Community Management Team Meeting
Feb 25th 2008 Minutes
The Lifelong Learning Center
Members Present: Jodie Rasmussen & Monique Fortmann-The Lifelong Learning Center, Marie Garrison-REO, Maggie Driscoll-District XI HRC, Mark Cumming-Voc Rehab, Steve Earle-Mountain Line, Wolf Ametsbichler-Job Service, Brenda Warning-Experience Works, Ron Ciszak-WORD, Kelly Deniger-Msla Job Service WORC, Chris Mitchell-OPA, Michelle Parks-Child Care Resources
1:30 pm Meeting called to order by Michelle Parks
1:30-2:00 pm Guest Speaker Steve Earle from the Mountain Line
Steve started at the Mountain Line over 20 years ago and has held many positions over the years. The Mountain Line was formed when the Urban transportation district got an overwhelming 65% approval when it was first placed on the ballot. If you look at your taxes there is a line item if you are in the district, it roughly is from Smurfit Stone to Milltown.
2007 set a record for ridership, it is a 60% increase in ridership with only a 10% increase in service. Transit dependant people are pretty easy to get because they do not have other options, the other population is a choice rider who rides the bus because they chose to, not because they have to. They chose to because of economic, environmental or time management reasons, some people also like the social environment on the bus. The Mountain Line has about 3.6 million annual budget and employs about 55 people. The majority of funding comes from a tax increment $35 per year for every $100,000 of home value, it also receives grants and passenger revenue. 22% of budget comes from user fees/fair box. $180,000 from UM for students, staff and faculty. Everyone who works for a business downtown gets a free bus pass.
Everyone in Missoula rides the bus an average of 12 times per year. All buses are ADA accessible with either a ramp or a lift. They all also have bike racks. Guaranteed ride home system is available but not well utilized, you can call a cab up to 4 times a year, show the taxi a bus pass or UM card and they will get you a ride home if you have to work late or otherwise miss your bus or have an emergency. Busses are free when air quality is poor. New service to the airport was recently added-route 11. You can park for free at Lewis and Clark housing and then there is free bus service to downtown. You can also rent a covered space in the parking garage for $27 a week, including the bus service to the airport. The Mountain Line also partners with Missoula in Motion and Missoula Ravalli transportation that runs the bus from Hamilton to Missoula and Missoula to Polson. Combined they carry 5,000 people a day in Missoula.
What’s new? Trying to increase midday service and take route 8 which goes up and down 5th and 6th to the mall. Long Range Transportation plan, looking at ways to couple land development with future transportation needs. 93 corridor study is finding that it is cost prohibitive to add another lane from Missoula to Lolo. It is also cost prohibitive to add a road from Florence to Miller Creek. Rail into Bitterroot is feasible but costs a million dollars a mile and a million dollars a crossing. Dedicated lanes for busses only is a feasible option, but right now you can not take a bus to Lolo, will probably have fixed route service to Lolo within the next year.
Questions? Any plan in the future for low income people to ride the bus? The Mountain Line is already heavily subsidized so it is the primary responsibility of the agencies to provide the passes, although the Mountain Line offers discounted passes.
Entry Level Jobs start at $11-12 for a service person, eight people on call, six days a week. Look for people who are service oriented, easier to train people to drive the bus than the soft skills and people management. Must have a CDL and be 21 years old. Mountain Line trains them and helps them get their CDL. Not very high turn over rate about 10 years, many have been their 25 years.
Now also service DirecTV and Carl Tyler etc. For planning purposed they look at the number of trips they have that are standing room only and then look at adding new routes. Broadway road diet created issues for staying on time. You need to be able to cross the street, a route on Reserve street did not work because people couldn’t get across the street. Miller Creek developers have agreed to put the starting match in to get bus service, but now they need to get the state to put the rest of the money in, it is out of the transportation district. Grandview apartments off of 39th also do not have good bus service. 51% of property owners have to agree to be part of the transportation district or you can put it on the ballet. Now, when developments are formed and subdivided they were required to petition into the district.
I 105 froze property taxes so you can only increase the levies very small amounts usually less than 1% per year. The true cost per ride is $4 but riders only pay $.85, ADA vans cost considerably more. The Mountain Line is building a new $4 million facility which will be completed in Mid-May on Shakespear street.
