Human Services Committee Agendas & Minutes

“Where People Count” Teen Center 373 Golf Mill Center, Niles, Illinois 60714 Mayor Telephone (847) 375-8949 ● Fax (847) 375-8962 Andrew Przybylo Trustees George D. Alpogianis Human Services Committee Minutes John C. Jekot June 18, 2015 meeting Joe LoVerde Danette O’Donovan Present – Trustee Jekot, Carl Maniscalco, Mark Williams, Tony Hollenback, Kelly Matyas Denise M. McCreery Mickle Dean Strzelecki Meeting began at 1:06 pm Village Manager Steven C. Vinezeano Minutes were approved from Feb. 5, 2015 Village Clerk Marlene J. Victorine Family Services: Tony Hollenback ______________ Status/ Summary/ Budget/ Programs and Partnerships Teen Center Director Update of Departmental Goals FY 2016 Mark Williams • School Based Social Worker- new agreement being signed to continue position as full time for Nelson, Mark Twain, Gemini and Teen Center • Outreach with Niles Police- NFS attends roll call 2x per week and 80% increase in referrals from NPD • Food Pantry- partnership with Jewel Osco for groceries and increasing services for clothing closet and personal hygiene supplies • Restructuring NFS to better align with community needs • Performance management is on target for all service areas- beginning a life skills training class for residents to receive financial assistance and now using 2 part-time crisis workers for crisis intervention General Status • Behavioral Health Awareness Training- 80% of all employees have completed training/ 50% increase is referrals for Employee Assistance Program (EAP)/ Niles Police and Fire will be scheduled in the near future • Staffing Changes- still searching for assistant director/ expand 1 position to work with seniors and Polish residents/ former social worker returning to assist with billing/ hired an Arabic speaking social worker Projects in Progress • Water Billing Outreach- collaborating with Finance Department • Administrative Registry- expanding to meet day to day operations • Fire Department Outreach- lunch with all and suicide prevention information/ increasing support/education for department • Partnerships with school of Social Work- 6 incoming interns for the fall from Loyola, UIC, and Dominican Universities www.nilesteencenter.org  Fitness Center: Carl Maniscalco Status/ Summary/ Budget/ Programs and Partnerships Update of Departmental Goals FY 2016 • Performance Management- The data for fiscal year 2015 has been entered. The tracking system is set up to make this a successful project. The board has received the annual summary of all the data. • Investigate ways to improve department efficiencies and implement potential outsourcing opportunities- We plan on calling the new Public Services staff HVAC and plumbing specialists to assist us with HVAC issues before we call an outside vendor. This will also save the village money. Staff levels are always kept at a minimal to reduce salary expenses while at the same time continuing quality customer service. Continue to work with Public Services on any repair issues in the building to save money. We are using an independent contractor for sports skills camps. • Prevent part-time personnel from participating in IMRF- Staff has been directed to keep part- time staff under 20 hours a week to accomplish this goal. • Accomplish goals and objectives in the fy2015 budget- We accomplished the fy2015 goals. • Complete all required village wide department training (Ethics/Customer Service/Media Relations)I have completed the Ethics training, Customer Service training, Mental First Aid, Media Relations, and Angry residents training, Sexual harassment training. • Complete all employee evaluations no later than January 1, 2015- These were completed by due date. • Evaluate and track Niles 2030 related goals and objectives- We have 4 items related to the 2030 plan. They are designed to improve the look of the fitness center. We will replace the pool interior surface with a new product. We will also look at replacing two water spray features with two new spray features. The roof over the gym will be replaced with a new energy efficient white roof. We are planning to replace the pool lights with new LED lights with a DCEO energy grant. We ordered new fitness equipment; spinning bikes, reformers and training equipment. We will also purchase more before the end of the 2016 fiscal year. • Increase employee use of fitness center- The staff has worked with the employee wellness committee to offer free fitness classes and walking club activities. The number of employees using the facility is at the same level it was last year. • Collaborate with Personnel Coordinator and Village Nurse to improve Wellness Program and participation- I am a member of the employee wellness committee and we have planned many employee events in the past 6 months. The Bike Niles Fest event was well attended again this year by employees. The village wide community resource fair will be held in October this year. This year the wellness plan has two components and if employees complete both pieces they will qualify for a $100 check. • Develop cooperative programing with community agencies- We currently have a program with Good Hope Academy in Niles in which we rent our gym for the physical education classes. Culver school also rents our gym for their sports team practices. In turn they allow us use of their fields for our summer camps. Culver also allows the village to use their facilities for the Bike Niles event. We are working with Advocate Lutheran General on the first ever Healthier Niles Project. The survey went to all the