MGEC Board Minutes 2.27.23

	Present		Present
President Dan Sullivan	X	Director Brandon JB Nelson	X
Vice President Fernando Nacionales	X	Director Sam Padelford
Past President Corey Mathisen	X	Director Luke Schuette	X
Treasurer Laura Lyons	X	Director Mike Rude	X
Secretary Benton Campbell	X	Director Mark Trogstad-Isaacson
Director Carroll Aasen	X	Executive Director Dana Wheeler	X
Director John Dalton		Administrative Assistant Donna Blackwell	X
Director Mary Kloos	X	Labor Relations Specialist Tony Kelly
Director Blake Nelson	X

Others in Attendance: Cassandra Meyer (MPCA), Richard Haverkamp (MnDOT)

Call the Meeting to Order (Dan Sullivan)

Meeting called to order at 4:34 PM.

Welcome participants & guests (Dan Sullivan)

Open Forum (from non-board members)

None had any specific questions, comments or concerns.

Review & Approve Agenda (Dan Sullivan)

Corey Mathisen moves to approve, Mary Kloos seconds. Motion Passes.

Secretary’s Report – Review & Approve Past Minutes (Benton Campbell)

1. January 23 Minutes
   • Dana Wheeler proposed minor edits to clarify meeting date discussion NASHTU section, golf event information, and Donna Blackwell’s equipment updates. Blake Nelson moves to approve as edited, Laura Lyons seconds. Motion Passes.

President’s Report (Dan Sullivan)

1. Executive Committee Report
2. Committee Updates
   • Laura Lyons provides a few updates to the committee membership table for accuracy. Corey Mathisen adds himself to the bargaining committee. Chair is needed for the advocacy committee. Benton Campbell suggests Tony Kelly, and Dan Sullivan confirms this appointment, pending Tony Kelly’s acceptance on his return from vacation.
   • Membership committee has met twice. Mike Rude provided the update. Committee focused on process steps for membership communication and updates. The committee also reviewed scholarship applications and eligibility, and has no new recommendations for the board at the time being. Scholarship applications will open March 1^st and close May 30^th. Communications on that will go out in the next member update, scheduled for February 28^th.

Treasurer’s Report (Laura Lyons)

1. Monthly Financial Report
   • January report sent on February 7^th to board members. Corey Mathisen asked a few clarification questions on travel expenses. Laura Lyons apologized to Mike Rude for the miscommunication on January board meeting location.

Executive Director’s Report (Dana Wheeler)

1. MDH Executive Leadership Meet & Confer meetings
   • Will be quarterly, with all bargaining groups to share high-level information. Other labor management meetings will continue as scheduled.
2. Zoning Issue
   • Vacant lot near the office had a proposed rezoning to an apartment building. Other owners in the office park opposed the change, as there could be parking issues. City council voted to deny the zoning change.
3. Health Insurance Proposals
   • The Insurance Bargaining Coalition is coordinating proposals prior to the start of bargaining in March. Board members and others with suggestions should email them to Dana Wheeler and Blake Nelson. Laura Lyons and Benton Campbell reached out to MPCA/DNR/BWSR engineers and received a few suggestions from members.
4. MAPE Legislative Proposal
   • MAPE is working on legislation that would allow contracts/MOUs between the state and Collective Bargaining Units to be approved without Legislative Approval. There are some questions about timelines of implementation for contracts approved by the executive branch under the proposed language. A bill has not yet been introduced.
5. Golf
   • Dates were sought from Oak Marsh Golf Course and Mendakota Country Club. Quite a few Thursdays were available at Oak Marsh, including one in May, three dates in June, one in August, one in September. Oak Marsh quoted $61 per golfer. Mendakota quoted $155. Board was in general agreement that Oak Marsh was much more reasonable. Fernando Nacionales moves that MGEC host the golf tournament and have the annual meeting on Thursday September 28^th, and pay for dinner (not golf) for all full and life members. Mike Rude seconds the motion. Motion Passes.
6. Building Water Damage
   • February 14^th had a lot of rain. A few buildings, including MGEC’s had seepage from the rain event. It is possible MGEC could install interior drain tile for this problem. No proposal from Dana yet as to next steps. A separate issue occurred when MGEC refrigerator/freezer ice maker line leaked, causing some damage to carpet, flooring, and sheetrock. This issue is covered by insurance, but a claim would cause MGEC to lose a $600 annual no claim deduction from the insurance bill. MGEC is working with various contractors and companies to get bids and quotes for repairs/replacements. Blake Nelson asks if other buildings in the office park have had similar problems, and per Dana Wheeler, they have.

Achievement Awards and Coalition Update (Blake Nelson)

1. The acting director at Blake Nelson’s office announced that cash and step achievement awards are being offered. For the last few years, only cash awards were considered. He is not aware of anyone receiving a group achievement award, which was instituted in the previous contract.
2. Not many updates at the most recent coalition meeting. Hiring is still difficult in the medical fields.

Communication & Membership Report (Donna Blackwell)

1. Membership Update
   • Reviewed new members and new eligible employees from SEMA4.

Vice President’s Report (Fernando Nacionales)

1. No updates.

Past President’s Report (Corey Mathisen)

1. No updates.

Other updates, comments, questions, suggestions

Brandon Nelson shares that pronouns on state emails are based on selections in Self-Service, if employees want to verify them.

Adjourn

Mike Rude moves to adjourn, Brandon Nelson seconds. Motion Passes. Meeting adjourned at 5:31 PM.