SMART Board of Directors Meeting – August 2024
Board of Directors Meeting
Minutes
August 27, 2024
NOON – Thee Garage Steakhouse
Members Present: Jodi Varner (President), Karol Zachmann (Treasurer), Sharon Gookin, Mindi Murnion
Members Absent: Kevin Dukart, Krista Nemitz, Deborah Walraven-Wenger
Staff Present: Vaughn Zenko (Executive Director), Alyson Lineback (Assistant)
Public Present: Stacey Teter
Meeting called to order at 12:10pm by President Jodi Varner
Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes: The Board reviewed the minutes from the July 23 meeting and the August 5 Special Meeting. Sharon Gookin clarified a portion of the July 23 minutes related to the Job Application committee consisting of Sharon and Karol.
• MOTION (Mindi Murnion): To approve both sets of meeting minutes as written, with the noted change to the July 23 minutes.
• SECOND: Sharon Gookin
• Three in favor, none opposed, three absent. Minutes from the July 23, 2024 Monthly Meeting and the August 5, 2024 Special Meeting were approved as written, with the noted change to the July 23 minutes.
Public Comment: Stacey Teter said she was attending the meeting with an interest in possibly joining the SMART Board of Directors.
Financial Reports: Vaughn presented the financial reports prepared by Alyson Lineback. SMART currently has $60,836.43 in the general operating fund, $49,496.85 in the Restricted Funds account, and $146,396.38 in total bank accounts. Total assets were at $421,592.66.
In the Statement of Financial Position report, some liabilities/expenses were presented as negative numbers and others were not. The board requested those negative numbers be changed to more accurately reflect the numbers. The Board also requested that descriptions of expenses be added to the memo section on the reports for ease of analyzing the reports.
Director’s Report: Vaughn reminded the board that the FUSION Conference in Bowman was coming up September 5, which multiple board members are planning to attend.
Vaughn updated the board on his community activities for the month, including assisting the Baker Chamber with their Crazy Dayz and Crazy Nightz event and assisting with artist hospitality during the Fallon County Fair.
Vaughn also reported on the progress of EMEDA’s Child Care Project, which SMART has assisted on since its inception, as well as his attendance at the Montana Childcare Business Connect Annual Summit in Helena on August 6-8.
Finally, Vaughn informed the committee on Baker Metal’s progress on the Visitor Center sign. He said that he was informed that it should be done this week and that Baker Metal was aware on the deadline for the Pocket Park dedication.
Committee Reports as Needed (Visitor Center, Pocket Park, Audit, Employee Policy): President Varner stated that as most of these are agenda items, the committees could report at that time. There was no objection.
New Business:
Kevin Dukart Resignation / Fill Open Position on Audit Committee: Vaughn presented the board with a letter from Kevin Dukart resigning his position on the board due to time constraints. As Kevin also served on the Audit Committee, there was discussion about filling his open position. Hearing no volunteers, President Varner offered to join the committee for now. There were no objections. Jodi Varner will temporarily serve on the SMART audit committee for an undertermined term. The rest of the committee consists of Treasurer Karol Zachmann and SMART Assistant Alyson Lineback (ex-officio).
The board then turned back to address Kevin’s resignation.
• MOTION (Sharon Gookin): To accept Kevin Dukart’s letter of resignation from the SMART Board.
• SECOND: Mindi Murnion
• Three in favor, none opposed, three absent. Kevin Dukart’s letter of resignation was accepted by the board. His knowledge and expertise will be missed on the board.
Potential New Tenant in the SMART Building (Angel Wyras): Vaughn informed the board that Angel Wyras had contacted him about utilizing the now vacant SMART office as a temporary office for her work with mental health. The board discussed potential liability, licensing, and a suggested rent.
• MOTION (Karol Zachmann): To table this item until SMART has more information on Angel’s plans.
• SECOND: Sharon Gookin
• DISCUSSION: Mindi Murnion recused herself from the vote as she has worked with Angel through Public Health.
• Two in favor, none opposed, one recused, two absent. The agenda item of Angel Wyras potentially renting space in the SMART building was tabled while more information is gathered.
Option to Outsource HR Services: Vaughn informed the board that, while at the Childcare Conference in Helena, he had spoken with Bethany Williamson of Associated Employers (AE) in Billings regarding outsourcing Human Resources for SMART. Bethany quoted him $675 per year for unlimited HR advice, with an option to have AE review existing policies or create new policy for an additional cost per request. President Varner said this would be helpful and requested Vaughn forward her the information from Associated Employers. There was no official action. The board will revisit this at a future meeting.
Other New Business:
Visitor Center Operating Hours: With no full time Visitor Center employee at this point, a question was asked about what happens with the Visitor Center when Director Zenko is gone. Vaughn answered, saying that there has been a good relationship with the Chamber of Commerce employees as far as trying to coordinate schedules to make sure someone is there at all times. If that’s not possible, a sign is put on the door with the phone numbers of both Vaughn and the Chamber Director’s phone numbers if anyone needs assistance. There was no further discussion.
Old Business:
Formal Signing of SMART By-Laws: Vaughn presented the by-laws as amended by the board through three readings. The board reviewed and noted that SMART’s address needs to be changed to 10 East Montana Avenue now that the organization has moved into the Visitor Center. Karol also noted that the formatting of the final document could be improved. Vaughn will make the noted changes and present the updated by-laws at the next monthly meeting for approval.
Update on Hiring Process: Vaughn reported that, with his experience with SMART’s last two employees, the job description could be changed to reflect more administrative duties, as his primary need for assistance has been in that area. The board discussed possibly making the position part time instead of full time. Vaughn said he believed that would be helpful. After further discussion, the board suggested updating the job description and offering the position as part-time, 10am-3pm, four days a week at $23.00 per hour with no benefits. Vaughn will update the job description and post the position.
Visitor Center / Pocket Park Budget Decisions as Needed: The board proceeded to the Food Forest portion of the agenda to no objection.
Food Forest Update / Committee Set-up: Vaughn reported on the progress of the Food Forest Project and the AARP grant. SMART has until the end of 2024 to fulfil the grant obligations. Vaughn noted that there will be a meeting tonight at 5pm for those interested in helping with the project. Mindi Murnion volunteered to be the SMART representative at the meeting.
Visitor Center / Pocket Park Budget Decisions as Needed: There were no updates from either committee. The board requested a cost estimate on the Visitor Center sign, as well as the entrance arch to the park. Vaughn will contact Baker Metal.
Progress / Updates on Fallon County Community Foundation Start-up: Vaughn presented the board with information he received from Taylor Crowl with the Montana Community Foundation about the process for starting up a local Community Foundation. He will begin drawing up by-laws and organizing documents with MCF’s assistance. There was no further discussion.
Other Old Business:
Employment Application Committee: Karol and Sharon stated that they will meet tomorrow, August 28, regarding the draft employment application and report back to the board.
Having no further business to attend to at this time, President Varner declared the meeting adjourned. There was no objection. Meeting adjourned at 1:03pm
The next scheduled SMART meeting will be September 24, 2024 at noon at Thee Garage Steakhouse
Respectfully submitted:
______________________________ ______________________________
s\ Jodi L. Varner, President s\ Vaughn Zenko Jr, Executive Director
