All right. All rise. Please.
>> Pledge of allegiance. I
pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America.
And to the Republic for which
it stands. One nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty.
Justice for all. Bruce, will
you give us an invocation?
>> Yes, I can, Mr. Chair. Let
us bow our heads. Oh, sovereign
rule of the world. Thank you
for being here with us during
our deliberations for our
Veterans Advisory Board. May we
be able to foster support for
our veterans in our community
and to help them out where it
is needed. And also, Lord,
would you please keep our
troops in mind as they are
serving overseas with the
possibility of being in harm's
way and making sure that we
keep peace around the world?
For the jobs that we do, in
God's name we pray. Amen. Amen.
>> Thank you. Take your seats.
Meeting is. In session. Roll
call. Bruce.
>> All right. Roll call of post
48. Bob Brennan here. Mark
Lacey here. American Legion
Post 14. Jean couture, you're
here. Thank you. American
Legion Post 168. Board chair
Bob Nichols here. American
Legion Post 44. Jim Bowen here.
Darren Wirtz, American Legion
Post 176. Michael Gibson here.
Jonathan Frederick. American
Veterans Post six. John Lovejoy.
>> Present.
>> Vanise Pratt is excused. DAV
chapter four board Secretary
Bruce Moss here. Roy de here.
Roy's online. Korean War
veterans 321. Patrick Lock,
Eric Earle Edwards. Here.
Marine Corps League, 826. Steve
Slegers he is excused. VFW post
4278. Thomas Brandt, Deborah
Proctor here, VFW post 7824.
Greg Gilbertson is excused.
Stuart Bauer is excused.
Vietnam Veterans Chapter 512
Greg Whitsett. Nick Herbert.
>> Sorry to interrupt. This is
Steve Gill. Can you guys hear
us on your end?
>> Yes I can. Nobody here from
the VA. 512 all right, members
at large. Brian McGillis will
join us shortly. Board Vice
Chair Buchmeier here. Larry
Smith here. Lloyd Bowman here.
Michael Langsdorf here. Tanya.
Walk. Clark County
Representative Abby Malloy here.
>> And Brian McGillis just
dropped in the chat that he's
here now.
>> Okay, I appreciate it. I'm
going to go ahead and just
mention some names we have in
the back. We have Judy Russell
here from the Clark County
Veterans Assistance Center. We
have Michael Torres, who's the
supervisor of our of our fund
and our last person off to the
right. Your name is Laura.
Laura Lazich, did I get that
correct? Okay. Other than that,
Mr. Chair, you have a quorum.
>> Okay. Thank you. Bruce. I'll
entertain a motion for the
approval of the minutes from
last meeting.
>> So moved. Second.
>> It's been moved and seconded.
Those in favor?
>> Hi.
>> Those opposed? Motion
carried. Committee reports.
Jean. Culture. Any appeals?
>> I haven't heard any.
>> Okay. Policies and
procedures? Correct. He's not
here.
>> I've been asked to go over
the policies and procedures.
And I think Judy Russell might
also interject a little bit,
too.
>> Okay.
>> Please do. Okay. So
everybody should have received
an email from Abby with some
changes to the policies and
procedures. As soon as she gets
it up on the screen, we'll show
you what changes that were
primarily made and submitted
from the Veterans Assistance
Center with Judy Russell and
staff. A lot of it is just I'll
just we're going to go quickly
through it because a lot of it
is just changes in the policies
and procedures to make sure we
stay within the letter, within
the letter of the law. Can we
scroll down to page four?
Because that's the starting
point where I see some of the
changes and stuff. So we'll do
that. I'm just going to quickly
go through this because we're
going to be under time
constraints with our board
meeting for the rest of the two
hours and stuff. So down at 2.3,
we have a little bit of a
change we've taken away
hospital query for showing VA
honorable VA just ID along with
honorable discharge if I'm
reading this correctly. Like I
said, that's just a minor
change. 2.6 we wanted to add to
make sure that bank statements
and SSI determination letters.
There's other requirements also
need to be shown so we can
report the income of the
veteran to making sure that
they qualify within the the
means of assistance. There was
some other. They also included
the food delivery services as a
part of that as well too. Under
2.6. Scrolling on down, we're
going to go down to 23.4. Looks
like we're changing a little
bit here. It says this $1,200
is an additional assistance is
available once per veteran. I
think we've kind of had some
back and forth issues over the
years about making sure that we
provide the veterans just that
one time or not always going
back per se, asking for more
money. We just want to try to
keep it as consistent as we can
under the CW section 3.4.3, the
assistance is available once
every 12 months coming from the
second month's rent. Here.
Again, like we said, we just
want to try to make sure that
we're telling the veterans that
once you've used something
through the year, you can't get
another reset until you reach
the next year. 3.4.5 we've
struck out. It looks like the
at the at. The veteran can
verify in a 12 month training
for maintaining their housing.
Scrolling on down, we're at 3.6
for food assistance. What we're
trying to basically tell the
veteran is, is that if you lose
a food voucher, a replacement
can be requested after 90 days.
So we don't have to be Keip
giving them something, coming
back and saying, well, I lost
my voucher, can I get another
one back? It's like, well,
you're going to have to wait
after 90 days, 3.7 for
transportation assistance, you
must have supporting housing
voucher. If you want to go look
around for an apartment in in
the community so that we can
count that towards your
transportation assistance.
Scrolling on down to 3.1, 7.1,
auto repair has been kind of a,
a back and forth thing,
depending on how much money is
being spent with the fund by
doing this. Within the next 30
days or attending school or
maintaining employment, can we
give you something for auto?
You can't get it in between the
30 day window. It has to be
past that point. I know the
auto repair that veterans
request is a little, you know,
cost of the fluctuating for
that 3.11 point for assistance
for 12 month period. We've
struck out circumstances and it
says for any medical or legal
reasons. So that just short. So
that just provides more of a
reason for assistance with
regards to this section of the
policies and procedures.
Homeless veteran Funds, section
44.1. If the veteran or has an
other than honorable discharge
and provides required document
per our CW 73.04 .005, they may
receive a housing assistance.
So let me remind the board
about this. If we have a
veteran in our community that
has an other than honorable
discharge or BDC, they cannot
qualify for certain funds under
the federal VA. However, they
are eligible for housing
assistance as just being a
status of a veteran, even
though they're not going into
federal, they're going into
local. We've had conversations
about this in the past that we
wanted to recognize these type
of veterans with that type of
discharge. And if you have any
more questions, you can ask
Judy. But the state law pretty
well defines that. And other
than honorable or BDC can
qualify for housing even though
they can't get federal benefits.
