public meeting -
11/12/2014

Tri-County LTR Public Meeting Minutes

November 12, 2014

The public meeting of Tri-County Long Term Recovery was called to order at 3 p.m. by Vice Chairman Jennifer M. Orban. In attendance were Darius Alamzadeh, John Bates, Liz Bibb, Terry Bibo, Ben Davidson, Shelley Epstein, Jim Fassino, Phil Fleming, Kevin Gramm, Tricia O'Neal, Jennifer Orban, Esmeralda Ozella, Alyssa Pollock, Liz Pollack, Tom Pelger, Mark Roberts, John Rothfusz, Michel Sack, Gustavo Santillion, Paul Seidl, Julie Siebert, Kyle Sweeney, Amber Wells, Welta Wilkins, Evan Williams.

October minutes: No public meeting in October.

Orban noted that public meetings will be held every other month, so the next will be in January. She congratulated Davidson and Bethany Community Church for the special recognition they received from the Association of Fundraising Professionals' Central Illinois Chapter at a luncheon held earlier in the day. Davidson asked for a moment of gratitude to recognize œlives rebuilt, homes rebuilt, communities rebuilt.

Chairman's report: Fassino said he was pleased with the progress which has been made. He had driven through Pekin, East Peoria and Washington and said there was a tremendous amount of recovery. Still, he said, new needs continue to surface and new funders continue to join. He said there was a record number of cases at the November Funders Forum and personal needs were 100 percent funded through the generosity of the community.

Treasurer: As of Oct. 29, Gramm said, LTR has disbursed $153,079.31 and has a balance of $398,894.15.

Spirit/emotional: O'Neal said she was still getting information on ˜Don't let one disaster become another' which came from Joplin MO. Co-chairman Corey Campbell and his wife just had a baby; no meeting is scheduled.

Communications: Epstein mentioned several stories in various media: Fassino's piece for InterBusiness Issues magazine, WTVP's one-hour special on the storm, East Peoria Courier newspaper. He said more stories would be coming soon as a result of the one-year anniversary. The Journal Star is doing a special section along with some anniversary coverage; the Chicago Tribune just visited; WCBU did some interviews and Chicago's WLS Channel 7 might have a reporter visiting the meeting in a few minutes. He cited Pollack and the caseworkers for gathering names and clients to be interviewed. The website, myltr.org, is up and in limited use for the media because of the anniversary. More stories and content will be added soon for broader use.

Donations: Siebert said another warehouse has been closed. There is bottled water left, and some of it is being distributed door to door. Roberts said donations continue to trickle in. He and Siebert have begun to look at long-term plans for how to handle donations the next time there is a disaster.

Volunteer Management: Nov. 15 is the last work day for the year and Davidson said there is no meeting scheduled. He plans to talk to the Steering Committee about future direction. There are not as many requests for assistance from homeowners recently, and he hopes that is a good sign. Needs will be reevaluated in spring. In the mean time, he is not sure LTR needs multiple active phone lines. The volunteer line may œhibernate and refer requests to the main office number; he will check before changing its message.

Disaster Case Management: Pollock said there are 1,010 cases; 354 open and 656 closed. She said there are 65 cases unassigned, and they are being assigned as rapidly as possible. All of the East Peoria and Pekin cases have been assigned. She said the Salvation Army has sent a new disaster case manager. Long-term needs haven arisen; principally the need for rental assistance as insurance runs out. Gustavo Santillion was attending as a visitor from the Mexican Red Cross.

Pets: Kitty Yanko was not in attendance, but Davidson discussed the possibility of a $24,000 emergency pet trailer which could handle more than 60 pets. AKC would pay half; Tazewell County Emergency Management Agency would house it. There are only 10 such trailers around the nation and Illinois does not have one. The trailer will be presented to the December Funders Forum; Pelger noted that it might attract some state funding if there is a state-wide need.

Fleming said such cooperation was discussed at last week's Illinois Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster semi-annual meeting; efforts would be made to better refine somewhat incestuous relationships. He said Illinois Emergency Management Agency will have a œready church so the churches can survive in case of a disaster. Unlike Washington, he said, in most places the churches do not return. After Hurricane Katrina, 75 percent did not, for example. He will send Bibo information to be dispersed and get reaction.

Construction Management: Mike Godar was not present. Fassino said if anyone knows of people who might be able to help Godar, please give Fassino names.

Funder's Forum: With 24 cases and nearly $85,000 pledged, Fassino said November's meeting is a record. He praised the new streamlined process for presenting cases to funders, adding that not-for-profits were practically fighting over which ones to fund. He said that new process will help, since more needs and more organizations are expected to be involved for the immediate future. Washington Illinois Area Foundation has significant resources to add. In particular, Fassino thanked the caseworkers and the groups which address the needs. He said the Steering Committee decided the worksheets would be kept in-house to protect the clients' confidentiality. If there are comments about needed improvements or suggestions to help, he said now is the time to bring them forward: LTR will start working on its best practices recommendations for the future.

Anniversary: Although LTR made inquiries about ceremonies or events which might want help, there was no need for LTR involvement. Davidson said local churches will have a brief ceremony at LaHood Park Monday morning; three different commemorative walks will be held later in the day. Siebert mentioned the Washington Chamber of Commerce will have a Fun Run on Sunday; Davidson said the Washington Park District has an obstacle course which includes debris from the tornado.

Soil Remediation: A committee has been formed to discuss this issue, since it has been of great interest to most of the people affected by the tornadoes. A report will be given at the Dec. 3 Steering Committee meeting.

Other business: Fleming and Roberts noted the need to capture lessons learned and prepare for the next event. Fleming said he would be glad to do a presentation on œWhat comes next? Fassino said there were 70 or more organizations at the Nov. 18, 2013 meeting; many have drifted away and perhaps should be contacted. Fleming said to check the original list and invite them to help plan. Pelger said he'd like to hear from the community. Orban said it is all a learning experience.

Open forum: Members of the public were invited to speak. No one did. Fassino invited Pollock to comment about her new responsibilities. As the American Red Cross revamps nation-wide, she is now covering Illinois south of Interstate 80, and some sections of Iowa, for a total of 79 counties.

The meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m.