From suncat0 at gmail.com Sat Dec 4 14:48:23 2010 From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag) Date: Sat, 4 Dec 2010 09:48:23 -0500 Subject: [Vendorsmi] Fw: [nfbmi-talk] here is mcb friday meeting agenda Message-ID: I'm sending this to you because I believe you care about the future of the Business Enterprise Program in Michigan. Please take time to read the agenda and my comment below and act as you see fit. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Sontag" To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2010 04:28 Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] here is mcb friday meeting agenda > They'll need the entire day just to deal properly with the BEP portion of this thing. > > As for Richard Kent's case, the so-called "full evidentiary hearing" was anything but fair and complete. Mr. Kent's side was not > given the opportunity to present witnesses, the Commission's side was the only one heard, the BEP's witnesses were not sequestered > during the proceeding, and the same randomly-selected ALJ who has been getting the last dozen or so cases presided over the mess. > I know, I was there. Mead never even asked for identification of those in the hearing room at the start of the process. > > I can only hope that others who have more specific knowledge of the details of the Kent case will speak out loudly and clearly to > the Commission Board in the short time before the 12-10 meeting. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "joe harcz Comcast" > To: > Sent: Friday, December 03, 2010 10:17 > Subject: [nfbmi-talk] here is mcb friday meeting agenda > > > Oh, cannon didn't include this agenda for next Friday in his post to the MCB 20-20 list serve. However, it was buried as a link to > the meeting on MCB's web site. Here it is: > > > MICHIGAN COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND > > FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2010 > VICTOR CENTER BUILDING, 3rd FLOOR > > CONFERENCE ROOM A/B > > 201 N. WASHINGTON SQUARE > > LANSING, MICHIGAN > > 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. > > > > Live audio streaming of the meeting will be available online > > at approximately 9:00 am at the MCB Web site at www.michigan.gov/mcb > > > > PLEASE NOTE NEW CALL IN INFORMATION > > To listen to the Commission meeting over the telephone dial: > > 1-877-873-8017 > > Passcode: 7502991# > > > > AGENDA > > > > > I. Committee of the Whole 9:00 - 10:00 > > ? Vice Chair Selection > > ? Commissioners Standing Committee Assignments > > ? Discussion on Commissioners Advocacy Roles > > ? Reports on Commissioner Activities > > ? Issues/Questions from Previous Meeting > > ? Director's 2010 Evaluation & 2011 Performance Objectives > > ? Other > > > > REGULAR MEETING > > II. Call to Order, Roll Call, and Determination of Quorum - Ms. Jo Ann Pilarski, Chairperson 10:00 - 10:15 > > III. Approval of August 27, 2010 Meeting Minutes - MCB Board > > IV. Approval of Director's 2010 Evaluation & 2011 Performance Objectives - MCB Board > > V. Board Correspondence > > VI. PUBLIC COMMENT** 10:15 - 10:30 > > VII. Presentation of MCB Honor Roll Awards 10:30 - 11:45 > > > > LUNCH (Note: Lunch provided to award winners and their guests, commissioners and participating staff) 11:45 - 1:15 > > > > VIII. PUBLIC COMMENT** 1:15 - 1:30 > > > > IX. Administrative Reports 1:30 - 3:00 > > ? Business Enterprise Program Report - Mr. James Hull, Acting BEP Manager > > o BEP Ad Hoc Committee Update > > o Upward Mobility Resolution > > o Administrative Law Judge Recommendation: Richard Kent > > ? Elected Operators Committee Report - Mr. James Chaney > > o Motion 1: All operators' accumulated points will be frozen as of the date that the new selection point system is > implemented and will then be added to as earned under the new selection point system. > > o Motion 2: From the date the new selection point system is implemented or from date of first agreement: Licensed > operators accumulate 3 points per year of service. Temporary operators accumulate ? point per year of service. Potential > operators (including those who are working for an Operator) accumulate 0 points. > > o Motion #3: Profit Expectation (based on the previous 12 month average): An operator is given 1 point for exceeding their > facility's profit expectation. If an operator, who has been granted a profit percentage exception, exceeds the facility's > permanently assigned profit percentage expectation, the operator is awarded one point for exceeding the permanently assigned > profit percentage expectation. > > o Motion #4: Training (from implementation of new selection point system): Bidders are awarded 2 points for attending > mandatory training (e.g. annual > > Workshop) and have the opportunity to earn 1 point for any training that has been pre approved by the Training Subcommittee with a > limit of 3 points per year. Training does not include the initial, basic vending stand training. > > o Motion #5: EOC membership, active subcommittee participation and OJE trainer (from implementation of new selection point > system): Bidders are awarded 2 points per year for EOC membership or active subcommittee participation, limited 2 points per > year. An active subcommittee member needs to attend a minimum of 2 subcommittee meetings per year and two EOC meetings per year. > An operator must complete one year on a subcommittee or in the EOC before points can be awarded. > > o Motion #6: OJE training (from implementation of new selection