4.1.1 it is mandatory that you
have to have insurance when
your rental. Renter's insurance.
When you're renting an
apartment or a house, that's a.
That's a mandatory requirement.
I know a lot of apartment
complexes in Vancouver are
telling tenants that if you
don't have renters assistance,
you got to get it. 4.1.3
furniture cost are only
provided under the H v f.
Storage. We're kind of going
back into 3.1, 1.3 when it
comes to storage. And that 33.1.
Yeah the veteran has storage
some $50 a month for 12 months.
So that's kind of a, once again,
a kind of clarification. 4.1.8.
After passing inspection for a
house or apartment for rent is
not ready due to landlord
issues. A rental agreement must
be provided for the vouchers.
So there's times where veterans
are given a move in date. That
move in date is not there
because the landlord says they
need more time to get the
dwelling ready to go. For the
renter, they need to verify
that with the assistance center
because that's we can't cover
that extra cost because of that.
That's basically about it. It's
just a lot of the sections of
the regulations were just to do
clarifications for the policies
and procedures ordinance,
making sure that everything's
following through correctly,
because over the last several
years, what was either struck
out or added was just to try to
make sure that we have all that
verification information in for
the veteran who's requesting
relief. And if anybody has any
questions, Judy's here, but I
think what we've made changes
to this is pretty well
self-explanatory. Just cleaning
it up. I'll send it back to you.
>> Thank you. Judy.
>> Do you have any thing on the
increases that are automatic
because of cost of living?
>> I'm sorry. I didn't hear
that.
>> The cost of living increases.
>> Do I have anything on that?
Yes. I think well, you're
talking about the budget.
>> No.
>> No, I'm talking about this
year's cost of living increases
that's going to affect your
budget.
>> Policies and procedures.
>> So there won't be any
increases in the policies and
procedures from what the
policies are now, because all
this has done is just clarify
some of the rules, make it more
black and white instead of gray
on the policies and procedures,
because we are getting new
cso's and the gray area has
always been an issue. So there
is no financial impact in any
of these changes.
>> Okay, but what about just
the cost of living increases
for this year? What is that
affecting you?
>> So there has been no cost of
living increase. Included in
this at this time. If we get to
the point right now, we're only
four months in. So if we get to
the point where the cost of
living is having a huge effect
on our budget, then we will ask
for a supplemental amount of
money. But at this point, we're
not far enough into the year
yet to see where we're at.
>> Okay. Thank you.
>> Sure.
>> Bob.
>> Got a question?
>> I got a question. The last
page shows attachment A shows
housing assistance. It shows
2025, but it doesn't show that
it's been upgraded since
January 23rd of 2025. Are we
upgrading that at all? That's
attachment A. To the policies
and procedures.
>> I'm happy to update the last
page of the policies and
procedures with the latest
guidelines from HHS. When we
enact these changes to the
policies and procedures, if
that would be helpful.
>> Okay. Thank you. Abby, does
that answer your question?
>> I'm not sure. They last did
it in 23 of 2025. What about
2026?
>> According to Judy, the cost
of living has not caused any
increases.
>> No, that's not what I said.
>> I think you said that.
>> That's what I understood.
>> What I said was we aren't
far enough into this year's
budget to know if that cost of
living increase is going to be
detrimental to the amount of
money in our budget for 2025.
>> Okay.
>> And as far as these 2025
amounts go, Michael, we never
get the newly published ones
until around this month of the
year. About four months in, we
get the the new year.
>> Are we going to then modify
what's now known as attachment
a housing assistance to our
policies and procedures? Will
it be updated?
>> Yes, I can update that for
you. All these numbers come
from HUD and from HHS, so I
will check if the updated
numbers have been published and
add them to this document for
you all.
>> Thank you. Any more
questions? Yes.
>> So there are a bunch of
limits in paragraph three for
all the different items. Are
those and those haven't changed.
Are there some way that those
limits are determined, or is
that something that the
advisory board could recommend
higher limits in some of those
cases?
>> Judy might be able to answer
that question.
>> Did you get that question,
Judy?
>> I did not hear him. I can't
hear you.
>> Turn. Turn your mic on.
>> So if you look at 3.4.1,
three point, 4.2 and on down,
there are limits in every one
of those categories. And we're
not recommending any changes to
those limits. Is there some
rationale for that or some
process where those limits are
determined?
>> Those are the policies and
procedures that we've been
working with, and we do update
them occasionally. Right now,
these are the ones that have
been passed in the last
policies and procedures. The
reason we did not update them
is because, again, we're not
into this year far enough to
see exactly what the year end
monies is going to be. We
typically have our busiest
months in October, November and
December. So right now I've
just built through March. So by
the middle of the year, we'll
know if we need to increase any
of these. But right now we
don't know.
>> Gasoline or.
>> Anything else.
>> Thank you.
>> She's saying she doesn't
want.
>> Any more questions. If not,
we'll move on to nominations.
Bruce.
>> Nothing at this time, Mr.
Chair. Thank you.
>> Thank you. Budget workgroup.
Patrick.
>> Yes.
>> The budget workgroup over
this past month, we have had
meetings with the Budget office,
went over procedures and
policies and looked at how
things were calculated. We also
met with the county assessor's
office, reviewed their process
as well, and got a tremendous
amount of information from that
and looked at a lot of
different elements of the
process and procedures. So we
understand quite well what's
how that's being done, and
we're taking that into
consideration in our particular
jobs here. That included a lot
of clarification of the
services and the amounts of
money and how they came about.
Those. We also have been
reviewing the HB 2442 to see
how that is going to affect
things and what the options are
that the county has and how
we're going to be dealing with
those things. And we also
realize that we have a lot more
work to do, and we are busy at
it.
>> Okay. Thank you. Patrick.
>> Mr. chair, point of order.
Did we need to make an approval
of the policies and procedures?
>> That's next on the agenda.
>> Okay.
>> Okay. For the. Changes in
the policies and procedures. We
need a vote from the board to
approve those changes. Those in
favor?
>> Aye, aye.
>> Those opposed? Motion
carried. Policies and
procedures. Changes are
approved. Abby. Work session.
>> Sorry. What did you say?
>> Workstation preparation.
>> Oh, yes. All right, so just
a few quick reminders about the
work session. So it will be
held on Wednesday, April 29th
starting at 9 a.m. All
presentation materials and
handouts are due to me by
Friday, April 17th. I am happy
to help format these and submit
them to Council for you all. I
recommend aiming for a maximum
about 20 minute presentation to
allow plenty of time for
questions from the Council and
discussion. And also just a
reminder that all materials
that are submitted will be
posted online for the public to
view. Next, we have a
contractor budget request as
requested by the board. First
up, we have the Free Clinic of
Southwest Washington Veteran
Dental Services Program.
