want to ask the managers, um, if there was a possibility – and I’m not saying there is – I’m saying if there was a possibility to do a percentage, would you be willing to do that? Or would somebody…

Smith: What… what do you mean, Miranda, uh, Lewanda?

Miranda: I’m just asking…

A.Stevenson: Chair Miranda.

Miranda: Yeah. Well, wait a minute. Let me answer Gordo. So, if… if Dacia went for a percentage, would… would people be willing to do that? And I… I’d like to hear from the managers… of the machines… of the vending machines.

Brown: A percentage of the machines, instead of switching all of them; just switching out a percentage of them?

Miranda: Yeah. Okay, Art, go ahead; you were first.

A.Stevenson: Okay. Well, Eric made a statement: “of those managers who want to participate.” So would you, first of all, clarify that for us, Eric? Uh, what… what you’re actually saying here: if we want to participate – and I do want the question answered – What are the repercussions if we don’t want to participate?

Smith: Hey, Art? This is Gordon. Uh, Art, are you saying those nine… we want a… I don’t know what the right word is… We want a percentage of those nine hundred machines?

Miranda: No. My question is… Dacia… Dacia wants a hundred percent. If she were to say, “Okay, I want fifty percent.” Would people be willing to do that? I… That’s just my question. I just wanted to know. So I know if there’s anything that I can shoot for. Uh, I’m not saying what Dacia would do. I’m just asking managers if… if you had to do fifty percent of your machines, would you do it?

A.Stevenson: Anyways, Eric, can you answer that question? When you say “if you want to participate” does that mean we have an option? And, if we do have an option, what happens if we decide we don’t want to participate?

Morris: No, I…

Brown: Art? May I speak for a moment?

Miranda: Go ahead, Tessa.

Brown: What Eric actually said was, “Who wants to participate first?” He didn’t say,“if we want to participate,” he said, “Who would like to participate first?” Just wanted to clarify that.

Miranda: Thank you for clarifying that.

A.Stevenson: [chuckles] Is that what you’re saying, Eric? Who wants to participate first? I… I just want some clarification here. You… you said “if people want participate” – those are the words

that I heard. So, one: Do we have an option to participate or not? And what are the repercussions if we don’t want to participate? I think that’s a very simple question.

Morris: Yeah, Art, it’s pretty simple. And it’s just like Tessa said – if you want to volunteer to go early in the process, it’s not optional, so if you want to volunteer to be early… and early adopter in the process, that’s what we’re talking about. And I think you’re pretty aware of what options are available if you don’t participate in things in the program; that… what the options are within the Rules.

A.Stevenson: Well, I… I understand that completely, Eric. And I also know this is all based on an opinion and there are other opinions out there. And I also realize that there is a complaint filed concerning that. And I also know that, um, and just so you know, I did say to the Elected Committee I’m not willing to give up… give OCB the option to opt out of the contract that you had with me when you told me, uh, I had no other choice: I had to subcontract. I agreed to that stipulation, which was a contract, and I haven’t… I haven’t… I haven’t, as I stated to the Elected Committee, um, said that I agree to change the contract that the Oregon Commission for the Blind had with me; that I was to do subcontracting. And so, um, I… I kind of disagree with you. And of course you know I have a… we have a complaint filed. And I also have lots of questions to answer why this all of a sudden cropped up in a second handbook and wasn’t in the first handbook that came out of the Attorney General’s Office. But then all of a sudden it did crop up. And so there’s a lot of legal questions that have to be answered here, and I believe they will be answered. But I just want a clarification on what you were stating is that, uh, if we don’t… if we don’t follow an opinion, and that’s all it is, uh, that you may take our vending facilities away from us. And so, I understand it completely what you’re saying now and again I reiterate to the Elected Committee, the Oregon Commission for the Blind is under contract with me that I can subcontract. In fact, they made it a requirement, uh, of me and it’s all on record because it was done during an Elected Committee meeting. Uh, it was agreed to in a… in an Elected Committee meeting and that contract is still in force. And so, I want my rights protected under contract law, but I also want my rights protected to be able to oversee a third-party contractor if that’s how I choose to do, because it is legal, it has been legal since 2001. In fact, the Attorney General’s Office passed those Rules back in 2001 and I was… I was a part of that. So this, all of a sudden, this becoming illegal, I question it very much.

Miranda: Okay.

