BUSINESSENTERPRISEPROGRAM OFOREGON

SPECIAL MEETING

Date:Thursday, September 21st,2017

Time: 3:00pm

OREGONCOMMISSIONFOR THEBLIND

535 SE 12thAvenue(Portlandoffice)

Conferenceline:404-443-6397

Participantcode: 943611#

Agenda

Any of theagenda itemslisted belowmaybecomeanactionitem.

Anyof theseitems maybe aconflictofinterest.

1. Call to Order

2. Adoption of Minutes

3. Public Comments

4. Committee Reports

5. Nominations for Elected Committee. (Positions are currently held by Art Stevenson, Steve Jackson and Steve Gordon.)

6. Director's Report

7. Financial Report

8. Old Business

a. Proposed Rules

b. VMS Systems

c. Federal Vending Machine Income

9. New Business

10. Adjourn

Verbatim

[Start at 00:00:00]

StevensonA: Randy is gonna be a little bit late. Its 3:00 so Im gonna get the meeting started. So Ill call the meeting to order and well begin by roll call for the Elected Committee. And I hear Derrick Stevensons here.

StevensonD: Yes.

StevensonA: Okay. Jerry Bird.

Bird: Im here.

StevensonA: Steve Gordon.

Gordon: Yes.

StevensonA: Steve Jackson. [Noise from unmuted phone.] Steve Jackson. [Noise from unmuted phone.] Okay. Hey, somebody needs to put their phone on mute. I hear them. [Silence.] Okay, I think they mightve done that. Good. Okay, now well go through and try to get all the managers. This is always interesting. So, well start with Salvador Barraza. [Silence.] Celyn Brown. [Silence.] Celyn Brown? Cathy Colley-Dominique? [Silence.] Tessa Brown. [Silence.] Okay. Carole Kinney. [Silence.] Lin Jaynes.

Jaynes: Present. Im here, Art.

StevensonA: Okay, Lin Jaynes is here.

Jaynes: You can call Lewanda Miranda, too.

StevensonA: Lewanda Miranda?

Miranda: Present.

StevensonA: Lewanda Miranda, are you on the line?

Miranda: Present.

Jaynes: See, I knew she would be here.

StevensonA: Okay, Lewandas here. [Laughs.]

Miranda: You forgot Charlotta.

StevensonA: Charlotte Mckinzie.

Hawkins: Hawkins. Here.

StevensonA: Oh, Im sorry.

Hawkins: Thats okay.

StevensonA: Yeah. Charlotta Hawkins! Sorry, Jerry

Hawkins: Here.

StevensonA: I hope Jerry wasnt listening. Okay, let me see. Harold Young?

Young: Here.

StevensonA: Okay. Did I miss anybody?

Smith: Gordo.

StevensonA: Oh, Gordon Smith! Of course!

Smith: Yeah! The. The.

StevensonA: Im sorry, Gordo, Ive got a cold, so youre gonna have to forgive me today.

Smith: Not a problem.

StevensonA: It must It mustve been that Tennessee weather that I just got back from. Okay, so

Smith: Yeah.

StevensonA: Anyways, yeah. Do we have any guests on the line today? [Silence.] No guests. Okay. And I assume, since were connected, that we got Eric Morris, the Director

Morris: Eric is here.

StevensonA: and, yeah, is anybody else with you, Eric?

Morris: No.

StevensonA: Okay. All right. So, anyways, now well move right along to public comment. Do we have any public? Well, wait a minute. Maybe Id better do the minutes first.

Miranda: Yeah.

StevensonA: Okay. So, anyways, we got, I believe, two minutes two sets of minutes that we have to okay, the last two meetings that we had. So, Ill entertain a motion to accept those minutes as recorded. [Silence.]

StevensonD: I so motion.

StevensonA: Do I have a second? [Silence.] No second? [Silence.] Gentlemen! Do I have a second?

Smith: Theyre all on mute.

Miranda: I guess.

StevensonA: Jerry, Steve, Steve, can I get a second?

Gordon: I second it. Steve Gordon.

StevensonA: Thank you, Steve. Okay, well go through a roll call vote. Derrick?

StevensonD: Yea.

StevensonA: Jerry Bird.

Bird: Yea.

StevensonA: Steve Gordon.

Gordon: Yea.

StevensonA: Steve Jackson. [Silence.] Steve Jackson. [Silence.] Oh, okay. Well, Im a yea, so that means we got a quorum, so the minutes are accepted. I thought Steve was on the line. Did I? Maybe I didnt hear him, after all. But we still got a quorum. Okay. So, anyways, lets move forward to public comment. Do we have any public comment today?