Rebecca, are you online to walk
us through your request?
>> Yeah, I'm here and it's good
to see you all. I'm the
executive director of the free
clinic. What we're requesting
is unchanged from the past many
years. So we're requesting
another 24,900. This covers
personnel costs and veteran
dental services. So the way our
program works, a quick recap is
we have a part time dental
coordinator. When we receive
referrals from the Veterans
Assistance Center, we get these
individuals coordinated for
dental services, whether that
be extractions or fillings or
dentures. So that's what falls
under the dental services
category. If they need dentures,
for example, we'll send them
either to TriStar dentures or
Evergreen dentures. And the
cost of those dentures we
invoice for and get reimbursed
through this program. So you
can see that our six year
projection, we're not
anticipating that to change.
This has been a really
consistent kind of program for
us. And I don't foresee needing
to ask for more or less money
for this program. Let me know
if you have any questions.
>> I'll send out the PowerPoint
with all of the information
after the meeting.
>> Anything else?
>> Yeah. From the looks of what
you have there, you're not
planning on any. Inflation.
Inflation taking place over the
next six, seven years.
>> You know, I would expect
that to happen. That's the
nature of things. But I do
still think for the services
we're providing, we can do it
within this amount. Still, I
really don't expect anything to
change drastically enough that
we would go over that threshold.
>> That's that's not a good
budget, really.
>> That answer your question,
Patrick.
>> That just doesn't look
realistic to me.
>> But it's.
>> Good that you can't there. I
mean, inflation is outrageous
at this point. If you have a
budget in 2027, what's your
budget for this year for 2026.
>> It's the same. So we've
historically underspent this
fund a little bit. And that's
why I'm anticipating that we
wouldn't go over.
>> Yeah they do. They
understand all the time. Can we
are.
>> The materials going up in
cost?
>> I mean probably I'm not
super familiar with the
particular costs of all the
materials that we use, but
probably I mean, if you guys
are concerned, I can certainly
up the budget. But I do think
what I'm proposing is within
reason for what I expect.
>> Have you been to a dentist
recently?
>> Hi, this is Tanya. I'm not
up at the table today. Would it
be possible if for some reason
we did over go over these
amounts? Can we request more
money? Is that going to be a
big hassle?
>> I don't think you can.
>> Oh, here. Sorry, sorry, I'm
not at the mic. My question is,
if we do spend over these
allotted amounts of money, is
it possible to go back and ask
for more money to go into the
fund, or is that going to be a
great big hassle?
>> Was that a question for
county staff or for Rebecca?
>> Rebecca.
>> I wouldn't have that answer.
>> So for the six year
projection, this is really just
an estimate for our future
forecasting. They'll still come
to the board every year with
their actual budget request
each year. So if the free
clinic is concerned about
needing additional funding to
provide these services, then
they can they can request a
higher amount when the time
comes to make that formal
request to the board each year.
>> And. How is that going to
affect everything else, though,
in the whole fund?
>> So we'll have to.
>> We're supposed to be
planning for this. I mean,
that's one of the things that
we, with this whole budget
thing have been looking at, and
it's been stressed to us to
make these projections.
Accurately based on, you know,
things like inflation and, and
things like that.
>> Yeah, I absolutely hear that
concern. This is the free
clinics best projection of what
they'll need to continue
operating services. And that's
what they've provided to us at
this time. If things change in
the future, we can adjust
projections and have those
conversations as needed.
>> Okay.
>> That's a good answer.
>> After all, is the expert.
>> Okay? After all.
>> You know. I'm getting egged.
>> On Abby to make a comment
here, but is it is it true or
not true that the the county
does in their six year
projections, build in a certain
factor with 3.5 or whatever.
But.
>> That is what we typically
use to estimate contracts that
have increased expenses every
year. The free clinic contract
hasn't had increased expenses
for the last, I don't know, 4
or 5 years. They've maintained
a consistent budget and been
able to continue services. So
it's really based on contractor
projections and what they
anticipate needing.
>> Okay, so if they're
underspending their budget at
the end of the year, you've got
to this is what you're
allocating to them. What
happens to the rest of that at
the end of the year?
>> It remains in the Veterans
Assistance Fund for the next
year.
>> Okay.
>> I think your points are well
made there, Patrick. I have a
feeling we're talking about a
small numbers here.
>> Yeah, I understand.
>> I have a question for this
too. Are 100% disabled veterans
able to go to the free clinic
and get services, or do they
make too much.
>> Say again?
>> Are 100 disabled veterans
that get the full 100%
disability? Are they able to
use the service or do they make
too much?
>> Well, generally 100%
disabled veteran gets free
dental care through the VA.
>> I understand that, but I've
also heard how hard it is to
get in there. So I'm paying for
my own insurance right now
because I just don't want to
deal with it. But Abby, do you
know that or not.
>> The requirements for
receiving services through this
program is that the veteran
earns under 250% of the federal
poverty level, that they're not
eligible for Medicaid, and that
they don't have any other form
of dental insurance. So if a
veteran meets and their Clark
County residents and honorably
discharged veteran. So if they
meet all those requirements,
then they'd be eligible for
services.
>> 100% doesn't qualify.
>> Then that makes too much
money. You.
>> Look into that.
>> Insurance too.
>> Okay.
>> Are there any other
questions for the free clinic
or should we move to the next
contractor?
>> Next contractor report? Or
budget requests? I'm sorry.
>> All right. Next we have the
w v a.
>> Okay.
>> Good afternoon. This is
David Puente, the director of
Washington's Department of
Veterans Affairs. Here with me
is Steve and Chris. They're
going to be providing the
update on the request that the
board is asking for. So I'm
going to turn it over to both
of them. Thank you. Good to see
all of you again.
>> Good afternoon. I'm Chris
Coleman. I'm the new director
of Veterans Services counseling
and wellness. And just just
happy to be here this evening.
And we're going to pass it on
to Steve here who runs this
program, our Veteran Service
Officer program. And he'll give
you the brief. Thank you all.
My name is Steve Gill with your
Washington Department of
Veterans Affairs. I think I've
met some of you in the past.