point system): Bidders are awarded 1 point for each OJE > student trained with a maximum of 4 points per year. > > o Motion #7: Evaluation: maximum of 2 points awarded. The most current operator annual evaluation is scored by an > operator's promotional agent on a scale of 0(low) to 2(high). This component uses the raw annual evaluation score (i.e. 0, 1, 2). > > o Motion #8: The Set-aside fee: Points are deducted for each month the set-aside fee was received after the due date. For > the purposes of bid evaluation, set-aside fee payments for the most recent 12 months are reviewed and 1 point is deducted for each > late set-aside fee payment. > > o Motion #9: Those points no longer are removed from an operator who fails to meet their required profit expectation. > > o Motion #10: That a meeting of all operators be held on December 11, 2010, in order to discuss and vote on whether to use > the Set Aside fund to pay the required 3% Health Care Trust Fund Contribution. > > o Motion #11: Motion for claiming points: When an operator is requesting points, he/she will have 30 days from actual date > of attending such event and/or training to submit all necessary paperwork (event paperwork - summary, event brochure, proof of > attendance - name badge preferred from event) (training paperwork - instructor will submit written documentation of operator's > training with dates of attendance) required to the chair of training committee for review. The chair will have 30 days to review > and send copies of operator's papers with written approval from the chair to award the operator the points. Then the BEP manager > will have 30 days to also review and enter the points into the operator point system database and upon completion the BEP manager > must submit back to the chair and operator proof of receipt that the points have been entered. > > *Note* shall this motion pass, all operator will have 30 days from actual date of passing this motion to send in any outstanding > points they may be saving to the training committee chair for review and written approval to the BEP manager. THIS IS A ONE TIME > OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT PAPERWORK FOR POINTS THAT ARE MORE THAN 30 DAYS OLD. AFTER THIS ONE TIME OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE OUTSTANDING > POINTS OPERATOR'S REQUESTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR POINTS. Upon receipt of this information, the BEP manager will have 30 days > to review and enter such points and send back confirmation receipt to the training chair and operator. > > 2nd Note** if this motion passes the agency(Michigan Commission for the Blind) must send notice out to all operators to inform > them of this motion via U.S. Postal Service and also on the bid line for four weeks. > > o Motion #12: That the new standards and requirements of OJE Trainers be accepted as attached. > > o Motion #13: That anyone who has taken the Train the Trainers course in 2010 be certified as a trainer should the previous > motion {Motion 12} pass. > > o Motion #14: Motion for Inventory Policy: To adapt the inventory policy from a trial bases to a permanent bases with the > policy applying to only BEP licensed operators. > > o Motion #15: To accept the existing Practical Experience Vending Stand Training program as written in the proposal dated > 7/28/10, with the following amendments: > > > > ? The line "Anyone who has had their license revoked or has left the program for any reason will not be eligible for > retraining under the PEVST," will be removed. > > > > ? The amendment" At the conclusion of classroom training, PEVST students shall be required to pass a final examination with > a 75 percent score or higher prior to certification," will be added. > > > > ? Consumer Services Report - Mr. Leamon Jones, Consumer Services Director > > - Maintenance Policy (Action Item) > > ? Director's Report - Mr. Patrick Cannon, State Director > > - Final RSA Monitoring Report > > - Training Center Renovations > > X. Adjournment 3:00 > > > > > > > > **NOTE: Public comment may be submitted during the meeting from 9:30-12:00 via email to mcbpubliccomments at gmail.com. Emails > received outside of this time frame are not considered part of Public Comment. > > > > The meeting site is accessible. Individuals attending the meeting are requested to refrain from using heavily scented personal > care products in order to enhance accessibility for everyone. People with disabilities requiring additional accommodations (such > as materials in alternative format) in order to participate in the meeting should call Sue Luzenski at 517/335-4265 by December 7, > 2010. > > > > > _______________________________________________ > nfbmi-talk mailing list > nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nfbmi-talk: > http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/suncat0%40gmail.com > From suncat0 at gmail.com Mon Dec 13 18:07:01 2010 From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:07:01 -0500 Subject: [Vendorsmi] So much for integrity and excellence in the BEP Message-ID: <6866917040B24E86B659BAB6D8E244D0@Alphacat> Below is the text of a letter written by the members of the most recent BEP training class to Patrick Cannon, Director, Michigan Commission for the Blind and is shown as I received it. Respectful and candid discussion the issues brought out in this letter is strongly encouraged on this list. Let's hear from you! November 22, 2010 RE: BEP Training Class October 2010 Attention: Director Pat Cannon Dear Mr. Cannon: This letter is to serve as notice from the above entitled matter as to the inadequacy of the training and services we have thus far received. Following are a listing of some, but not inclusive, of the issues that we as a class and consumers of the Agency have encountered. 