Vet Committee

VETERANS SERVICE COMMITTEE Wednesday, December 20, 2023 County Board Room Members Present: Catherine Lemke, Bryan Carey, Lorie Floyd, Sue Swiantek, Lawrence Peterson, Rod Adams and Bud Suckow. Members Absent: none. Other Attendees: Sheila Wundrow, Brian Wilson-Star News, Karyn Gebert, and Suan Gregori- Veteran’s Community. Call Meeting to Order: Chair Catherine Lemke called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance: Suckow led the committee in the Pledge of Allegiance. Approve Agenda: Motion by Peterson, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the October 18 , 2023 meeting: Motion by Adams, seconded by Carey, to approve the minutes of the October 18, 2023 meeting. Motion carried. Star News – Brian Wilson: Wilson discussed Star News advertisement for a full-page ad once a month for the year in the amount of $1,500 . Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Suckow, to approve the Star News advertisement. Motion carried. Report from the Veterans Service Officer : Wundrow went over the CVSO update she prepared for the committee since the last meeting . The following items were presented to the committee for approval. • Inclement weather plan Veteran Service Office: Wundrow presented a proposal for inclement weather. Check the weather daily. CVSO and VSS to bring laptops home when forecast of inclement weather. When Gilman School District is closed the CVSO will work from home. CVSO will check road conditions. When/if road conditions improve, CVSO will go to Gilman Center to hold walk -in hours. When Medford School District is closed. CVSO will work from home. VSS will work from home. DAV van will not run as pre the DAV van instruction. VSS will post on Facebook, The County Veteran Service Office is closed due to inclement weather, but we can still be reached via phone and email. CVSO will check the calendar and reschedule appointments. Appointments could be rescheduled to a different day or held the same day via phone or if technology permits via zoom. CVSO will check road conditions. When/if road conditions improve. VSS will come into the office. CVSO will go to the Gilman Center to hold walk-in hours. VSS will post on Facebook once CVSO is in Gilman. After much discussion, a roll call vote cast, with five (5) voting aye, and two (2) voting no, the motion carried. • Approval for gifts for Veteran Service Office Volunteers: o Wundrow asked for approval to purchase a gift card of $100 for materials for the gentleman that donates the flag boxes for deceased Veteran’s family . Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Carey. Motion carried. o Wundrow asked for approval to purchase identifying jackets for DAV drivers once they reach qualifying hours (200 hours). Motion by Floyd, seconded by Peterson. Motion carried. Comments from the Veteran’s Community: No comments from the Veterans. Adjourn: Motion by Suckow, seconded by Swiantek, to adjourn the me eting at 4:42 p.m. Motion carried. Karyn Gebert Veterans Service Specialist VETERANS SERVICE COMMITTEE Wednesday, October 18, 2023 County Board Room Members Present: Catherine Lemke, Bryan Carey, Lorie Floyd, Rod Adams, Lawrence Peterson, Bud Suckow and Sue Swiantek. Members Absent: none. Other Attendees: Sheila Wundrow , Jim Metz, Nicole Hager, Jake Curtis -Attolless Law, S.C. , Brian Wilson-Star News, Karyn Gebert, Andria Farrand and the attached sign in sheet. Call Meeting to Order: Chair Catherine Lemke called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance: Wundrow led the committee in the Pledge of Allegiance. Approve Agenda : Motion by Adams, seconded by Floyd, to approve the agend a. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the August 21, 2023 meeting: Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Peterson, to approve the minutes of the August 21, 2023 meeting. Motion carried. Resolution in support of Operation Green Light for Veterans: Resolution read by Farrand. Motion by Floyd, seconded by Adams, in support of operation green light for veterans. Motion carried. Update regarding County Veteran Service Office operations : Curtis gave an update on his report presented to the County Board in January . He was pleased that all recommendations have been addressed : Leadership, streamline committee structure/strategic planning, empower Human Resource Manager to be the point of contact for day-to-day operations, update Chapter 6 of County Code-Ethics. Report from the Veterans Service Officer : Wundrow went over the CVSO update she prepared for the committee since the last meeting. Update on Resource Room/Schedule date for ribbon cutting: Wundrow gave an update on the resource room. Ribbon cutting is scheduled for November 3, 2023, at 1:00 pm. Update on DAV Drivers and requirements: Wundrow informed the committee that we still only have 2 drivers. You no longer need to have a COVID vaccination, or a flu shot, just need to sign a medical/religious exemption form. Need to have a physical done by the VA. DAV Drivers are volunteers. Committee members were encouraged to volunteer. Set Schedule for future Veteran Service Committee Meetings: Every other month on the third Wednesday at 4:00 pm starting in December. Comments from the Veteran’s Community: No comments from the Veterans. Adjourn: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Peterson, to adjourn the meeting at 4:57 p.m. Motion carried. Karyn Gebert Veterans Service Specialist VETERANS SERVICE COMMITTEE Monday, August 21, 2023 County Board Room Members Present: Catherine Lemke, Bryan Carey, Lorie Floyd, Rod Adams, Lawrence Peterson, Bud Suckow and Sue Swiantek. Members Absent: none. Other Attendees: Sheila Wundrow , Jim Metz, Nicole Hager, Courtney Graff -Corporation Counsel, Brian Wilson -Star News, Emily Davies -WSAW, Eric Decker, Andria Farrand and the attached sign in sheet. Other attendees via Zoom: Heidi Eisner, Scott Bachowski, Sue Davis, Keith Langenhahn. Call Meeting to Order: Chair Catherine Lemke called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Approve Agenda: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Peterson, to approve the agend a. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the June 2, 2023 meeting: Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Carey, to approve the minutes of the June 2, 2023 meeting. Motion carried. Update on exit of former Benefits Specialist: Hager stated she reached out to our insurance carrier to open a claim and there is still an outside entity reviewing the claim. Graff stated that Law Enforcement was unable to attend , but that a criminal investigation had been initiated, and the County will not be taking action at this time. No action taken. Approve 2024 Budget: Wundrow presented her proposed 2024 budget which remained basically the same as 2023. Motion by Swiantek, seconded by Floyd to approve as presented. Motion carried. Report from the Veterans Service Officer : Wundrow went over the CVSO update she prepared for the committee with the past 90 days of activities. A s part of the report, she asked for approval to purchase a pamphlet rack for the resource room as well as a laptop for the veterans to use. The purchases will come from the office’s ARPA grant funds. Motion by Floyd, seconded by Adams, to approve the purchase of the pamphlet rack and laptop from ARPA grant funds. Motion carried. Comments from the Veteran’s Community: The meeting was then opened to public comments from Veterans. Several Veterans offered comments, but no action was taken. Adjourn: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Peterson, to adjourn the meeting at 4:33 p.m. Motion carried. Andria Farrand County Clerk VETERANS SERVICE COMMITTEE Friday, June 2, 2023 County Board Room Members Present: Catherine Lemke, Rollie Thums, Lorie Floyd, Sue Swiantek, Lawrence Peterson and Bryan Carey. Members Absent: none. Members via Phone Rodney Adams Other Attendees: Sheila Wundrow, Nicole Hager, Lester Lewis, Brian Wilson -Star News, Paul Lukewich, Sandy Lukewich , Bruce Emmerich, Susan Gregori, Sharon Frischmann , James Frischmann, Bruce Brunner, Ray Steen Jr. and Andria Farrand. Other Attendees via Phone: Courtney Graff Call Meeting to Order: Chair Catherine Lemke called the meeting to order at 12:31 p.m. Approve Agenda : Motion by Thums, seconded by Floyd, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve minutes of the March 27, 2023, meeting: Motion by Peterson, seconded by Thums, to approve the minutes of the March 27, 2023, meeting. Motion carried. Report from the Veterans Service Officer: Wundrow presented her report to the committee and reviewed it with them. She stated her accreditation will take approximately 90 days and until then she is getting assistance from other VSOs. Request to fill the vacant Veterans Service Specialist position: Motion by Thums, seconded by Peterson, to approve filling the vacant Veterans Service Specialist position. Motion carried. Closed Session: Motion by Thums, seconded by Carey, to go into closed session at 12:52 p.m., pursuant to Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(g). A unanimous roll call vote cast, the motion carried. Open Session: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Thums, to go into open session at 2:02 p.m., pursuant to Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(g). A unanimous roll call vote cast, the motion carried. There were no actions to act on from closed session. Adjourn: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Adams, to adjourn the me eting at 2:03 p.m. Motion carried. Andria Farrand County Clerk Veterans Service Committee March 27, 2023 Third Floor County Board Room, Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Lester Lewis called the meeting to order at 9:33 a.m. Members Present: Catherine Lemke; Lawrence Peterson; Lester Lewis; Lorie F loyd; Sue Swiantek; Steve Voss; Rollie Thums Members Absent: None Other Attendees: Nicole Hager; Rachel Ogle; Jim Metz; Mike Bub Approve Agenda. A motion was made by Lemke, seconded by Peterson, to approve the agenda with five items. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Closed Session. A motion was made by Peterson, seconded by Lemke, at 9:35 a.m., to go into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin State Statutes, Section 19.85 (1)( c), to interview Veterans Service Officer candidates . A roll call vote cast, seven [7] voting aye , the motion carried. Candidates were interviewed for the Veterans Service Officer position. Steve Voss left the meeting at approximately 12:00 p.m. Open Session. A motion was made by Thums, seconded by Floyd, to go into o pen session at approximately 12:05 p.m. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. It was moved by Thums, seconded by Peterson, to approve the ranking of Veterans Service Officer applicants who were interviewed and to have Ms. Hager check references and make an offer to the #1 candidate as lo ng as there are no concerns with the references and background checks. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Adjournment. A motion was made by Peterson, seconded by Lemke, to adjourn at 12:15 p.m. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Secretary: Nicole Hager