Thank you for allowing us to
join you virtually. We're just
up the road here in Olympia. As
you see on the screen is the
estimated six year budget
proposal that we provided. And
Abby has a copy of that for you
all. I know it's probably
really small on your screen,
but there are a few assumptions
built into our estimate. This
is based on our subcontractors
estimated cost. Many of you may
know we do subcontract this
veteran service officer work to
Vietnam Veterans of America,
who is an accredited nonprofit
veteran service organization
and who actually employs the
veteran service officers there
in Vancouver, Vietnam. Veterans
of America also has a larger
statewide contract with us for
some veteran service officers
and other parts of the state,
and they've been a long time
partner of ours. So our budget
is based on their estimated
cost. There is an 85% budgeted
for the subcontractor with a
15% indirect rate for W d VA,
just for our cost of managing
that subcontract. That aligns
with our federal de minimis
rate for grants and contracts
that we receive. And this is
does include a 4% inflationary
adjustment beyond 2027, because
we of course, do assume there's
going to be some inflation. If
we're lucky, it won't be 4%.
But, you know, we know that
cost of living does go up over
time. I won't go through all
the numbers. But just to
highlight, we've been
partnering with Clark County on
this work since 2018. Really
had that full time VSO in place
or two. Vsos subsequently since
2019, and veteran service
officer services are really a
foundational part of the work
we do. And I have another slide
that talks a little bit more
about the return on investment
over the past three years. I'll
cover this really quick and
then open it up to questions.
So we just took a snapshot of
the past three years. One of
the things that we really look
at is the number of VA
disability claims, and this is
VA disability compensation and
pension benefits. And we can
see it's been a little over 200,
225 claims in the past three
years filed by the subcontract
veteran service officers there
in Clark County. They also help
with lots of other types of
applications for federal
veterans benefits that might
include VA health care
enrollment, employment benefits
like the Veteran Readiness and
Employment Program, formerly
known as VOC rehab housing, or
adaptive vehicle grants,
clothing allowances, any type
of application for federal VA
benefits. But we really track
compensation and pension
because it's kind of the bread
and butter of what veteran
service officers do. On the
upper right there you see the
disability payments, the
federal VA disability payments
that were made directly to
veterans and their families as
a result of those claims that
the veteran service officers
have filed for the past three
years, and it's been 2025, was
$4.5 million paid directly to
veterans and their families as
a result of those disability
claims that were filed by the
veteran service officers. And
you guys know what that means
for them and their quality of
life, their financial, economic
security. And, you know, the
fact that folks spend that
money in the community on
mortgages, rent, food,
utilities, and, and really
improves quality of life. We
cannot measure the dollars that
they don't spend on things like
copays for health care provided
by the VA or the money that
they save on tuition because
they're able to get education
benefits. We can't measure the
money they don't spend, but we
can certainly measure the
benefits that they're paid
directly. And then the bottom
slide is just a comparison of
the percentage of VA. I'm sorry,
the percentage of veterans in
Clark County receiving VA
disability benefits and how
that compares to the state and
national average. This is our
apples to apples comparison
that we like to look at. We
look at Washington state
compared to the national
average, and then we look at it
by county to see how our our
partner counties are doing. And
what we're trying to do is
ensure that every, every county
in our state is meeting or
exceeding that national average.
Clark counties as of federal
fiscal year 24. The most recent
data the federal VA has
published is that 30%. The
state and national average is
about 33%. But you can see that
that's gone up consistently
over the past three years. And
I've been in this line of work
for many years, and I've been
tracking this since 2009. Back
in 2009, these numbers were
around 12 and 13% respectively.
Now we're at 3,033%. So you can
see the gradual increase
nationwide, not just in our
state of veterans receiving VA
disability benefits. And by the
way, the average VA disability
payment is over $1,900 per
month. That's average. As you
guys probably know, some of
those veterans, especially
those 100 percenters, are going
to be 4 or $5000 a month if
they have dependents even more
than that. And then there's
those, you know, 10% service
connected folks that are going
to be less than $200 a month. I
just give this data as a little
bit of a snapshot and the
return on investment, and also
a little bit of apples to
apples comparison, just that
some of the stuff that we look
at and we're tracking this
across the state. I'll wrap up
there and open it up to
questions.
>> I believe if you follow the
R c w that we're governed by,
you cannot charge us more than
10% administrative costs. So
why are you charging 15%?
>> I will be happy to take a
look at that r c w if you can
share it with us. I'm not
familiar with that.
>> I also.
>> Familiar with.
>> It, Bob. I don't think that
that is a clause in the r c w
if we look at the other
contractor budgets, the
assistance center also their
administrative costs are over
10%.
>> Bob Moore asked a question.
Okay, I've got one question of
you, Mr. Gil. I talked to David
Panetta earlier this year. At
that time, your your Vsos had
told us that we are, as of
January 1st, 2026, we had 554
veterans in Clark County
waiting to get to them. In fact,
they were even working on
people back in August of 2024.
What's it take for us to get
another VSO in Clark County at
the Veterans Assistance Center,
where people are used to coming?
>> Yeah, that's a good question.
Ever since the Pact act passed
in 2023, we've seen the demand
for VSO services higher than
it's ever been, no matter where
we go in the state, you know,
one thing that we hear is we
need more vsos, right? So we
can provide an alternative
budget for three vsos. It
essentially is going to
increase by a third, if you can
imagine that because Vietnam
Veterans of America, their cost
is the same per VSO. So that
kind of increases everything by
a third. And that's an option
we have. We could talk about
scaling up and adding a third
VSO. I do want to mention that
we also fund VSO. It's actually
one and a half vsos employed by
the Veterans of Foreign Wars
over at the VA Medical Center
campus that are funded with our
dollars, and they increased
that by half recently. So they
went up from 1 to 1 and a half
vsos over there to help meet
some of that need. And I did
check in with them last week,
both VA and the VFW current
wait times for an appointment
or a couple of weeks out. Those
are for like initial intakes or
intent to files. As you know,
those intent to files, you know,
establishes the date of the
claim for VA purposes. And then
they're scheduling follow up
appointments further out to
allow the veteran time to
collect all the evidence they
need to file that claim. So
that wait time of just waiting
to get the appointment. And the
demand for VSO services is
something that we are keenly
aware of. And let me tell you,
we're asking for funds at the
state level, and we're keeping
our partners informed and
giving them options for scaling
up VSO services. If that's
something the board would want
to do.
>> Mr. Gil, if I could say it a
different way, we have two Vsos
in Clark County at the Veterans
Assistance Center. They're both
doing a great job. But the
problem is, is that they'd have
to take a bunch of time
screening the people before
they get into the system. And
when we're still working as of
January, on claims back into
2024, the state is not helping
us enough. Thank you.
>> Okay, we've heard that.
Thank you.
>> Okay. I have a question,
Patrick Clark, what is the
amount of your contract that
goes against this levy for 20
2027?
>> Go back a slide if you would.
And it's the first the first
year in that slide. It's a
little over $143,000 in 2027.
>> Okay. And that is for two
vsos correct.
>> That's for the two vsos
employed by Vietnam veterans.
>> And then your expenses. And
that's against that.
>> Those vsos are only part
time. They are not full time.
>> They're full time. They're
full time.
>> They're full time.
>> They're full time.
>> Okay.
>> Bob, I think they're full
time. But the combined salary
of those two is under 100,000
last year. This year.
>> Yeah. So this is 27. What is
your what is your 26 budget? 25
was 100,100, 100,000. And your
26 was what.
>> 2026 budget is currently 134
520. And that has been that
amount or lower since 20 2134.
>> Okay. Okay, so you're going
from 134 to 143, correct?
>> Yep.
>> Okay. And that's for the
same too. So if we're talking
about adding a third that's
going to increase that number,
then.
>> Correct? Yep.
>> By about half of what that
is. If that's too roughly.
>> Yeah. And I actually have
those numbers in front of me. I
did the math in anticipation of
this question. The 2027
estimate for three veteran
service officers would be a
little over 190,000 a year in
27, and then 198,028. And then
the same assumption applies a
4% increase beyond.
>> Okay, 2020 is going to be
modified.
>> We can submit a modified
budget. In fact, I sent a draft
over to Abby already focused on
the same assumptions.
>> Okay. Okay, so we're going
to this is going to be. Abby,
this is going to be in our
packet that you're going to
send us.
>> Yeah. I'll share all of the
slides.
>> After the meeting.
>> Okay. And you're saying then
that this is going to be
modified to reflect three vso's
going forward in 2027 and
beyond?
>> Yes.
>> Is that accurate?
>> Yes, that is accurate.
>> Okay.
>> Julie, did you have
something?
>> So just for the information
of this group we are training
right now. Another volunteer
CSO who will work under the v v
a girls, ladies, those two are
full time. He will be part time,
but he will be trained and he
will be doing returning phone
calls, doing intake and trying
to get that list down. I'm not
saying we don't need another
third full time we could
actually use for full time, but
at this time we are training
someone to try to help with all
the paperwork and the phone
calls.
>> Do you have a name?
>> I do, therewith. But I'm not.
I can't share it at this point.
>> And that might to Mike there.
Got a question for Mike. Mike,
if I remember correctly, under
the c w, it's a 10%
administrative costs for all
contracts. AM I correct?
>> I'm not sure of what the,
what the maximum admin rate is
in the r c w.
>> I believe I'm right 10%. I
don't have it right in front of
me.
>> I do you know, Emily,
there's been a lot the reason
there's been a lot of change at
the state and federal level
about what the maximum admin
rates allowable are. And, you
know, for example, at the
federal rate, like your it's
changed to 15%. I think that's
what it is. So I think this is
allowable. But do you know.
>> I don't but.
>> I would say I know for
another fund that we manage the
mental health sales tax fund,
we are doing 50% admin rates
for contracts. But we'd have to
look at this to verify for sure.
>> So we will verify in the CW.
But I do not know that 10% is
is the maximum rate. What I
would say I'm going a little
bit off topic. This is just
advice for the AB in general.
You know, I think looking at
the six year projections, it's
really important to consider
what the budget in terms of
approving. You're looking at
the next year's budget. That's
the amount you're approving.
You're not approving the next
six years. But what you do want
to do is see what is the impact
of that current approval. How
is that going to affect the the
vaf balance over the next six
years? And I think after we've
gone through the three
proposals, the three budget
proposals that we've gotten for
the Vaf, you're going to I
think Abby's going to show you
all three of them together, and
the projections of what that
impact will be for the fund as
a whole in terms of the WDA
budget, what we have right now
is a is a contract, as shown
above, for two Vsos. If you are
requesting a third, that
contract to be modified to a
third via a VSO, it's
definitely going to have a
significant impact on the
dollars that are available in
the Assistance fund, and it
will also impact what the
conversation you want to have
with the Council regarding what
the levy rates and the fiscal
support going into the fund
will be. Is there anything
you'd like to add to. Okay,
that's that's all. Thank you.
>> Bob. I think we, for the
record, should show that
Emily's is the budget officer
in the back of the room. For
people that don't know her,
she's very knowledgeable.
>> Okay. Any other Abby?
>> Are there any other
questions for the DBA or should
we move to the Assistant Center
budget request?
>> So they're telling. Us what
is it going to cost for three
vsos next year?
>> 214 215,000.
>> Abby.
>> This is.
>> This is Steve Gill. The
estimate for next year is a
little over 190,000 for three
vsos in 2027.
>> Okay.
>> That's not right.
>> And I have a question for WD
VA folks at all American Legion
and Disabled American Veterans
in the state service officers.
Any comments or what on their
services?
>> Yeah, I can comment on the
American Legion. The American
Legion is one of the nonprofit
veteran service organizations
that contract with statewide
disabled American veterans is
not disabled. American veterans
as an organization, their state
level entity does not have
accredited veteran service
officers. It's only their
national level entity that has
accredited service officers.
The American Legion has
accredited folks at the state
level, and they're part of our
state contract.
>> Okay. Thank you.
>> Okay. Anything else? If not,
we'll move on to contractor
reports. Abby.
>> I think next is the
assistant center's budget
request.
>> We have one.
>> Budget to go.
>> Okay. Getting ahead of
myself.
>> Judy, why don't you take my
chair?
>> So our request for 2027.
Includes, as you can see, two
new personnel. If our budget
for 2027 did not include them,
then our personnel costs would
have gone from 207,000 to
$214,245. But those two new
personnel would increase our
personnel budget by $222,000.
That is, for a full time mental
health professional and a full
time caseworker, and that
includes their benefits and
their payroll taxes. In that
222,000. Everything else has
gone up by 3.5%, because that
is the actual amount that we
spent in 2025 over over the
2026 budget. Do you have
questions?
>> I got one question, Emily.
How much do you anticipate us
raising?
>> I can't hear you.
>> Oh.
>> Michael, I'm going to talk
about that next. And we go
through the six year forecast
for the whole Veteran's
Assistance Fund and the impact
to the fund balance. With all
of these requests.
>> Emily, how much do you
anticipate will be raising if
they used the alternative so
that we have a separate levy?
>> Right. That's what Abby's
alluding to is we've got a six
year forecast that will show
those updated revenues coming
up right next. Okay.
>> Abby, you're still on.
>> Were there any questions for
the assistant center about
their budget request? All right.