1. The schedule which we were initially given has not been followed the largest majority of the time. For example, we have Instructors that have not shown up either on time, or if at all. There has been no forewarning to the students as to when these events occur. (With the exception of a couple of times, which we found out only after we initialized contact with the Agency to find out where our instructors were.) 2. The unpreparedness of the instructors has not only been unprofessional, but has caused this class to suffer a lack of training, as required by the Agency's training rules for the BEP. Although we understand that John McEntee's medical leave was not expected, it certainly should not affect our ability to receive adequate and proper training. 3. We havenot received training in the following areas: a. Talking Cash Register b. Pop Machine maintenance and repair c. Inventory d. Bookkeeping (while it has been on the schedule, the training has been so scattered there is no sense of clarity or structure, thus making it difficult to retain or grasp the concept of the bookkeeping.) e. Hotel & Catering Tour (which was rescheduled at least twice and now doesn't even appear on our schedule) if. We were not given the opportunity to experience the mock store training which we recognize as an important part of the training ,taking into consideration that the majority of our classmates will operate snack stands. _ Furthermore, as you are aware being the Michigan Director of the ADA, we have a student who is blind/deaf. There have been numerous times when the structure of the class has hampered this student's ability to gain the necessary information from that class. We have also dealt with a fair amount of belittlement and indifference from the instructors. This is certainly not a respectable way to conduct training. We have several hours of recordings from day one which will validate the issues we have dealt with. Most recently we were required to attend an EOC meeting on a Friday evening and an all day Saturday session. We learned a lot from those sessions, but not in the way you may think. There was an incident involving James Cheney, the EOC Chair, and a fellow board member/operator. That was very disturbing to say the least. It went as follows: Students were standing in the hallway of the hotel when James approached the other board member. James choked the other operator in front of students. This was a clear message to us that the board doesn't even care about it's fellow board members much less students or other operators. There is a strong concern within the student body of failing the exam. Not because we are not diligent or intelligent enough to pass, but because of the lack of structure, training, misinformation , number of instructors trying to teach the same subject matter and the general unprofessional attitude causing us to not be able to tie everything together to pass the final exam. We have expressed our concerns to many individuals including Senator Cropsey's office only to receive nothing in return. We are uniformly requesting that we be given TODAY a study guide from each instructor or subject matter as will be contained in the final exam. Other classes have had this in the past and we have yet to receive even follow up emails as promised by instructors from the first week of class. We would like a fair opportunity to pass the final without fear of failure, again, not on our part but by the let down of the Agency and the shallowness of the training . We request urgent attention/action by the Agency as our training is drawing to a close. We understand that there is no time to recoup what we have not lerned. As you know, our training was cited to be an "intensive nin week training" and it has proved to be less intense and more tense. Further, as of this writing, we do not even have enough operators for our OJE. Nor do we have any information as to our OJE (where we will be placed, when, with whom, etc.) Our solution to the above issues is that we be given no further class instruction as it has proven to be relatively useless. We are requesting that we just take the final exam based on the information we DO have and get the additional training from VR when the time approaches. Such as, individual bookkeeping training, inventory specialists, etc. We cannot possibly gain in three days remaining enough information to successfully pass the final exam. This was to be a nine week course and it has been literally days of instruction. Therefore, for us to be crammed in a three day training session of what should have transpired over a period of weeks is unfair and possibly unattainable. We have been receiving apologies and exc uses for the lack of training, but at the end of the day, those do us no good as we cannot pass on excuses and inadequacies in our businesses. Please respond ASAP and we will be awaiting an affirmative response to our requests. Sincerely the BEP October Class of 2010: Tyrone Pertee 313.212.4950 Darisse Wray 313.523.5440 Robert Jordan 313.221.7460 Roxanna Mann 517.402.4120 James Boyer 231.360.1608 Charles Glime 248.252.4568 Michael Torrez 517.285.3192 Lisa Powells Upon request Luis Pena Upon