2:00-2:05 pm New Business-Approved
Ø Agenda
Ø Minutes from Dec meeting
Ø New meeting structure March Meeting
Ø Power Hour- March 17 1:30-2:30 Roger Miller Office of Planning & Grants was planned but may see if we can have Marci from BREAD reschedule instead.
Ø The next regular CMT Meeting is April 28th
o Monique and Jodie are out of Town, Saundra will take minutes.
2:05-2:15 pm Agency Focus
The Lifelong Learning Center Spring Catalog is out and lots of new classes in cooking and the trades area.
Child Care Resources is looking for children in the Scholarship program. There are no waiting lists this year so it is a good time to get assistance for scholarships. Also Child Care Resources has some unrestricted money available to help people who need help for some of the care that is not eligible on the Scholarship program. This includes Drop in and summer camps that may not be licensed.
Provider Services is having a Parade of Child Care facilities April 26, Providers on the parade are accredited and star providers so families can look at different quality settings. Several providers recently opened specifically to serve the DirecTV employees.
Also the Spring conference is coming up March 8, 2008 with a nationally know Native American speaker Jack Gladstone and is open to the general public.
2:15-3:00 pm Roundtable-New updates from agencies
REO-Rural Montana Saves, Individual Development accounts matches $500 of savings with $3,000. New eligibility guidelines now accept TANF clients from the past 5 years, instead of 3 years. Can not live in Missoula County
Project Challenge lost the Dislocated Worker Program it is now housed at the Job Service on 3rd Street. Wednesday of that week was Craig’s last day and moved it immediately to the Job Service. Roughly 120 active workers are being served in the dislocated worker program. Seriously underspent dollars the dollars available, People are eligible regardless of income, including vets coming out of the service. Also if their hours are severally reduced but they are not laid off they may be eligible. $1,250,000 per year and only 16% spent. Eight AFL-CIO workers were laid off in the process.
President Bush’s next year budget does not have employment services funding for 2008-2009.
Experience Works-New mandate to serve the highest priority people, now must also move them through the program as fast as they can. If services take more than 90 days then they may need to refer to other services. The state program is over enrolled.
Worc Program needs letter of support, now must RFP this year. Four small offices in Department of Labor and DPHHS had some disagreements which have since been resolved but everyone still must submit a RFP again this year. Need the letters of support by March 15, 2008.
The Job Service WORC program was refunded for FESS starting July 1, 2008. Over 60 participants in program. Not a lot were successful in finding employment so this year so they will do more intensive case management. They have not had a lot of success placing people from the Dental Assistant program but more success in the Medical Office Essentials program.
LIAP still has funding but is winding down in April, the funding is the same if they apply now instead of the fall. Ravalli county is attempting to establish a health clinic in Hamilton at Marcus Daily Hospital. Hoping to hear something by summer. It is a really needed service in Ravalli county. Will be part-time at first but are hoping that once established the hours could be increased.
3:00 pm Next meeting date & location
March 17 at The Lifelong Learning Center-Wear your green!
Meeting adjourned
Monday, February 25, 2008
Feb 25 Agenda
Community Management Team Meeting
Feb 25th 2008 Agenda
The Lifelong Learning Center
1:30 pm Meeting called to order
1:30-2:00 pm Guest Speaker Steve Earle Mountain Line
2:00-2:05 pm New Business
Ø Agenda
Ø Minutes from Dec meeting
Ø New meeting structure March Meeting
2:05-2:15 pm Agency Focus
2:15-3:00 pm Roundtable-New updates from agencies
3:00 pm Next meeting date & location
Meeting adjourned
3:00-3:30 pm Optional Employment/Case Management networking forum.