Then I'm happy to share the
impact to the fund. So I'm
going to pull up a six year
projection spreadsheet that
Department of Community
Services Finance staff put
together based on these budget
requests. There's a lot of
information in this spreadsheet,
so I'll do my best to explain
it all, and I'm happy to take
any questions at the end. All
right. Let me make sure this is
sharing online as well. Okay.
Great.
>> Before Abby.
>> Starts, can you make that a
little bit bigger? Kind of do a
control slide or something so
you can actually read the
numbers.
>> And before Abby starts, I'll,
I'll throw in to please
remember, this is a forecast.
This is all estimate. We do not
know what collections will
actually be. Things can change
in terms of expenditures. This
is everyone's with the
information we have right now.
Best guess and things can
change.
>> Yes.
>> But but but with homework
done right, I mean we always.
Yes, it's a guesstimate, but
it's founded on what we know.
>> Thank you Michael. All right.
So this spreadsheet is similar
to budget forecasts that you
all have seen in the past. Like
when we talked about the 2026
budget forecast, it shows the
forecast year along the top and
budget categories along the
left hand side. The budget
categories include expected
revenue in green with a few
different categories. Here,
expected expenditures in pink,
including Department of
Community Services, salaries,
benefits and operating expenses,
as well as contractor budgets.
For 2026. There's that Uhl
budget modifier of $30,000 that
was approved by the council.
And then at the bottom, you can
see for each year, the
projected ending fund balance,
the minimum fund balance per
policy, which is to have a
three month reserve, the
projected available fund
balance for new requests after
we include the minimum fund
balance and the projected
difference between ongoing
revenues and expenditures. And
anything that you see in red
down here at the bottom
indicates a negative value. So
we've already talked about 2026.
This includes what we expect to
receive in property taxes with
the current levy rate and the
funds that have been allocated
into contracts for 2027. You
can see here at the top in gray,
this around $89,000 is what we
expect to have left over from
2026. To get the 2027 contract
year started. Then for property
taxes, this has been adjusted
to reflect the amount that we
would receive once the
Veteran's Assistance Fund is
bumped up to that minimum levy
rate of 1 in 8 cents, which I
believe will be required per c
w 2442. So you can see that in
2027, we expect total revenue
of a little over $1.4 million.
And again, we don't project
investment earnings because
that's really hard to predict.
Then for 2027 expenditures
again we have Department of
Community Services costs and
the contractor budgets that you
just saw for this request or
for this spreadsheet. We have
broken out the assistance
center's new staffing request,
so you can see what the cost
would be to continue existing
services with their current
staff and what the additional
costs would be to add new staff,
per the request for that mental
health professional and case
manager. So with all of those
expenditures included,
including the new staffing
request, we're projecting that
by the end of 2027, we'd be
looking at a negative fund
balance of a little over
$27,000, however. Oh, and you
can see that that negative fund
balance would increase each
year by roughly $150,000. So
expenditures are exceeding
projected revenue. What I want
to show you all is that if the
fund, if you all determined
that you wanted to continue
existing services, I'm going to
have you save all questions
till the end, if that's all
right. So if you were going to
continue existing services
through the through the
assistance center without
adding those new staff, if I
delete oops, this line here.
Let me enable editing. So to
continue existing services that
we have in the current
contracts, the fund projected
revenue is sufficient to cover
those expenses. And you would
see that at the end of 2027,
the fund balance is positive,
around $194,000. This does not
meet the minimum fund balance
per policy of three month
reserves, but that fund balance
would increase each year, and
we would meet that minimum fund
balance by 2030. So all of that
to say, the projected fund
revenue could support
continuation of existing
services with annual increases
for inflation and cost of
living. With the request that
we got from our contractors.
However, funding for additional
services such as new staff at
the assistance center would
have to be requested by the
council during the upcoming
work session.
>> I'd also add this does not
include three Vsos in the VA
contract, correct?
>> That's correct.
>> This includes two years with
the current contract service
level of two Vsos.
>> This is.
>> But isn't what you're
showing the line you took in
and out showing what would it
would. I'm sorry, I can't talk.
It would increase by. With a
mental health professional on
the VSO.
>> Not the VSO. That would be
the additional cost for a
mental health professional and
a case manager at the Veterans
Assistance Center, which they
included in their budget
request. I don't have what it
would cost to add a third VSO
in the spreadsheet at this time,
but I could add that after the
meeting.
>> Okay, well, I don't
understand how one mental
health professional costs us
200, and I can't read that 22
or 272,400 and whatever it is.
>> So Judy can explain her
calculations there. But this
request is for two new full
time staff, a mental health
professional and a case manager.
>> Okay, so a lot of money.
>> All right. I'm happy to take
any other questions at this
time. Yes, Michael.
>> If I taken my figures
correct, I could be wrong. For
2027, it sounds like the state
will want 193,000 to get two
more people. Vsos then would be
24,900. Clark County Veterans
Assistance Center is going to
need $1,318,830. How much is
community service is going to
charge?
>> You can see in cells J 24,
25, and 26 the anticipated
expenses for Department of
Community Services to manage
these funds, including staff
salaries, benefits and
operating expenses.
>> How much is it? I can't see
it.
>> Let me do a quick.
>> It totals down there at the
bottom. Abby, when you total
those three, I think it was
about 95,000, but it was a
little small. It's Allysa at
DCS. If you highlight those
three again and then look down
at your bottom right and it
does that say 93, 965 or 95.
>> Yes, $95,965.
>> Which is a total of about
1,631,000. Right.
>> It has the total
expenditures right there, 1.5
million 1582688. So that's with
DCS and all of the provider
contracts at their ask for the
budget.
>> 1536I agree. But then you
head on community services.
That's another 95.
>> That includes community
services.
>> Yes.
>> I can see if I highlight
this cell. Sorry, I muted if I
highlight this cell, you'll see
that it's a sum of all the
community services expenses as
well as the contractor budget
requests.
>> Does it work out? Maybe I
read it off wrong. I thought
they said for us to get three
from the state is going to cost
us 193,000.
>> We'd have to plug in that
updated number there for the W
diva to get the updated amount.
>> And I can actually plug that
in real quick. I have their
their budget for three Vsos,
which would be 190,008, 75, 72.
>> Make that a negative number.
Abby.
>> A negative okay.
>> Good job. There you go.
>> All right. So that obviously
increases the fund deficit. So
if we were to add a third VSO,
then we'd be looking at a
negative fund balance of a
little over $75,000 with. And
this line at the bottom shows
the difference between
projected revenue and
expenditures each year. So the
difference between revenue and
expenditures would be about
165,000.
>> So how are we going to sell
this to the county councilors?
I'm not going to be me, but
it's going to be you. But how
are we going to sell this?
>> Well, that's the question.
>> I don't know, Abby. If you
wanted to continue the agenda
somewhat, but what my my
colleague here, Michael, is
asking is the question for all
of us to decide, you know, oh,
you know, for example, I'll
just give you a for example,
you can mull over before we get
to those kinds of conversations,
the large Harney Street
facility was approved by the
county manager on the premises
of increasing veteran services.
I won't speak for Judy, but I'm
fairly familiar with it, and to
me it is pointless to continue
being having the reputation of
being a food handout place with
10,000ft². I mean, that's
simple, overly simplifies it.
If it seems ridiculous now that
they have matured down there,
and to hear them adding adding
services and adding people to
partner with them, to not
continue to try to dig into the
number one stated veteran need
in this county. Mental health.
So, you know, I just throw that
out for you, for all you big
brain people to think about,
because we are going to have to
discuss that. And thank you.
>> You had a question.
>> Do you?
>> It seems to me like if you
look at the two additional
people that are in the
assistance fund request, their
needs, some additional
rationale. What what what are
these people going to do? What
what's the, what's the
shortfall that they're trying
to, to resolve? Why, why is
that needed? You've got to have
that level of detail. Otherwise
they're going to blow it off.
>> I mean, we can we can. I
don't know, this is the time
with our county friends here to
discuss that. But I mean,
that's the core issue.
>> Yes, Mark.
>> Yeah, I had a question on
that slide.
>> On the spreadsheet.
>> The question is, you show a
revenue projection, but it's
not clear how that projected
number is arrived at. Could you
go over that calculation or
would that better be discussed
offline?
>> Yeah. Alyssa, are you still
online to explain that one?
>> I was about to jump in. It's
Alyssa again. So with the new
sales tax that has been
approved, it would change the
property tax levy rates to at
least the minimum levy rate
amount, which is if you can
click in that cell, please, the
1.3 million. So what I did is I
took if that rate, if that
sales tax would have been
approved for 2026, the amount
that fund 1019 would have
gotten would be about $1.3
million. So I took the $1.3
million plus 2.5%, because
that's our projected increase,
the projected growth for the
property taxes. So that would
be my forecast at the minimum
levy rate for 2027, if that's
what the councilors were to
vote on, keeping the levy at
whatever scent it is on the
dollar, it would be
approximately that 1.34 million.
>> And what is the property
valuation at that's based on?
>> I can't answer that. That
would be an assessor's office
question. Unless there's
someone else in the room that
knows how the assessment
happens.
>> There isn't. At least Emily
and I sorry, there isn't. Emily
and I were just looking at each
other. This is Michael Torres
at Community Services, and that
is a question for the
assessor's office. You know,
again, these are our best with
the information that we have,
this is our best estimate of
what the revenue into the fund
would be. So that's property
tax, leasehold excise tax
payments in lieu of tax. And
the transfers into the general
fund that the council has
approved on an annual basis to
this point. So so from what we
know, I think it's a it's a
good estimate of what we will
have going into the fund for
2027.
>> And we also get interest on
the funds that comes in.
They've been sending it in
every year.
>> Correct. And the interest
when we finalize like when 2026,
when we're done with 2026, any
interest and investment
earnings. I then put in to the
documents that you see as the
fund balance and those monthly
reports that Abby gives you, it
shows you the actual interest
and investment earnings that
we're collecting that are going
directly into the fund balance.
I just don't put those numbers
into the budget because they're
volatile, and I can't predict
what those are going to be.
>> And I would just add that
that interest earning is based
on the cash balance in the fund
at the time that interest is
calculated. So if the fund is
spent down, those interest
earnings will be less right.
>> Thank you. That's.
>> Are there any other
questions about this
spreadsheet or funding forecast?
>> Okay. Abby, I guess we move
on to contractor reports.
>> Can be helpful to have that.
Alishia.
>> All right. Thank you Bob. So
this is the February 2026
contractor reports. I sent the
full reports out over email as
always. And you should also all
have printed copies of those.
So for the Clark County
Veterans Assistance Center,
there were 575 visits to the
center for Essentials and Food,
783 Sek breakfasts and lunches,
and 83 food boxes provided for
a total of 5833 31 total pounds
of food provided. They also had
661 volunteer hours, totaling
$26,625 in value. There were 40
veterans served in February
through the fund, with services
totaling $30,678.02. Of these,
31 were male veterans, seven
were female. There were two
widows and zero others served,
and there were nine denials,
zero of which were subject to
appeal.
>> We don't have.
>> Them at the free clinic.
There were two veterans served
in February, with services
totaling $1,673 in value, and
they build $727.46 to the fund.
>> That's what this.
>> Is for the fund revenue and
expenditures. February revenue
was $6,239.83. Expenditures
were $97,020.38. At the end of
February, the fund balance
stood at 387,000 $387,012.48,
which is a $90,000 $90,780
decrease from the previous
month. Any questions.
>> We can read?
>> Okay, Abby, it looks like no
questions on that. Let's move
on to the next subject.
Monitoring update.
>> All right. This is me again.
So as I mentioned to you all at
our last couple meetings, the
Veteran's Assistance Fund
contracts were monitored in
February and March of 2026.
This monitoring is now complete,
and I just have a few results
to share with you all. So at
the wdba, there were no
findings or recommendations. We
reviewed their client files and
didn't have any concerns at the
assistance center. There were
no findings and just two minor
recommendations. Their client
files were great. All clients
were meeting eligibility
requirements, and the two
recommendations were just about
program operations. I'm happy
to share these with you all. So
first, Clark County staff
recommended utilizing internal
and external demographic data
to understand which groups of
indigent veterans are and are
not being served through the
program, and then do some
targeted outreach based on the
data that they collect. And the
second recommendation was to
share some outcomes data that
was mentioned in their
monitoring assessment form. And
they mentioned a couple of data
points that they've been
tracking, which I think could
be super helpful for you all to
hear. And they're working to
put those together to share in
the reports moving forward. And
then at the free clinic, there
was one finding and two
recommendations. The finding
was just that some of the
contracted eligibility
requirements weren't being
assessed for clients. And so we
have required them to take
corrective action on this. And
that has been taken immediately.
They're doing those assessments
now, and the recommendations
included. Oh, these are also
just small program operating
recommendations. They included
notifying clients of the
grievance policy and process
upon program entry to ensure
that they understand the
procedure from the beginning.
And, oh, adding a column to the
monthly report to show the
total number of Unduplicated
veterans served in the
reporting year, which they have
already done. Any questions on
those monitoring updates? All
right. Back to you, Bob.