Smith: I… This is Gordon. I would like to say something on this. Uh, you know, over the years we’ve worked awfully hard, as far as managers, and Oregon Commission for the Blind to, uh… it… Canteen, Coca Cola, Pepsi, whoever to work with us and now we’re just hanging ‘em out to dry? I… I truly am very unhappy with the way this is going on.

[00:37:30]

A.Stevenson: Well, Gor… Chair Miranda. I agree with you a hundred percent, Gordo. And the Agency, okay, uh, doing this completely legal and then all of a sudden it isn’t legal. And, uh, let

me tell you, at the very beginning I quote unquote wanted my… to do the prison myself and they refused to let me do it. And then they forced me into this Agreement and now they think they can force me out of the Agreement. I’m 60 years old, I’ve worked hard all my life, and… and now I’m going to have to change everything in my business on a whim of the Agency saying I can’t run the business the way they told me to do for all these years. And so, that’s where I’m sitting on this and… and I hope the Elected Committee stands up and fights for our rights. We all had Agreements with the Agency. They passed the law, the administrative rule, that we could subcontract and then they forced a lot of us to do it and now they’re saying, “Oh, hey! We can do whatever we want to whenever we want to.” Even if the law does say that we can do it this way. And the Agency does know that we can write teaming partner language in the rules; they’re just refusing… refusing to do it. And, quite frankly, I’m getting tired of being bullied all the time. I was bullied into subcontracting and now I’m going to be bullied out of subcontracting? I don’t think so. I’m tired of the Agency treating me like a second-class citizen and I’m gonna fight this thing all the way. Because you were the guys that deemed it legal, including the Attorney General’s Office, when you passed the administrative rules in 2001.

Miranda: Okay. Well, I’m gonna take my question off the table since I didn’t get any response.

Hauth: Well, uh, Chair Miranda?

Miranda: Go ahead, Randy.

Hauth: Yeah. Um, it would be nice to get your question answered, so I’ll wait to ask mine if you want to get an answer.

Miranda: I… I don’t think anyone’s for it, so… [laughs]. I was just kind of wondering… I’m not even saying it would be a possibility…

A.Stevenson: Chair Miranda? Chair Miranda?

Miranda: …just trying to think of somehow that maybe we could negotiate or something. I know the Elected Committee, but… I don’t know if it’s a possibility.

Hauth: Let me mention, if I may, I concur with both Art and Gordo and I know it was stated during the last meeting that none of the vendors are supportive of this. I would bring into question, through the proposal there was not adequate infrastructure designed or developed in that and I still don’t see through Eric’s proposal any kind of infrastructure relative to, you know, vans or even stockware or any kind of training proposals, warehousing, those type of things. So I didn’t see that. If he would answer that, that would be great. But one of the things that are most concerning is the fact, and it’s documented, that the Elected Committee did not have active participation within this proposal and… or within this plan. When you’re seeking re-allocated money from the federal government you need to comply with all the requirements for the federal government to provide that money. Also, it appears that there’s 15% off the top of the re-allocated money that goes to a different department. That goes to, I think, the WIOA.

So you gotta take that into consideration. But I’m really concerned… I think it was done haphazardly. I think it was done not sufficiently. And, not only, you know, I’m… I’m one of those who currently is under agreement, have no plans whatsoever in breaching my agreement. I don’t know who else has agreements with their subcontractors but this could make the Agency’s AG bills skyrocket. We have an administrative complaint that we are going to be moving forward and, you know, you look at… there was, I think, $31,000 two months ago spent on the Bird matter. That’s just a drop in the bucket of what I could see this happening. And I would just, you know, share with the Committee – you guys do have a voice in this and I hope you will exercise that voice to protect all of our rights. Canteen Company, Automatic Vending, Bigfoot Beverage, all the companies that have come in because we’ve been required to go out and get them… um, they’ve helped us become better business, um, businesspersons and they’ve helped us increase our profitability. Um, so for that… that purpose alone, and along with the basic fundamental right that I don’t think is legally allowable to require this of a blind person… I just would like, you know, like to make those points of record and just share my concerns and thank you for the time.

Miranda: Thank you. Okay, Eric, did you have anything…

A.Stevenson: Chair Miranda.

Miranda: Yes, Art.

