ELT Minutes, September 16, 2015

October 2, 2015 ELT Minutes

Extension Leadership Team Agenda
11 Farm House Building, Augusta
September 16, 2015
Facilitator: Dennis Harrington
Note taker: Fran Sulinski

Tractor Needing a New Home
A tractor is available in Cumberland County due to Dick’s change in responsibility. Given the size of operation and needs, the ELT decided Roger’s Farm is the best location for this tractor. Dick will begin discussion with the Experiment Station administration to craft a clear agreement about housing, training and future maintenance costs for the tractor.

Signature Authority – Why is this important?
The University maintains a “Matrix of Authority” which delineates who can enter into agreements with non-University organizations. The only person that can sign agreements within Cooperative Extension is John Rebar as the Executive Director. This includes MOUs, service agreements (in which we perform as service for others), and contracts that obligate the University, staff, or our volunteers to perform any service or make any financial commitment. No outside group (Leader’s Association, MG) can enter in to a contract that obligates Cooperative Extension and/or the University in any way. Any agreements that require a signature should be sent to Dennis Harrington who will determine the level of review, and present the agreement to John Rebar for signing.

Further, there are other types of agreements that need to be reviewed and signed by other University authorities:

Purchase agreements – must be signed by UMS Procurement authorities. Please work through MarketPlace and Renae Byard.
Small and/or large construction agreements – must be reviewed and processed through the UM Facilities office. Please work through Dennis Harrington.
Rental and lease agreements – must be processed through UMS Facilities. Please work with Dennis Harrington.
Grants – must be processed through the UMaine Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP). IMPORTANT: grants can only be submitted through ORSP and cannot be submitted independently. This applies to sub-grants as well. Please work through Megan Tardif.
Cooperative Agreements & Research Agreements – must be processed through the UMaine Department of Industrial Cooperation (DIC) if they are with private industry, or the UMaine Office of Research and Sponsored Programs if they are with any entity of government. Please work through Megan Tardif.

Upcoming Employee Group Meetings
The ELT reviewed the letter and agenda for the upcoming employee group meetings. An email will go out to staff by the end of this week.

Budget Update
Dennis shared budget projections with the ELT. This is essential given hiring decisions that the organization might want to make in the next year and in order to prepare for a potential budget cut.

Future Work Flow of the POW
It is nearly the end of the Federal FY, and consequently the end of the Plan of Work reporting year. The ELT discussed the work to be done and Jon Prichard agreed to take on the responsibility of coordinating the success story production (with assistance from staff who submit valuable impacts and the editing assistance of an external consultant). Dennis and Jon will work together on meeting the new expectations of submitting a combined POW and multi-state report with the Experiment Station. Thank you to Jon for picking up this additional work again.

Future Agenda Items:

Announcements:
Year two of CYFAR was funded $135,000 for year 2 of Maine 4-H Community Central as part of the Children Youth and Families at Risk Grant (CYFAR), USDA/NIFA Kristy Ouellette PI. This project is a partnership with Mitch Mason and Barb Baker.

Announcement Invitation:
The ELT invites you to submit items to be included in the minutes/announcements of the next regularly scheduled ELT meeting. This is an opportunity to share with the ELT and the rest of the organization any of the following:

Notable programmatic accomplishments
Development or fundraising success
Significant new partnerships and/or opportunities
Important transitions

Please take the opportunity to share your good works through this avenue. Keep it brief… approximately two to four sentences would be appreciated. To submit an announcement, please contact your PA or appropriate member of the ELT.

Please remember to visit University of Maine’s news site for additional University of Maine Cooperative Extension highlight.

Search Update:

4-H Youth Development Professional – York County – Position filled – Sarah Farrell

Administrative Specialist CL2 – Franklin County – Interviewing

Community Education Assistant CL2 4-H – And/Sag – Position filled – Maisy Cyr

Community Education Assistant CL2 4-H – Community Central Grant (12 hours) – Penobscot County –Screening applications

Community Education Assistant CL2 4-H – Community Central Grant (20 hours) – Penobscot County –Screening applications

Community Education Assistant CL2 Home Hort & Social Media – And/Sag – Position filled – Lynn Holland

Parent Education Program Manager – Knox-Lincoln – Position filled – Jennifer Doherty

Sustainable Ag Asst Ext Prof & Asst Prof – Presque Isle – Position filled – Lakesh Sharma

Telstar 4-H Professional – Bryant Pond – Position filled – Norman Greenberg

Ag & Food Systems Professional – Oxford – Accepting applications

Community Education Assistant CL2 4H – Washington – Accepting applications

Community Education Assistant CL2 4-H – Hancock – Accepting applications

ELT Meeting Dates –2015 – Meetings are from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm – unless otherwise noted

Dates	Facilitator	Notes	Location
October 6	Sulinski	Phelps	Orono – 102B
October 16	Phelps	Rebar	Orono – 102B
November 17	Rebar	Prichard	Augusta – TBA
December 2	Prichard	Harrington	Orono – 102B
December 21	Harrington	Sulinski	Orono – 102B