>> Okay, next is Judy. You're
on the hook.
>> So I just wanted to let you
all know that we are losing our
senior CSO. He has been with us
for seven years, and he will be
leaving at the end of May. So
we have hired someone to train
as a replacement, and we are
interviewing for a full time
replacement because the person
we hired, we hired for our part
time, and now we need another
full time CSO. So if you know
anyone who's interested in
being a full time CSO, have
them send in their application.
I also want to remind you that
June 20th is our annual gala,
and this year it's a masquerade
based on the TV show Mash. It
should be a lot of fun. And our
stand down is coming up on
September 25th. So if you have
any vendors, if any of your
posts want a table, be sure and
get Ahold of Donna and let her
know. And that's all I have
right now.
>> Donna.
>> Questions?
>> Donna.
>> Tickets are available online
for the gala oh two or.
September to buy your tickets
online. Is that up?
>> Yes. On the invitations that
I gave you, there is a, I
believe a QR code and you
should be able to go online and
get the, the pay for your
tickets and that sort of thing
on their.
>> Okay, any more questions? If
not, we'll move on. Old
business.
>> Stand on September.
>> 25th.
>> 25th. September 25th.
>> Anybody have any old
business? Going once, going
twice. Sold new business.
Anybody with new business?
>> I do, and I'm sorry if I
missed this earlier because I
was a little late getting here.
I know the the the law passed
is going to let us get our
opinion 8%, 1.8. Anyway, when
does that go into effect?
>> Referring to House Bill 2442.
>> Say that.
>> House Bill 2442 that
recently passed in the
legislature.
>> Right. But do we know what
date that starts that will
start being a separate fund and
be able to get our more money?
>> I am not sure actually.
Michael or Emily, do you have
that info?
>> That's important.
>> We think they start
collecting at the new rate.
January 1st 2027.
>> Oh, not till 2027.
>> That's that's good. Okay.
Thank you. It's a good thing.
That's a great thing.
>> Any more new business?
>> Well.
>> If not, open forum. We're
all quiet today.
>> Larry's got something for us.
>> Yeah. Hey, Larry.
>> I know I'm beating this to
death, but it's so important.
On April the 22nd is our
community salutes is
recognizing 100 high school
kids going directly into the
military after graduation.
That's going to be at Skyview
High School. It starts at 630.
And right now the latest
numbers a little bit over 100
to high school kids from 11
different high schools from
Clark County and Portland area,
because some of the recruiting
areas drift over from one state
to the other. I cannot tell you
how important that is. Talking
to a Colonel John Scott,
battalion commander, Army
battalion commander. He's
hearing a lot of parents are
really uptight because
everything going on with the
the war over there in Iran,
some of these kids in three
months can be in a very hostile
environment because some of
them have joined up special
forces and high risk areas.
It's important to send a
message to them, those kids
that are walking across the
stage, you get a coin and a
certificate and a three by five
American flag given out by two
World War Two veterans who are
100 years old. It's important
that those parents and those
kids look around and see the
support, and it's and and we're
asking veterans, family members,
anyone show up at Skyview? It's
a free event. It's about an
hour and 15 minutes. It's a
little reception right
afterwards where you can come
over there and be honest with
you to hug the kids, thank the
parents for their support and
so forth. And if you're a
veteran, wear your hat, wear a
coat or what have you so the
parents can see the the
veterans there in support. This
is the sent a message out that
we have your back. This
community will take care of you.
There's going to be several
displays there from
organizations as well as are
said to be refreshments
afterwards. It's a very
powerful ceremony, especially
when those kids collectively,
because they'll be in jeans and
t shirts from their respective
service, they all stand up and
do an oath of allegiance
together. And that's a pretty
powerful thing when you see
that, especially for the
recruiters, because as you all
know, they're probably
recruiting each kid back and
forth. And finally, that kid
decided to go in the Army
instead of the Marine Corps. So
it's really kind of exciting to
see that. But having been
involved, for this to be my
16th time being involved in
this event, I have heard from a
couple of parents. One parent
whose daughter is a helicopter
pilot who went through this
program, and how powerful it
was for her because of her
anxiety level of going into the
military service and not
wanting to expect, but seeing
the community support her. The
superintendent of Vancouver
School District would speak. We
have a very supportive mayor.
Mayor Anne McEnerny Ogle will
speak as well. We have a a
recent veteran who is a medic
who served in the military, who
will be the guest speaker and
talk about his service as well.
And and they will have a couple
general officers there. One,
we're looking right across here.
Give out the coins. And as I
said, it's pretty powerful. And
then the thing that we like to
do is we'll take the community
leaders as they're walking
across the stage, and they put
these folks in front of the
stage. And those we elected
individuals focus on the school
board and so forth. And then
the kids go through that
gantlet of individuals to shake
their hand. So they'll be
shaking their hands of about 30
individuals who are
representatives. We thank,
depending on what's going on in
Congress, that we will have a
one. Third congressional
district. Marie Perez will be
there. She's going to try to
make it, depending on what's
going back in what's happening
in Washington, DC. But she's
very supportive of that event
and she's very supportive of
veterans and the purpose. So I
asked you to come bring folks
with you and enjoy that event,
and then afterwards go over to
those kids and shake their
hands and say, thank you very
much for your service. So
that's it.
>> And time.
>> Again, it's at 630 Sky View
High School out at Lakeshore
Area. Plenty of parking there.
And we'll have security out
front. And that'll be Wednesday,
April 22nd.
>> Thank you Larry. Any other
public comments? If not, I'll
entertain a motion to adjourn.
>> I had a quick question about
this. So are you going to have
organizations have tables there
or just people.
>> So there'll be about 7 or 8
tables of organizations like
the Red cross.
>> Okay.
>> And VFW.
>> VFW, you already have VFW?
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, okay. Never mind. Yeah.
Commander already dealt with it.
>> Thank you. Thank you.
>> Mr. Chairman. If I could
make just a comment before we
dismiss the crowd and adjourn
the meeting. I asked the
chairman if he would, and he
said he would ask each one of
you to stay maybe a little bit.
And also, if you're so kind.
Judy, could you stay a second?
Because a lot of our
deliberations depends on what
you do in your center, and you
just stay a few minutes and
answer some questions. That
would be nice. Thank you. Thank
you, Mr. Chairman.
>> Okay. Again, I'll entertain
a motion for adjournment.
>> So moved.
>> Second.
>> I have a motion. And second.
Those in favor?
>> Aye.
>> Those opposed? Meeting
adjourned.