A.Stevenson: Just… just to answer your question: okay, I do do some of my locations and… and I plan on continuing the way I’m running my business now. Um, and… and so, that… to answer your question, um, I do not plan to alter how I’m doing right at this time. However, as I’ve stated, I am not really… I will not relinquish OCB's obligation to comply with the agreement they made to me that I had to subcontract. I’m not willing to relinquish that agreement. And, as I’ve said, you were at that meeting Chair Miranda, uh, OCB forced me to subcontract because it was… it was completely legal and I agreed to that and I’m not going to relinquish their agreement, their contract with me to subcontract the locations that I’m currently subcontracting.

Miranda: Point taken. Anyone else?

K.Smith: Um, this is Gordy’s wife and I’m just listening; that this is a question for Eric. Um, with the procurement of those other machines and putting them in place, what is the difference in profitability to the independent managers? How is that supposed to make them more money than what they’re making right now with their subcontractors. And we had to turn ourselves inside out and backwards to try and provide those contracts from our subcontracted people. Art Marshall was all over us, I can’t tell you how many times, “We haven’t got your contract. We haven’t got your contract.” So, what… what kind of profit picture are you proposing to all of the blind managers with the idea of the new machines and that… I don’t know how the percentage or any of that is gonna work. Is it gonna be more profitable to them than the way they’re operating now?

Morris: Karen, I believe it will be and I… I know there’s multiple opinions on this conference call that will tell you all the reasons why it wouldn’t be, but I firmly believe it will… will be an increase. I do.

K.Smith: And explain to me how you believe that to be so.

Morris: Well, in very simple terms, the subcontractors out there aren’t doing this for… for the goodness of their heart. They’re making a profit also. Now, while they have extensive networks for procurement of product and stuff like that, but they also have overhead. So, on average, most people are getting in the 20% range for commission checks. So, if a company’s providing you a 20% commission, they’re not… their operating costs aren’t 80% of the total… I mean, they’re not doing it just to pay you a commission. So, if the blind manager’s able to operate the machine on their own, their able to control directly their costs, their overhead, and their profitability. So, instead of being roped into having a commission that you can negotiate from a subcontractor, you have full control over your business to make as much as you can.

K.Smith: Well, I… I… I see that. Um, in our situation, because we’re one of the outlying area… places and we do do some of our own vending, stocking and stuff. But, way back when, we were allocated the prison and that’s way out of our possibility realm of… of going there and stocking and doing what is going to be required to do if this goes into operation. So, does that mean we just lose that? If we lose the income from there, we’re done. I mean, we couldn’t operate… Gordy couldn’t operate without the income from the prison.

Morris: You know, Karen, I think that’s a great point. ‘Cause it is… it is kind of a tangled web that’s been weaved over time about different locations that are assigned and I think ultimately what is gonna have to happen is people are gonna have to sit down and figure out what they can and can’t do and figure out if there’s ways to exchange locations, that are equally profitable, to maintain what people have. But it doesn’t make sense that you’re servicing something in Pendleton that, you know, somebody else could. Is there something closer to your neck of the woods. That’s some of the more complicated discussions that’re gonna have to occur in the… in the future.

K.Smith: And what is the time frame look like? Next week, or a year from now, or a month from now?

Morris: It is not next week; I can promise you that. Um, like I said before, we… we’re looking to get the federal allocation monies in August. Um, from my understanding, you know, our implementation would be next year to 18 months.

K.Smith: Thank you.

Morris: Good questions. Thank you.

Miranda: Any other questions? Or, Eric, do you have anything to…

[multiple voices at once]

Hoddle: I just wanted to make one comment, if that’s okay?

Miranda: Who is this?

Hoddle: It’s Vance.

Miranda: Oh, okay, Vance.

Hoddle: I just wanted to say that I was at the Sagebrush conference – I was driving and my phone was on mute – which was an awesome opportunity to meet with licensed blind managers from all over the country. So I really appreciated that opportunity. And then I just wanted to make one other statement here in front of this group is that I’m here to protect the interests of the licensed blind managers so know that I’m on your side.

Miranda: Thanks, Vance. And then was there someone else that was trying to talk?

[00:49:48]

G.Smith: I… I started to, but I lost my train of thought. Go ahead.

Hauth: Uh, Chair Miranda, if I could say one more… one thing, please?

Miranda: Yes… yes, Randy?

