HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_SPCS_05.27.2021
Minutes of the Meeting of the
Strategic Partnerships for Community Services Advisory Board
City of Georgetown, Texas
May 27, 2021
The Strategic P artnerships for Community Services Advisory Board of the City of Georgetown, Texas,
met on Thursday, May 27, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. in the City Hall Community Room located at
808 Martin Luther King Jr. St., Georgetown, Texas 78626
Members Present: Andy Webb, Paul Secord, Natalia Ornelas, Jerry Haecker, Stacy Mading
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: Shirley J. Rinn, Executive Assistant to the City Manager
Visitors: Christopher De Los Santos, Williamson County Sun Reporter
MINUTES
Regular Session
(This Regular Session may, at any time, be recessed to convene an Executive Session for any purpose
authorized by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code 551.)
A Roll Call -- Shirley J. Rinn, SPCS Advisory Board Liaison
All members were present.
B Call to Order--Paul Secord, SPCS Advisory Board Chair
Meeting was called to order at 4:09 p.m.
C Welcome and Introduction of New Board Members – Shirley J. Rinn, SPCS Advisory Board Liaison
The new and current board members introduced themselves to each other, as well as the staff liaison.
D Review and discussion regarding the By-Laws for the Strategic Partnerships for Community Services
and the City Council Attendance Policy for Board Members-- Shirley J. Rinn, SPCS Advisory Board
Liaison
Rinn went over the current by-laws and addressed the requirements of the City Council Attendance
Policy.
E Consideration and possible action to approve the Minutes from the August 6, 2020 and August 10,
2020 SPCS Advisory Board Meetings—Shirley J. Rinn, Liaison for the SPCS Advisory Board
Motion by Haecker second by Mading to approve the Minutes from the August 6, 2020 and August
10, 2020 SPCS Advisory Board Meetings. (Approved 5-0)
F Discussion and possible action related to review of the Annual Reports submitted by Grant Recipients
who received a Strategic Partnerships for Community Services Grant in FY 2019-20-- Shirley J. Rinn,
SPCS Advisory Board Liaison
Rinn provided an overview of the Annual Reports of the Grant Recipients who received a Strategic
Partnerships for Community Services Grant in FY 2019-20. She also told them that she was preparing
a summary of the reports and would get that summary to the board members at a later date.
She told them board that they could also use these reports as a resource as they begin reviewing the
applications for FY2021-22 Grant Applications.
G Overview regarding the review of the grant cycle timeline, the Policy, Guidelines, Application, and
Evaluation and Recommendation Process for the FY 2019-20 Strategic Partnerships for Community
Services Grant Cycle--Shirley J. Rinn, SPCS Advisory Board Liaison.
Rinn told the advisory board members that in the essence of time she went ahead and made the Grant
Applications for FY2021-22 available. She told them that normally the advisory board would meet in
advance of that happening, but with COVID, etc. the advisory board has not been able to meet yet.
There was a brief discussion regarding whether or not incomplete applications would be accepted.
Rinn told the advisory board they could discuss that topic at the next meeting we have when we are
vetting the applications for completeness. She told them that the applications are due back by June
12, 2021. Rinn told the advisory board that the agencies have 5-6 weeks to get the applications turned
in by the deadline. Rinn told the board she would remind the agencies to provide complete
applications.
Rinn provided an overview of the history of the Strategic Partnerships for Community Services grant
program.
There was additional discussion regarding placing an item on a future agenda regarding bias and
advisory board member experiences, and how they play a role in determining funding
recommendations for the agencies who apply for the grants. There was also an extended discussion
regarding the grant application itself and whether or not it is successful in providing the specific
information the advisory board is looking for to make those recommendations.
There was discussion regarding whether or not there was a directive from the City Council to fund all
of the agencies who apply or how much they would get. Rinn told the advisory board that there was
not a directive from the City Council to fund all of the agencies. She told them that the minimum grant
was $10,000 and the maximum is $50,000. Rinn also clarified that the grant funds can be used for
operational costs as well as programming. There was discussion regarding the operational expenses
being part of the program. There was also clarification that the advisory board has recommended in
the past that the funding the agencies received be used for a different purpose than what they applied
for. The advisory board also discussed some of the parameters and/or restrictions that have been put
in place regarding the funding over the years, as well as the process for implementing them.
The advisory board also discussed the current application form and whether or not it was to complex
of a form and whether or not it might hinder smaller agencies from applying for funding. They also
discussed how the current form was formulated utilizing information from Seeds of Strength and
Georgetown Health Foundation’s application forms and that prior to finalizing the current application
form, the advisory board had to determine whether or not all of the information that those two (2)
agencies were requiring was absolutely necessary in our grant application form and whether or not it
would actually be utilized to make our funding recommendations. There was also some discussion as
to whether or not our current application form asks for redundant information.
Rinn told the advisory board that the city organization has implemented a process improvement
program for all employee to look at their workload and programs to see if there are ways to improve
that process. She told the advisory board that she is working with the city’s Organizational &
Operations Excellence Team to review the current process and make improvements. She told the
advisory board that she would also like to include them as well as members of the non-profit group in
our community for their input as well. She also told them that all of the items that were just discussed
regarding the grant application form were items that could be addressed during this process.
Rinn told the advisory board that the grant applications are due on June 12, 2021. She also clarified
that she intended them to be due on Friday, June 11, 2021, but that there was an error on the wall
calendar she looked at while she was working on the grant application materials. June 12 is on a
Saturday. She told the advisory board she was going to extend the deadline to Monday, June 14, 2021
since City Hall is not open for business on Saturday.
There was additional discussion and clarification regarding the total amount of funding ($400,049)
that is available for the FY 2022 grants, as well as the history of how that amount was determined.
H Consideration and possible action to set dates and times for FY 2021-22 Partnerships for Community
Services Advisory Board Meetings--Shirley J. Rinn, SPCS Advisory Board Liaison
There was discussion regarding possible dates to have our next meetings. Rinn will send potential
dates to board members to schedule the next meetings.
Adjournment
Meeting was Adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
ATTEST:
Shirley Rinn, SPCS Advisory Board Liaison Paul Secord, SPCS Advisory Board Chair