Bird: Jerry Bird.

StevensonA: Go ahead, Jerry.

Bird: Id just like to say, as a public comment, that I dont know how to put this. Im frustrated with how things are going in this program that seems to be taking away I know well be discussing this in a little bit, but as just a person, taking away my independence to self-employment opportunities. Like I said before, one of the reasons I got in this program wasnt justit was, you know, had a vision problem, but I also wanted to run my own business so I could make my own decisions. And I thought thats what this whole program was about and I still believe it is. I feel like Im getting dictated to: now Im punching a clock, I gotta have so many hours to say that Im working. And its all about, you know, as long as Im doing my running my business, that should be my business, not their business, in both ways, whether youre working it, or just in your mind. So Im quite upset or just frustrated that it seems like its turning into like we work for someone else and you no longer have your rights, only 'cause Im blind. And so that really frustrates me as just an American. If I want to open up my business, which thats what theyre supposed to do for me. Its not theirs. Its not the SLA's. But it seems like Im losing my independence to be a to be a true American and operate my business how I see fit. Thank you.

StevensonA: Thank you, Jerry.

Smith: Art, this is Gordon.

StevensonA: Hey, Gordo!

Smith: Hi. May I speak to Eric Morris for just a moment?

StevensonA: Well, you can make a public comment and were at that

Smith: Okay.

StevensonA: were at that part in the And if he wants to respond to you, of course he surely can.

Smith: Okay. Eric, is it all right to talk about vending?

StevensonA: [Chuckles.]

Morris: I guess, Gordo. Youre talking, so have at it.

Smith: Okay. I just want to let the group know that we have been working with Eric and Dacia and we are going to get our vending route back. And I want to publicly thank them.

StevensonA: Okay. Well, thats good news, Gordo!

Smith: It is very good news.

StevensonA: Yeah, Im glad to hear it. Hopefully, thatll be in Erics report. Was that you, Randy, that just go on the line?

Hauth: Hey, Art. Yeah, Im here.

StevensonA: Okay. Were right in the middle of public comment and and so I will go ahead and turn the meeting over to you

Hauth: Thank you.

StevensonA: and

Hauth: Hi Hi, everybody. Sorry Im a little late. And, Art, thank you for joining in. I did hear the tail end of Gordos comment. And so, hopefully, as we move forward, Eric, youll be able to kind of share a little bit more detail. I mean, on the surface, it sounds like great news. So, great. I mean, kudos to having that happen. So, let me pull up the agenda here real quick and weve youve adopted the minutes, correct?

StevensonA: Yeah, we adopted the minutes. Were on public comment, Randy.

Hauth: Is there any Is there any other public comment?

StevensonA: Yeah, Randy, its Art.

Hauth: Hey, Art.

StevensonA: Well, first of all, I want to say and Im saying this as a licensed manager yeah, Im a part of the Elected Committee but I want to make this comment as a blind licensed manager today. Really kind of disappointed, after 31 years, program seems to be going backwards, not forwards: that blind licensed managers are, you know, losing their rights to make independent decisions. And the agency seems to think that they know whats better for our businesses than than we do. And its really frustrating 'cause, when I first got into this program I made a lot of business decisions on my own, grew my businesses, increased sales, had happy customers, etc. etc. And And now, it seems that we all are going or the agency is trying to take that right away from us. Hopefully, were going to have some good faith negotiations on getting these rules right. And hopefully the rules are going to be written so that they do what the state statute says theyre supposed to: ensure the proper and satisfactory operations of vending facilities and for the benefit of the blind licensed managers. And And hopefully we can get these rules put together correctly. And Im kind of hopeful. Several managers have put together some money, have a very prominent person in the Randolph-Sheppard Act community look at our rules, evaluate them and and try to help us make rules that do exactly what theyre supposed to do: create good, positive businesses and to allow blind licensed managers to make independent business decisions on whats best for them and their program. I can tell you, I learned some things over the last couple of weeks that disturbs me, that managers have requested certain different kinds of equipment and theyve been denied that and told, Well, this is good enough for you and if you dont like it, well, thats the way it is. And thats not the way it should be. A person should get equipment thats going to benefit them and help them do do their job correctly. So, anyways, Ive kind of rambled a little bit. But Im Im Im hoping the agency will finally embrace active participation, create rules that are fair and equitable for everyone, that allows blind licensed managers to make business decisions thats best for them and their businesses and the agency gets back to, you know, l