Feb 25th 2008 Agenda
The Lifelong Learning Center
1:30 pm Meeting called to order
1:30-2:00 pm Guest Speaker Steve Earle Mountain Line
2:00-2:05 pm New Business
Ø Agenda
Ø Minutes from Dec meeting
Ø New meeting structure March Meeting
2:05-2:15 pm Agency Focus
2:15-3:00 pm Roundtable-New updates from agencies
3:00 pm Next meeting date & location
Meeting adjourned
3:00-3:30 pm Optional Employment/Case Management networking forum.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
CMT Meeting February 25 at 1:30 Lifelong Learning Center
The next Community Management Team meeting will be on Monday, February 25th at 1:30. The Lifelong Learning Center will be hosting the meeting. Steve Earle, from Mountain Line will be our featured speaker for the meeting. He will be discussing transportation, traffic, parking, and accessibility issues in Missoula.
See you there!
See you there!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
January 14, 2008 Workforce Council Minutes
Workforce Council Meeting
January 14, 2008 10 am Minutes
Human Resource Council
1. Meeting called to order
Members Present: Lynn Stocking, Michelle Parks, Wolf Ametsbichler, Jim Morton, Maggie Driscoll, Monique Fortmann, Tamara Kindred, Saudra Long, Renee Bentham, Jodie Rasmussen
2. Old BusinessAgenda- Approved
Ø Minutes from last meeting
1. Change Power Lunch to Power hour
2. Approved with change
3. New Business
Ø Blog & Calendar
Seems to be working well. Saundra will check to see if we can see who has subscribed. What do we want on the calendar? Meetings and other CMT events.
Ø Guest Speakers-
We will try to post a short Bio and a little about what they were going to talk about at the meeting on the blog. March 17 Roger Millar from the Office of Planning and Grants is scheduled, meeting. April 28th (business meeting) Charlie Wright or the Mayor is planned.
Ø Marci- January 28th meeting
Monique will ask her to talk about what does Bredd does, what are the survey results and who does what. She is also writing a grant to do an East Missoula survey to look at Stimson property.
Ø Renee Bentham Adult Basic Education
Drop out Prevention Summit to raise awareness about drop out issues. Tuesday Feb 12 at MCT at 7:30 am, lasts until 12:30 pm. The panel would like someone from Job Service to serve on the panel. Right now the entire focus is to keep them in school, conversations about encouraging learning to continue and avenues like GED might grow out of the initial discussion. Hellgate sent out letters from the Mayor asking kids to sign a commitment letter to graduate and to let him know if you are considering it dropping out. It is important to bring businesses to the table because it affects their labor force.
Transition to College Program-Carl Perkins funding for program was eliminated therefore we are offering it as a fee based program. 104 hours of instruction for $155, not credit based but helps them to prepare for college. Have exhausted other funding options to maintain it as a free program.
Senator Tester is in town next week at the Chamber of Commerce to talk about Small Business Workforce issues. The Labor report indicates that a promising labor pool is the group that didn’t make it though school and needs to have some retraining or assistance to get back in school.
Adult Basic Education is difficult to find funding for because it is not Higher Education nor is it really K-12. It also has somewhat of an identity problem in the state and needs to be identified more prominently in Workforce Training Issues. Child Care Resources can also not pay for childcare for the class unless it is linked to getting their GED. There may be some opportunities to offer it for credit so it can be covered in financial aid and childcare. Students need to have a GED or have graduated from high school for regular admission to the College of Technology. $25-$30,000 needed to run the Transition to College program, $35,000 is ideal because then you can add the supported services like childcare.
Job service is doing a Missoulian insert about workforce issues around the Job Fair, April 16, 2008, Deadline is March 11 to write an article, it will reach about 80,000 people, the job service will get an overrun of 5,000 to distribute.
Dickinson Lifelong Learning Center has a new logo and has dropped the word Dickinson and will be known as The Lifelong Learning Center, MCPS Adult Education. They will also do some remodeling for a more professional look and feel. Wolf said they may want to consider offering some of the Workforce classes in different places. Could have more of a presence at Chamber and Downtown meetings to increase visibility.
The CMT may want a representative at some of those meetings.
January 31st at 10-3 at the First United Methodist Church is the Project Homeless Connect.