Hauth: Yeah, I would just like to have the assurance that, if and when this ever does roll out, and I’m not certain that it will because of all the issues related to it, but Director Morris has stated that he believes it will increase profitability. So are… are you guaranteeing and are you insuring to every blind vendor that you are Director over… through the program, that this is going to increase their profitability? Because, as you know, the entire federal act and the state act all talk about maximizing, enlarging economic opportunities. And we’ve all been there. I know you’ve only been here three years. Most of us on this line have done this before. We’ve seen… we’ve been through the trials and tribulation and we know the pitfalls and we’re controlling, directing and supervising our locations but we’re doing it through a different conduit. So I would like you also to say when you’re… when you’re insinuating that it’s gonna make money, I’d like you to insure that it’s going to for all these, um, vendors on the phone. And then when you talk about, “Oh, well, we may start, you know, trading locations and doing this and that… What a mess! You guys have created a mess. So, I mean, if you have those insurances let’s… let’s hear it.

Morris: Well, Randy, I don’t think any logical person would make an insurance like that ‘cause, as private business owners, I can’t mandate how hard a person works or how hard they work at their business. And that’s the ultimate challenge behind Randolph-Sheppard, is maximizing your remunerative employment and if a person wants to do that they can make more money. But if a person doesn’t want to do that, then there are no guarantees. And, quite frankly, the mess that is all of the assignments and stuff like that? A lot of that was done long before I got here, under different leadership, both at the Agency and on the Elected Committee.

Bird: Jerry Bird.

Miranda: Go ahead, Jerry.

Bird: So, what you’re saying is, every time we get a new Director everything changes? That kind of what you’re saying, a new Director comes in and everything’s done with and he… he rolls out his own whole new Randolph-Sheppard Act. Is that what you’re saying, Eric?

Morris: I… I did not say that, Jerry.

D.Stevenson: This is Derrick.

Miranda: Go ahead, Derrick.

D.Stevenson: Yeah, I just, you know, I kind of disagree. I mean, Eric, you must know that the buying power of Bigfoot and… and Vance up there in Portland is… is a lot better than what it would be for… for me. I mean, they can buy Pepsi and Coke for half the price that I can buy it for. So, your statement that, if they pitch and pay us 20%, we could make more ourselves, that’s… that’s not really true since they can buy product for 50% less than what I could. So there’s no way that you can state that I could do my little area down here, without any kind of buying power, that I’m gonna make more money. I’m gonna lose money.

Morris: But, Derrick, you’re also getting your machines for free. Your overhead is minimal compared to what these bigger organizations have.

D.Stevenson: Well, my… my machines are free now ‘cause they supply ‘em, you know?

Morris: But if you’re comparing…

D.Stevenson: The machines themselves don’t dictate how much money I make from each machine. The only reason that I’m being able to make money now is that they can buy product and fill ‘em at half the price that I can. So if I have to pay twice as much for the product, how am I gonna make more money? It’s just a false statement. You… you’ve never been in this business, so you don’t understand it.

Morris: Yeah, but Derrick, your business… the business of vending isn’t complicated. It’s not a complicated business. You’re right about your buying power but there’s a lot more that goes into profitability than just how much you buy your goods for. It has to do with your labor costs, with your invent… with your actual equipment costs, your maintenance costs; all those things factor in. And they all factor in to Canteen and the bigger vending companies throughout the… throughout Oregon and the United States. So, just the prices…

D.Stevenson: Right. They… they buy machines for a lot less than we can get ‘em for, too. So, I mean…

Morris: Yeah, but you get ‘em for free! Free… free is a lot better than anything that anybody can procure for.

D.Stevenson: Yeah, but how’s that gonna help my profitability? Just ‘cause I…

A.Stevenson: Eh… eh… excuse me! We pay 11% set-aside, uh, Eric. Every month, every bit, whether we’re getting subcontract money or we’re working. So, we don’t… we don’t get nothing for free, Eric. We pay 11% of our net income to the Oregon Commission for the Blind, um, and… and so, we pay and… and I’m hearing… it’s very objectionable to me that you keep saying we get things for free, because it’s just… just not true. And I would also like to say that, yeah, they have overhead, okay. They got a guy doing their repair… a guy… people doing their repair work. And they’ve got thousands of machines or hundreds of machines and so they keep that individual busy and therefore they can run at a better profit than what we can. And I can tell you the product… you know, Eric, I have a degree in business too and… and I know the simple facts about that thing. And these statements that you’re saying are not necessarily true. Um, we now have a progressive minimum wage going up so products are going to go up more. There’s a lot of things out there now that… that are definitely against the little guy. And so you saying that we’ve got a much better environment is just not the truth, okay? It’s not the truth and you need to quit saying it. You… you keep… you know, that 11% is a lot of money and we have to do things differently also because we gotta have another person there driving us, etc. etc. So, for you to say that we’re gonna have it better is not true and I… I wish you would quit saying that because I pour out product on a monthly basis, I throw away chips on a monthly basis because they go out of date. And… and the environment that we’re in is very… you just don’t have an understanding of it at all and so I find it objectionable that you’re trying to tell us that we don’t know what we’re talking about, when we do, ‘cause we’ve been doing it.