homes in Niles in September. The results of the survey will be presented to the village board on June 23. We have entered into an agreement with the Niles Park District to use our basketball gym free of charge for their youth basketball program on Saturday afternoons. We offer corporate membership discounts to chamber members which helps promote their memberships. The Niles library has worked with us on promoting fitness  and we in turn promote their programs. We attend as many local health fairs in the area to promote our programs. The village nurse and I are working on a Healthy Hotspot designation for Niles. This is an initiative from the Cook County public health dept • Continue to work toward energy efficient and cost reduction practices- We are hoping to replace metal halide lights in the pool with energy efficient LED lights to save energy and maintenance costs. We will apply for DCEO grant money if it is available. • Develop projects to brighten and freshen up the center- The pool interior is scheduled to be replaced in August. The surface is very rough and worn in many locations. We will look to replace the pool spray features in the zero depth area of the pool. Carpeting and painting in areas of the fitness center that need it will be completed in 2015-16. • Improve overall customer service experience- The phone calls are handled in a professional manner. I am asking staff to continue to smile, make eye contact, listen to the customers and get to know them on a first name basis. • Develop a business plan- The business plan is complete and is the basis of our 2016 fiscal year budget. The goals again this year are to increase revenues and control expenses. The need to update furniture, fitness equipment and other building improvements has greatly affected the expenses. • Manage the 2015 Bike Niles event- This was my third year managing this successful community event. We added the word Fest to the event this year. We moved the event to Gemini Jr. High and held it on June 6. The event was held at Gemini to dedicate the new Robert Amling bike route. The bike route is the first one in Niles. This year over 300 people attended the event. We are looking to expand the event in 2016 to include more of a festival environment. The committee would like to see music, food vendors, kids’ activities and other festival like activities. • Develop a corporate fitness program- We currently offer corporate discounts to Niles businesses as well as Niles Chamber members. We attend as many local health fairs in the area to promote our programs. We offered a free 1 week trail to all Coca-Cola and Shure employees. • Participate in Healthy Community Partnership- The partnership has been working on the Healthier Niles Project which sent out a community health survey to each Niles household in September. This is a cooperative effort with Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, Niles Chamber, local school districts, Niles library, and many other village departments. The results of the of survey will be presented to the village board on June 23. • 2nd Annual Wellness Fair- I am on the Community Resource Fair committee that is planning this event again this year. The event will be held on October 10. 2015-16 OBJECTIVES 1. Replace the pool interior with a new product. 2. Purchase new equipment as part of the 5 year replacement plan. 3. Coordinate the 2015 Bike Niles event. 4. Work with community agencies and organizations to promote health. 5. New section of roof to be installed as part of the 3rd phase of this project. 6. Continue Performance Management program. 7. Increase program revenues. 8. Increase membership revenues. 9. Increase facility revenues. 10. Replace pool lights in track lighting system. 11. Serve on the Employee Wellness team and assist with the annual Wellness Fair. Teen Center: Mark Williams Status/ Summary/ Budget/ Programs and Partnerships Update of Departmental Goals FY 2016 - Establish “New Employee” protocol/ checklist to include various training (DCFS/ Ethics/ First Aid/ CPR)- COMPLETE - Better delegate some responsibilities to part-time staff by establishing a checklist for opening/closing TC- COMPLETE - Upgrade equipment and furniture with new equipment as items become broken and/or funds allow for replacement (air hockey table/ “dome” hockey table/ remove foosball table)- IN PROCESS - Implement online membership/credit card processing at TC office for member fees & trip payments- IN PROCESS - Upgrade video game systems to Xbox One or Playstation 4- IN PROCESS - Build stronger “community” relationship with EMSD 63 through new Communications Coordinator- IN PROCESS - Begin discussions on future need to relocate Teen Center facility outside of Golf Mill Mall/ possibility of paying increased rent to Golf Mill (current market value as other mall tenants) - Assist with IT Department’s transition from “MyCenter” to a new membership database software package- IN PROCESS - Work with VON communications coordinator to update/ improve teen center website Recent Accomplishments/ Events/ Programs - Membership- currently is 227 active members- 107 new members since beginning of February - Attendance- average of 59 per day over the last 5 months, low of 39 and high of 89 - Major events- Spring/ Summer 2015 o Valentine’s Day Dance- attracted 220 teens- mostly from Parkview and Culver Schools o 2nd Local Government Day with Maine East High School- hosted 50 high school seniors, had better organization and structure for the day- very rewarding for village staff and for students o Began weekly girls social work group with the School-Based Social Worker, Nicole Espinoza, this program is becoming very rewarding to the teens and preventative therapy o “Night in the Mall” Lock-In Party- 77 teens attended Equipment Updates/ Replacement o Received donation of 6 commercial restaurant booths from Golf Mill Mall- public works assisted with need renovations, this is a great addition to the facility at little to no cost o Replaced cabinets in boys bathroom and computer lab with new, large plastic cabinets o Mark donated a 46 inch TV for the display case to run promotional videos o Purchased 2 new Playstation 4’s, games, controllers o Purchased new loud speaker sound system for parade float and special events Staffing/Training o Hired new staff member to replace Nate- new employee is Ann Puleo and she is amazing!! o CPR/ First Aid Training for all Teen Center staff by Niles Fitness Center staff o All TC staff participated in behavioral health training hosted by Family Services o College volunteer committed to assist with supervision 12 hours per week from 6/1- 8/1 Teen/Member issues o Expelled member for 2nd occurrence of theft o Sent teen to hospital for severe reaction from peanut allergy- Epipen used at Teen Center Community Partnerships/ Support o Establish cooperative relationship with new communications coordinator for East Maine School District 63 o Assisted with interviews and hiring of School-based Social Worker with Niles Family Services and social worker from Mark Twain Elementary School o Meeting with Maine Township to brainstorm cooperative programs/Teen Center- initial ideas to request funding assistance for Niles Teen Center o Video games to Culver school to support their “PTO Family Game Night” o Summer recruitment drive- lunch or classroom visits to all Niles area schools o Mark/ Ann assisted with Stevenson Walk-a-Thon o Mark had extensive involvement and intervention with some incidents occurring at Gemini Jr. High regarding a teacher passing away and teen cyberbullying, no other details will be provided o Mark participated in the Bike Niles Fest planning committee o Partnered with Niles Library for Summer Reading Kick-Off- sign-up/ give-a-ways/ Teen Center open house Inquiry Responses o Inquiry assistance with Village of Park Forest Teen Center re: Teen Job Programs o Information provided to Des Plaines Park District regarding structure, procedures, and policies for Niles Teen Center o Inquiry meeting with lead staff from Hanover Township as they pursue opening their own teen center o Inquiry from CEO of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Chicago for partnership/ Site-Based Mentoring program Continuing programs o Arts and Crafts- continued 2 x per month with social work intern- ended April 30 o Girl Talk- girls social work group- continued 2x per month with social work intern- ended April 30 o Girl Talk- resumed for the summer- every Wednesday afternoon through the whole summer with Nicole, school-based social worker- plans for fall being developed to do girls 2x per month and begin a boys “Be Like a Man” group 2x per month o Movie Nights- February- 27 teens at movie theater/ March- 20 teens in-house/ April- 30 teens at movie theater o Speaker Series – Sexting presentation by Niles Police/ Wright Way Animal Rescue/ photographer for Low Rider magazine In Progress  o Purchase new air hockey table- replace donated/broken o Re-establish relationship with TLC program after hiring of new director Upcoming events- Summer Programs o Movie Nights- continuing each month and weekly organized game tournaments o Trips to Coke Bottling & Police Department/ Job Shadow Day with Old Navy/ Enchanted Castle Lock-In/ Oasis Water Park o 4th of July Parade and float Senior Center: Kelly Mickle Status/ Summary/ Budget/ Programs and Partnerships Update of Departmental Goals FY 2016 • Plan and coordinate community events as per the Niles 2030 Comprehensive Plan Immunization Clinic/ Health and Community Resource Fair Thanksgiving Day Luncheon/ Women’s Health Fair Variety Show/ Hearing Health Fair/ Rummage Sale • Implement changes to the volunteer program Volgistics – will assist with performance management Partnership with HandsOn Suburban Chicago • Continue to provide information and referral services Medicare/ Benefit Access/ Ventra/ ACA AARP Tax Aide Program/ Tax Freeze • Open membership to non-residents Discussion of possibility of 6 month drop in rate • Initiate the National Senior Center Self-Assessment Process for accreditation • Expand advertising through social and local media • Create new marketing brochures • Further collaborations with area senior centers General Status of Department • Milcah Baraona started 5/11/2015. Her full time position will focus on programming and marketing through social media (Facebook and Twitter), Constant Contact and local media. • Chrisann Fahey started 6/15/2015 as a part-time program coordinator. She will focus on increasing monthly trips, luncheons and intergenerational opportunities.  • Performance Management – revised measures for the current budget year and new software program to replace Class • Partnership with HandsOn Suburban Chicago to assist in recruitment of skill based volunteers Comments: Mark requested a copy of the policies and procedures from the Senior Center and Fitness Center. Trustee Jekot commented that he excited about joining the Human Services Committee. He feels that it is a good fit for his personality and his passion for service to the community. Meeting Adjorned at 2:30 pm Next Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 1:00 pm