4. Next meeting date & location March 3 from 10-11 AM at the Job Service
Meeting adjourned
January 14, 2008 10 am Minutes
Human Resource Council
1. Meeting called to order
Members Present: Lynn Stocking, Michelle Parks, Wolf Ametsbichler, Jim Morton, Maggie Driscoll, Monique Fortmann, Tamara Kindred, Saudra Long, Renee Bentham, Jodie Rasmussen
2. Old BusinessAgenda- Approved
Ø Minutes from last meeting
1. Change Power Lunch to Power hour
2. Approved with change
3. New Business
Ø Blog & Calendar
Seems to be working well. Saundra will check to see if we can see who has subscribed. What do we want on the calendar? Meetings and other CMT events.
Ø Guest Speakers-
We will try to post a short Bio and a little about what they were going to talk about at the meeting on the blog. March 17 Roger Millar from the Office of Planning and Grants is scheduled, meeting. April 28th (business meeting) Charlie Wright or the Mayor is planned.
Ø Marci- January 28th meeting
Monique will ask her to talk about what does Bredd does, what are the survey results and who does what. She is also writing a grant to do an East Missoula survey to look at Stimson property.
Ø Renee Bentham Adult Basic Education
Drop out Prevention Summit to raise awareness about drop out issues. Tuesday Feb 12 at MCT at 7:30 am, lasts until 12:30 pm. The panel would like someone from Job Service to serve on the panel. Right now the entire focus is to keep them in school, conversations about encouraging learning to continue and avenues like GED might grow out of the initial discussion. Hellgate sent out letters from the Mayor asking kids to sign a commitment letter to graduate and to let him know if you are considering it dropping out. It is important to bring businesses to the table because it affects their labor force.
Transition to College Program-Carl Perkins funding for program was eliminated therefore we are offering it as a fee based program. 104 hours of instruction for $155, not credit based but helps them to prepare for college. Have exhausted other funding options to maintain it as a free program.
Senator Tester is in town next week at the Chamber of Commerce to talk about Small Business Workforce issues. The Labor report indicates that a promising labor pool is the group that didn’t make it though school and needs to have some retraining or assistance to get back in school.
Adult Basic Education is difficult to find funding for because it is not Higher Education nor is it really K-12. It also has somewhat of an identity problem in the state and needs to be identified more prominently in Workforce Training Issues. Child Care Resources can also not pay for childcare for the class unless it is linked to getting their GED. There may be some opportunities to offer it for credit so it can be covered in financial aid and childcare. Students need to have a GED or have graduated from high school for regular admission to the College of Technology. $25-$30,000 needed to run the Transition to College program, $35,000 is ideal because then you can add the supported services like childcare.
Job service is doing a Missoulian insert about workforce issues around the Job Fair, April 16, 2008, Deadline is March 11 to write an article, it will reach about 80,000 people, the job service will get an overrun of 5,000 to distribute.
Dickinson Lifelong Learning Center has a new logo and has dropped the word Dickinson and will be known as The Lifelong Learning Center, MCPS Adult Education. They will also do some remodeling for a more professional look and feel. Wolf said they may want to consider offering some of the Workforce classes in different places. Could have more of a presence at Chamber and Downtown meetings to increase visibility.
The CMT may want a representative at some of those meetings.
January 31st at 10-3 at the First United Methodist Church is the Project Homeless Connect.
4. Next meeting date & location March 3 from 10-11 AM at the Job Service
Meeting adjourned
Monday, January 7, 2008
Upcoming Meetings
CMT Council Meeting: Monday Jan 14 10-11 am at HRC
CMT Power hour with guest speaker Marci from BREDD Mon Jan 28 at 1:30-2:30 at The Lifelong Learning Center
See the Calendar for more dates
CMT Power hour with guest speaker Marci from BREDD Mon Jan 28 at 1:30-2:30 at The Lifelong Learning Center
See the Calendar for more dates
Dec 17, 2007 CMT General Meeting Minutes
December 17, 2007 CMT Meeting
Missoula College of Technology
Members Present:
Michelle Parks, Saundra Long, Maggie Driscoll, Janet Vandyke, Lynn Stocking, Sundee Carr, Kelly Deniger, Wolf Ametsbichler, Chris Mitchell, Tamara Kindred, Paula Marcinkowski, Yvonne Brady
Guest Presenters:
Gary Bakke-Chamber of Commerce Business Advocate
Jack Chambers-CEO of Opportunity Resources, current president of Missoula Chamber of Commerce
Gary:
Historically the Chamber of Commerce has not been politically active, a couple years ago they created his position to work on a lot of issues, attend meetings and give a businessmans perspective to local issues. His first meeting was in Helena about changes in Liquor Licenses, he came up with a proposal that was accepted. Second task was West Broadway as voice of business community tried to get the “road diet” eliminated, was not successful. Compared 3 years of traffic on road, 92 crashes on Orange street to Toole street, one fatality, 29 injury crashes, 62 caused damage, 8 pedestrians hit and 2 bicycles hit. The business community thought it reduced exposure, eliminated parking, cueing was extended considerable. Six month study before the diet, 2005 10 accidents, 0 fatalities. 2007 six month study in same time frame accidents increased to 19 accidents. Next issue East Broadway, should it be reduced down 3 lanes, most businesses say no. Gary has also worked on the Bitterroot Resort, could employ up to 3000 employees, many would be seasonal, golf courses and ski resort. The issues are increased traffic and airport limitations. Partnered with MAEDC to do a feasibility study, $40,000 for the study, well worth the money to get the unbiased information, it is on the web site and 80 pages long.
Future projects include a road diet on N Higgins and an ordinance on voluntary residential inspections. If the residential inspection passed, there are some situations that it would take low income housing out of the housing market. If they do not pass they are condemned until they pass the inspection. This proposal passed in the City Council Committee. Asbestos abatement is also an issue, you must survey what is there, the state controls the abatement, the city of Missoula says the state is too busy, so they are drafting a bill to require all builders to contract with an inspector to look and survey the asbestos. There are no requirements for the inspector, they can be on staff. The industry may be policing themselves.
The Chamber has around 1000 members, sends out regular e-mails, surveyed members about airport use. Sent out last week, in 30 minutes 51 responses, now over 200 responses. If you are looking at expanding business, Jan 1 outdoor lighting ordinance on what kind of lights you can, if you are going to expand the size on any building in the City of Missoula you will be assessed an impact fee for transportation. City has lost revenue and is looking for new areas to help support the infrastructure.
Jack:
Opportunity is a non-profit but one of our areas largest employers. One of the first presidents to be from a non-profit. It is sometimes hard because non-profits also have social causes. The biggest issue that the Missoula area is facing, is that it is a service community, from non profits, tourists, health care, retired folks. See a huge crisis in the workforce issues. Employers are trying to get creative to recruit employees. Unemployment is 2% or less, most people that want to work are working, housing costs are in the median across the United States. You really don’t work in Missoula for minimum wage any more, high cost of housing and low wages make it difficult. We will need to be creative in how we will fill positions. Employee pools are pretty precious when employers like DirecTV comes in, it reduces the pool. The Chamber’s role is to gather information and inform the membership.
Paula- Disability Navigator.
5 half time positions through out the state. Makes it easier for job seekers, business partners and community partners know what is going on. It is basically a referral and a resource, previously called a disability coordinator. Worked to identify the issues and needs to create a bigger resource and referral system. Try to get the word out and train as many people as possible. Talking about entitlement programs, fear of losing cash or income assistance. Looking at community support, trying to develop more partnerships. In Missoula there are a lot of non-profits that do a lot of the work. Paula’s territory is Ravalli, Mineral, Lake and Sanders County.
Allen-UM College of Technology Admissions
Catalog is on CD now. 1532 students, 1245 FTE, significantly higher than past, 145 FTE increase. 50 new students from Stimson layoffs.
Brand new Computer System Technician 1 yr program, also Energy Technician online certificate program, the focus on traditional and alternative energies, 18 students admitted. Associates of Arts programs is getting more and more attention. Very popular for nontraditional students as well, it is a transfer degree. The Health Core also attracts a lot of students, they go through the core in preparation for other Health programs. After you go through the core then you apply for admission into the health program, very competitive in some programs. What happens to those that don’t get in? Some choose other programs, most of the core classes are general education requirements so they count toward other degrees. What is the COT capacity? Now offering Saturday classes, move more into evening classes also to address space issues, but also to have programs in the evenings. It takes a paradigm shift to think about going to classes in the evening or weekend. A new building project is beginning, only for the east campus, not the industrial piece. It may be built on the golf course. Online is also taking some of the load, the College of Technology has the highest number of online courses being offered. More teaching is offered on how to take an online course. It will become more accepted and comfortable. Biggest population is in the dorms taking online courses. People who are only doing online classes can have some of the fees waved that are campus oriented. One foot on campus will change the fee structure.
Question? Felonies for application to COT, there is a screening committee to review applications with Felony convictions, often times students can come in, sometimes they are denied, or asked to reapply at another date. Students must also look into state and national licenses which sometime prohibit certain types of offences.
Old Business-
Approval of the Minutes-tabled until the next meeting.
New Business-
At the last Workforce Council meeting we talked about having more guest speakers-power hours in between our regular meetings to learn about the issues. January 28, power hour no business, meeting from 1:30-2:30 at The Lifelong Learning Center. Traditional meeting in February, Steve Earl is confirmed from Mountain Line. Roger may be guest presenter for Power hour in March. All the meetings will be at The Lifelong Learning Center.
Round Table:
Missoula Job Service Job Fair, April 16, at the Hilton. Will have partnered with UM School of Business and they are requiring juniors and seniors to attend. Businesses are finding it harder to recruit employees. Meeting with the Missoulian to get an insert or tab and information about how to ready for meeting with employers, the Job Service also provides the content so if you want to put content in let the Job Service know, it is coming out the Sunday before the fair. $125 is the fee to be part of the job fair. Western Montana Premier Employment and Training Event. You can make a tax deductible contribution to the fair. Want people to see that pathways that they need to do get a better paying job.
Missoula Housing Authority, Homeless Connect Jan 31, 2007 same day they do the homeless survey.
Next meeting is January 28 at the Lifelong Learning Center 310 S Curtis from 1:30-2:30 with guest presenter Marci from BREDD.
Missoula College of Technology
Members Present:
Michelle Parks, Saundra Long, Maggie Driscoll, Janet Vandyke, Lynn Stocking, Sundee Carr, Kelly Deniger, Wolf Ametsbichler, Chris Mitchell, Tamara Kindred, Paula Marcinkowski, Yvonne Brady
Guest Presenters:
Gary Bakke-Chamber of Commerce Business Advocate
Jack Chambers-CEO of Opportunity Resources, current president of Missoula Chamber of Commerce
Gary:
Historically the Chamber of Commerce has not been politically active, a couple years ago they created his position to work on a lot of issues, attend meetings and give a businessmans perspective to local issues. His first meeting was in Helena about changes in Liquor Licenses, he came up with a proposal that was accepted. Second task was West Broadway as voice of business community tried to get the “road diet” eliminated, was not successful. Compared 3 years of traffic on road, 92 crashes on Orange street to Toole street, one fatality, 29 injury crashes, 62 caused damage, 8 pedestrians hit and 2 bicycles hit. The business community thought it reduced exposure, eliminated parking, cueing was extended considerable. Six month study before the diet, 2005 10 accidents, 0 fatalities. 2007 six month study in same time frame accidents increased to 19 accidents. Next issue East Broadway, should it be reduced down 3 lanes, most businesses say no. Gary has also worked on the Bitterroot Resort, could employ up to 3000 employees, many would be seasonal, golf courses and ski resort. The issues are increased traffic and airport limitations. Partnered with MAEDC to do a feasibility study, $40,000 for the study, well worth the money to get the unbiased information, it is on the web site and 80 pages long.
Future projects include a road diet on N Higgins and an ordinance on voluntary residential inspections. If the residential inspection passed, there are some situations that it would take low income housing out of the housing market. If they do not pass they are condemned until they pass the inspection. This proposal passed in the City Council Committee. Asbestos abatement is also an issue, you must survey what is there, the state controls the abatement, the city of Missoula says the state is too busy, so they are drafting a bill to require all builders to contract with an inspector to look and survey the asbestos. There are no requirements for the inspector, they can be on staff. The industry may be policing themselves.
The Chamber has around 1000 members, sends out regular e-mails, surveyed members about airport use. Sent out last week, in 30 minutes 51 responses, now over 200 responses. If you are looking at expanding business, Jan 1 outdoor lighting ordinance on what kind of lights you can, if you are going to expand the size on any building in the City of Missoula you will be assessed an impact fee for transportation. City has lost revenue and is looking for new areas to help support the infrastructure.
Jack:
Opportunity is a non-profit but one of our areas largest employers. One of the first presidents to be from a non-profit. It is sometimes hard because non-profits also have social causes. The biggest issue that the Missoula area is facing, is that it is a service community, from non profits, tourists, health care, retired folks. See a huge crisis in the workforce issues. Employers are trying to get creative to recruit employees. Unemployment is 2% or less, most people that want to work are working, housing costs are in the median across the United States. You really don’t work in Missoula for minimum wage any more, high cost of housing and low wages make it difficult. We will need to be creative in how we will fill positions. Employee pools are pretty precious when employers like DirecTV comes in, it reduces the pool. The Chamber’s role is to gather information and inform the membership.
Paula- Disability Navigator.
5 half time positions through out the state. Makes it easier for job seekers, business partners and community partners know what is going on. It is basically a referral and a resource, previously called a disability coordinator. Worked to identify the issues and needs to create a bigger resource and referral system. Try to get the word out and train as many people as possible. Talking about entitlement programs, fear of losing cash or income assistance. Looking at community support, trying to develop more partnerships. In Missoula there are a lot of non-profits that do a lot of the work. Paula’s territory is Ravalli, Mineral, Lake and Sanders County.
Allen-UM College of Technology Admissions
Catalog is on CD now. 1532 students, 1245 FTE, significantly higher than past, 145 FTE increase. 50 new students from Stimson layoffs.
Brand new Computer System Technician 1 yr program, also Energy Technician online certificate program, the focus on traditional and alternative energies, 18 students admitted. Associates of Arts programs is getting more and more attention. Very popular for nontraditional students as well, it is a transfer degree. The Health Core also attracts a lot of students, they go through the core in preparation for other Health programs. After you go through the core then you apply for admission into the health program, very competitive in some programs. What happens to those that don’t get in? Some choose other programs, most of the core classes are general education requirements so they count toward other degrees. What is the COT capacity? Now offering Saturday classes, move more into evening classes also to address space issues, but also to have programs in the evenings. It takes a paradigm shift to think about going to classes in the evening or weekend. A new building project is beginning, only for the east campus, not the industrial piece. It may be built on the golf course. Online is also taking some of the load, the College of Technology has the highest number of online courses being offered. More teaching is offered on how to take an online course. It will become more accepted and comfortable. Biggest population is in the dorms taking online courses. People who are only doing online classes can have some of the fees waved that are campus oriented. One foot on campus will change the fee structure.
Question? Felonies for application to COT, there is a screening committee to review applications with Felony convictions, often times students can come in, sometimes they are denied, or asked to reapply at another date. Students must also look into state and national licenses which sometime prohibit certain types of offences.
Old Business-
Approval of the Minutes-tabled until the next meeting.
New Business-
At the last Workforce Council meeting we talked about having more guest speakers-power hours in between our regular meetings to learn about the issues. January 28, power hour no business, meeting from 1:30-2:30 at The Lifelong Learning Center. Traditional meeting in February, Steve Earl is confirmed from Mountain Line. Roger may be guest presenter for Power hour in March. All the meetings will be at The Lifelong Learning Center.
Round Table:
Missoula Job Service Job Fair, April 16, at the Hilton. Will have partnered with UM School of Business and they are requiring juniors and seniors to attend. Businesses are finding it harder to recruit employees. Meeting with the Missoulian to get an insert or tab and information about how to ready for meeting with employers, the Job Service also provides the content so if you want to put content in let the Job Service know, it is coming out the Sunday before the fair. $125 is the fee to be part of the job fair. Western Montana Premier Employment and Training Event. You can make a tax deductible contribution to the fair. Want people to see that pathways that they need to do get a better paying job.
Missoula Housing Authority, Homeless Connect Jan 31, 2007 same day they do the homeless survey.
Next meeting is January 28 at the Lifelong Learning Center 310 S Curtis from 1:30-2:30 with guest presenter Marci from BREDD.
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