Miranda: Okay, well we’re gonna move on from this subject.

Gerlitz: Ms. Chairman?

Miranda: Yes, Ken.

Gerlitz: Eric, I got a question when we talk about, you know, people who put in early for machines, etc. Have… has the Agency ever considered running a large warehouse and having all

these machines delivered to that warehouse and then having each and every man [inaudible] justification, show how many of these machines, why and where they’ll go to that warehouse. It could be a delivery point also for the acceptance of the machines and delivering them to the sites.

Morris: No, Ken, we didn’t…

Gerlitz: Seems like…

Morris: Sorry.

Gerlitz: Go ahead.

Miranda: Go ahead, Eric.

Morris: We… I… we talked about that, about having machines drop-shipped into a central location.

Gerlitz: Right.

Morris: The way that the procurement… the way that I want the procurement to work is that part of the procurement would enable the… would have the contractor, the person selling us the machines install them. So there would not be a big waypoint of machines sitting somewhere in Oregon that… as we go through each site the machines are ordered, they’re shipped, they’re installed by the vendor and then turned over to the licensed blind vendor, ready to go, tested, and fully capable.

Gerlitz: Right. Right.

Colley-Dominique: Um, and I… um, Madame Chairman?

Miranda: Yes, Cathy.

Colley-Dominique: We… in that package that… that also… us getting training and all of that and probably warehouse or a place for our product storage, that’s partly already feeding into that procurement, right? For the training and the…

Morris: Yeah, in fact, we can talk about…

Colley-Dominique: …that part of the package.

Morris: Yeah, we’ll talk about that once we get to the, um, the Scope of Work piece of it. And we talk about training and stuff in that.

Colley-Dominique: I… I mean, it seems like some people think that they’re just gonna dump machines on us and… We’re gonna be trained, you guys! They’re not just gonna give us machines and, you know, ‘cause they’re gonna get really good machines that that keep our inventory and all of that.

Miranda: Okay, so let’s move on to new business. A) is strategic planning. [silence] Eric?

G.Smith: Lewanda, I didn’t understand what you said.

Miranda: Talking about strategic planning meetings.

G.Smith: Okay.

Morris: So, do you… Chairman Miranda, do you want me to go?

Miranda: Uh huh.

Morris: Okay, so next week… I believe it’s next week, next Friday, the Elected Committee will be participating with the Commission Board to work on updating our strategic planning for the Agency and for the Business Enterprise Program. So, um, part of that will be a working lunch and obviously the Elected Committee is going to be giving their thoughts and ideas behind strategic… strategic goals for the Business Enterprise Program and I think you put this on here to receive input around strategic initiatives from the licensed blind vendors. There will be an opportunity for the public to comment during that period. I’m not quite sure how that’s structured because I haven’t seen the agenda yet, but I know there will be an opportunity for people outside of the Elected Committee to comment also.

Miranda: So is there any questions about that?

D.Stevenson: What’s this gonna cover?

Miranda: It’s a strategic planning with the Commissioners and so it’s basically, uh, we’re asking for your input on what you envision for the program for the next year. You could send those to your rep and we will bring those forth to the Commissioners.

D.Stevenson: Hm. All right.

Miranda: And all the managers will be able to call in and comment and stuff, too. So. Eric, you’ll be setting up that number for them?

G.Smith: Lewanda, this is Gordon and I’d like to just make a comment.

Miranda: Okay. Go ahead, Gordo.

G.Smith: And I… I don’t want this to sound too derogatory…

Miranda: Yeah.

G.Smith: …towards Eric, but I… I think that’s a poor choice of words, saying that these are free machines because those… I am a Republican and I… I am proud to say that, but those machines aren’t free. They’re coming out of every one of our taxpayers’ pocket, including mine, and each one of these people listening to this and I would think that it should…

[male voice]: Amen.

[second male voice]: Amen.

G.Smith: …[inaudible] would offend our subcontractors that are on the phone listening to us getting free machines that are taking away their business. I think there might be a better way to present that.

Morris: Point taken, Gordo.

Miranda: Thank you, Gordo.

[01:03:38]

D.Stevenson: This is Derrick.

Miranda: Go ahead, Derrick.

D.Stevenson: I would... I would suggest heavily that the Elected Committee get together and... and, uh, maybe get an injunction to… for the Commission for the Blind to cease and desist till all these legal matters are… are exhausted, instead of going and spending a ton of money on machines and then finding out that they can’t do what they want to do in the first place. I think, you know, there’s gonna be legal challenges. There’s definitely this... this, uh, AG’s opinion is gonna… is gonna be challenged and it would be reckless for the Commission to continue doing stuff and wasting money when they don’t need to.

A.Stevenson: Chair Miranda?

Miranda: Go ahead, Art.

A.Stevenson: Um, so… how much are you guys getting the hour, hour and a half like you got two years ago during the lunch? How long… how long is this segment going to be? And also, my understanding from the last time that this happened, uh, you know, they were gonna structure their budget and what occurred last time was that the Agency said they were gonna spend all

this money on all these employees and actually the Elected Committee didn’t have much say-so about anything. It was just like, “Hey, you guys are here. We want to make it look like there’s true active participation.” But, in essence, the last time this occurred there wasn’t too much active participation. It was, “Hey, you guys come have dinner, we’ll do a little socializing.” But when it all came out… I mean, when it all happened – I know ‘cause I was on the Elected Committee – we didn’t get much input in anything. The Agency just basically did what they wanted to do.

Miranda: I think last year our main, uh, goal was to increase the income of the managers.

[random person speaking loudly on phone]

A.Stevenson: Someone needs to go on mute. But, anyway…

Miranda: Someone’s talking about the Bird needs to go on mute.

A.Stevenson: Yeah. So… so, how long are you guys gonna be included in this meeting and… and…

Miranda: I think it’s two hours, isn’t it, Eric?

Morris: I’m sorry?

Miranda: Isn’t it a two-hour session, twelve to two, or something like that?

Morris: Yeah, eleven to one… twelve to two?

Miranda: Eleven to one, yeah. Two hours.

Morris: Yeah, I think so.

Miranda: I think it’s the same as last year. Okay, so please get the… uh, if you have anything that you’d like, you know, us to talk to them about for the future of the program. Please get it to your reps and we’ll represent it. But you’ll also have, you know, time on the phone to speak up and stuff too, but if you’d like to do it in writing you’re more than welcome to do that. Okay… vending machine procurement… review statement of work. Eric?

Morris: What? Me again?

Miranda: I know. You’re just the star of the agenda today.

Morris: So I did send this out on Monday with the other… with the financial documents and, um, it’s a pretty… I mean, it’s a… let’s see, six-page document that details through the requirements that we would be asking for, for vending machines specifically. The… the nuts and

bolts of the machines themselves and what we would ask for people to, um, insure that the machines have. And, um, I think we could literally make a two-hour meeting out of this piece of the discussion itself. The list is very comprehensive and, um, I… I know some of the issues raised last meeting or the meeting before was, you know, compliance with ADA standards, energy compliance, all those kinds of things. I think most of that stuff is pretty well covered in this document but I did want the Elected Committee to take a look at it. And, um, if there are any comments or concerns or things that I’ve missed I… I would happily, you know, try to get those integrated into it before we, you know, make it final.

Miranda: Any questions?

A.Stevenson: Chair Miranda?

Miranda: Go ahead, Art.

A.Stevenson: Um, so, Eric you put together this comprehensive list of, you know, what you want, uh, as far as ADA compliant and stuff like that. But did you do any investigating to find out if there’s actually any vending machines? ‘Cause I’ve… that… that do fit those requirements? ‘Cause it’s my understanding that there isn’t any machines out there that are fully accessible to blind people because of the touch screens, etc. etc. And… and therefore this… these vending machines, uh, don’t exist. I mean, you can put a procurement thing out there, but if they don’t exist… I mean, why are we doing it? Did you… did you check that out or do some research to find out if there actually is vending machines out there that are ADA compliant and fully accessible to blind people?

Morris: Well, there’s two different things there: there’s the… in your question there’s ADA compliance and then there’s fully accessible to blind operators. And I believe this Statement of Work covers it with the… especially from the accessibility point for blind operators with a tactile keyboard portion of it and the speech output… output portion of it.

A.Stevenson: Okay, well, it’s my understanding – and happens to be from an individual who sits on the Board of NAMA, who happens to be blind – that there are not machines out there that are fully accessible to blind people to use. And therefore you can’t spend federal money buying them and that’s my understanding. So, did you do any research in that or…?

Morris: I… I did, Art.

A.Stevenson: …did you just…

Morris: Art, I did, but I’m not sure I can convince you that I did, so I’ll just leave it at that.

A.Stevenson: Okay, Eric, then is there vending machines that are fully accessible for a blind person to be able to operate the machines and… and do all the work that they need to do, if they do it? Is it… does it… do these machines exist?

Morris: I believe they do.

A.Stevenson: Okay. Can you… can you provide the Elected Committee and the blind licensed managers with the information about those machines so we feel good about it? You… you said you believe they exist, so you must know that… who manufactures them and stuff. So can you provide us with access to that relevant information? I would appreciate it. Thank you.

Morris: Okay.

Hauth: Chair Miranda?

Miranda: Yes, Randy?

Hauth: Yeah, I do have a [inaudible due to feedback] was ever answered. Maybe it’s an appropriate time but, Eric, can you go over the infrastructure and how that is being… like the elusive pieces of the puzzle here. But what is the Agency… what is your strategy on providing, you know, delivery trucks and vans and providing adequate, proper training and providing all the other resources for the infrastructure? And what about the inventory that would be needed? The large amounts of inventory that will be needed? And so forth and so on. If you could answer those three points that’d be great.

Morris: So, are… are we done with the Statement of Work? I can definitely answer that, but I just don’t want to shift topics.

Miranda: Yeah, yeah, we’re done. We’re gonna go down here to the Director’s comments and then we’ll just put it there. How’s that?

Morris: Yeah, no worries. So, Randy, you’re totally right and that was part of the listening sessions that we had – I believe it was about a month and a half ago – talking to blind managers in the program here to find out what their needs were gonna be. So I’ve been trying to develop some of that, and I need to run it by the Elected Committee as we move forward, of how we’re going to structure the implementation. And it is complicated. And, you know, you can’t make it necessarily cookie cutter because every individual is a unique individual but the, um, acquisition of delivery vans, that’s one of the topics that I’m sure the Elected Committee’s gonna weigh in on because, quite frankly, there’s… it’s Toyota versus Isuzu, you know, whatever the preference is, we need to come up with a list of what will be, um, appropriate for people to select from. You know, you’ll have a… I… I’m seeing it as a choice of selections that will be, you know, metro versus regional out in the… in the hinterlands, um, ‘cause it’s a different business type that way. Um, for the inventory, um, that’s… I think that’s outlined pretty well in the handbook that, uh, you know, the Agency pays the… purchases the inventory and the manager pays it back over time with no interest. Um, I’m trying to think of what else you were talking about. So the training piece of it – part of the Statement of Work obligates the vendor to provide training on specifically vending machines, but there’s a lot to the… to the training piece than just vending

machines. So, we’re going to be working with the Elected Committee on what types of trainings we can provide through, um, BOLI and OSHA and the Department of Labor to… for hiring people, all those kind of things. And some people said, “I don’t need any training. I’m good to go.” Other people said, “I want all the training there is in the world.” So trying to figure out what’s going to be applicable to each person. So, um, those are all things we have to get figured out and… yeah. So, as to… hopefully that answers your question or at least paints you a picture of where we’re headed. Um, when it comes to training, we’ve offered everybody in the program access to the Hadley course, to do that. Both of my specialists, Tom and Kathy, have completed the Hadley training, that took them about four months of working on that, um, not full time, obviously, ‘cause they were doing their jobs. But they both completed their training and are moving on to the Mississippi modules, which are out there. That’s a complicated course too, which is free. And we have a couple managers who are now enrolled and participating in the Hadley course for their ongoing training. So, I would encourage those out there that feel that they… they would like to participate in that Hadley training to reach out to either myself or Kathy or Sara Klaja, who’s our VR… our VRC… our VRC, um, to set that up and participate in that. Chair Miranda, that’s all I have.

Miranda: Okay, so next meeting… Thursday, May 26th, 2016. And this meeting is adjourned, and thank you for everybody’s attendance.

[01:16:13]

Transcription: Mark Riesmeyer