request From suncat0 at gmail.com Fri Dec 24 00:06:26 2010 From: suncat0 at gmail.com (Joe Sontag) Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:06:26 -0500 Subject: [Vendorsmi] Fw: Supporting the people you work for Message-ID: <360DA35F893B483E8BCD9689FB189879@Alphacat> For your thoughtful consideration. Are there any mixed messages here? I must wonder exactly what "personal financial information will be sought, but the BEP administrative rules are very clear about the Agency's right to see the financials of the businesses, operator obligations to the Program, and on the duties of the PAs. Let's hear from you! ----- Original Message ----- From: James Chaney To: H Brooks ; Terry Eagle ; Joe Sontag Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2010 18:12 Subject: Fw: Supporting the people you work for Best Regards, James Chaney EOC Chairperson --- On Wed, 12/22/10, Bill Lozier wrote: From: Bill Lozier Subject: Supporting the people you work for To: hullj at michigan.gov Cc: rob.essenberg at yahoo.com, resolutioncomm at sbcglobal.net, "dlayer8954 at yahoo.com" , drea7139 at yahoo.com, sjx3 at sbcglobal.net, mjcbiz at charter.net, garsvend at aol.com, pilarskij at charter.net, geri.taeckens at isahealthfund.org, cannonp at michigan.gov, margwolfe at usa.net, brlbumps at sbcglobal.net, gregkeathley at yahoo.com Date: Wednesday, December 22, 2010, 11:46 AM Good Morning James, I am writing to you this morning seeking clarification on several things that were said during the EOC meeting Last thru. During that meeting you stated that the SLA is going to start requiring personal financial information be submitted to the SLA. it is news to me that the that OUR agency in now part of tax code and workers comp enforcement branch of government. May I remind you of the SLAs purpose, your job is to help provide meaningful employment opportunities for blind people, your job is promote and provide assistance to your clients. You sir are being paid darn good money to advocate for US and to provide good jobs for blind people! The BEP is set up to provide business opportunity for blind folks not to police them, there are many many other law enforcement agencies out there to make sure all state and federal laws are being followed. it is the SLAs job to create a viable training program and oversee a fair and accurate a promotion system, both of these things the agency seems is totally incapable of doing. How can we trust you with vital financial information the SLA can't even handle a simple points system? This current training class has not even been trained on any of the things that you are going to try and require of them starting in April. The SLA has to provide real quality training and real quality retraining (this is your job) before you can become a tax cop! the SLAs job is to assist us, not to police us, your job is to advocate for us not against us. You sir should be OUR main champion against this unfair and unjust 3% TAX. It took years to get telephony working correctly but it sure didn't take long to get that 3% TAX incorporated into the system, how much of our set-asides were used for that?. Thanks for having our backs on this you sure looked good to DMB but not the blind community. Instead of using OUR money to make your jobs easier, set asides are supposed to be used to make OUR jobs better. Another reminder the set-aside fund was not put in place to be an agency slush fund. I for one am demanding to see a clear and accurate report from the agency on exactly what and how OUR money is being spent. If this is not provide i am going to be demanding a compete audit of the agency and demanding accountability for any misappropriate use of OUR money. Lets clean your house before you worry about ours. Start doing inventories yourselves, get rid of all these outside contractors like mcbetty and do your jobs. If the SLA did its job correctly then i guarantee OUR set-aside account will go up. Quit falling for every sales pitch you hear and stop buying into flashy product lines, that's our job not yours. NO MORE BLENDERS OR UNNEEDED OR UNWANTED FRIVOLOUS EQUIPMENT AND STOP THIS OVER THE TOP SITE DEVELOPMENT. THESE THINGS ALONE WOULD SAVE US WAY MORE MONEY THEN THE 3%!!!!!!! Please show me anywhere in the Randolph Sheppard act or PA 260 that give the SLA the right to request personal private financial information to them, OR THAT WE ARE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES!! WE ARE NOT STATE EMPLOYEES AND SHOULD AND WILL NOT BE SUBJECTED TO THESE STRONG ARM TACTICS. We are independent business people and have the rights and responsibilities of such. Send a letter to my neighbor asking him for his private financial information and see how far you get. It is so clear that we are not state employees how can we have to pay this 3%? I can not believe the SLA dropped the ball on us like this, how can we ever trust you again? Is the SLA staff for us or against us? Could you please provide to myself and the rest of the committee a copy of the final exam that was given to this current training class and also any information that was provided to them concerning taxes and bookkeeping? Looking forward to a quick response and the requested information? WE ARE NOT STATE EMPLOYEES and i am sorry that you are and that you have to pay a 3% tax, Just because you have to pay it dose not mean that independent business people do!!!!!!!!!!!!! Respectfully Bill Lozier Elected Operators Committee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: