MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
AUGUST 18, 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Update/Report/Discussion of HIPAA Policy 1
Mental Health/Disability Services Director Kris Artley: Health and Human Services Building Concerns 2
Facilities Administrator David Kempf: Administration Building Update............................... 5
Parking Update..................................................................................................................... 5
Use of Third Floor of Health and Human Services Building................................................. 6
Board of Supervisors: Legislative Priorities.......................................................................... 7
Smoking Policy..................................................................................................................... 7
Reports/Updates From Department Heads............................................................................ 7
Scheduling Date And Time Of Next Meeting...................................................................... 11
Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building as a Department Head Meeting at 1:32 p.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan; absent: Larry Meyers.
Department heads present were: Ambulance Director Steve Spenler, City Assessor Dennis Baldridge, Conservation Department Director Harry Graves, County Assessor Bill Greazel, County Attorney Janet Lyness, County Engineer Greg Parker, County Recorder Kim Painter, County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek, County Treasurer Tom Kriz, Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Wilson, Facilities Director David Kempf, Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek, Information Technology Director Jean Schultz, Medical Examiner Administrator Michael Hensch, Mental Health/Disabilities Services Director Kris Artley, Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak, Public Health Director Douglas Beardsley, SEATS Director Tom Brase, Social Services Director Amy Correia, and Veterans Affairs Commission Director Leo Baier. Staff present were: Board of Supervisors Executive Assistant Andy Johnson, Board of Supervisors Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne, and Auditor’s Office Recording Secretary Angela Roemerman.
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek asked the department heads if they recalled former Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan conducting Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) training and distributing the Privacy Practices. Based on the response from the group, Shramek stated the County needed to be incompliance a year prior to April 2004 for certain departments that had protected health information. New employees receive a brief HIPAA overview during their orientation and further training is provided by departments based upon the position and how much Protected Health Information (PHI) individual employees have access to. She reminded everyone to be careful when it comes to employee medical information. It needs to be stored in a locked file and should not be shared with others, including diagnoses or treatments. She acknowledged this can be difficult because co-workers are concerned.
Shramek said medical information must be filed separately which includes health, dental, and flexible spending records. It cannot be co-mingled with the personnel files. Life Insurance, Long-term Disability, and Worker’s Compensation are not covered under HIPAA. This means that Human Resources can freely talk to a supervisor about an employee’s medical condition if they were injured or became ill while working. Drug testing and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are also not covered under HIPAA. This does not mean that it is ok to freely discuss employees with Worker’s Compensation injuries or illnesses that would be covered under FMLA. It is important to realize that County employees are in the public eye and a lot of the meetings are open record.
Shramek said detailed discussions of personal situations can also make some people feel uncomfortable because they do not want to know the level of detail that is being shared. If an employee is ok having their medical information shared, she recommends getting permission in writing such as through an email. Neuzil said this is a good reminder because he knows that sometimes when employees are injured or have a hospitalization it is easy for the Board to talk about it in a public meeting. They have to be careful not to do that unless it is ok with the employee.
Mental Health/Disability Services Director Kris Artley said as a separate agency, they are going forward with trying to accommodate all of the nuances of safety issues within their agency and building on the generalized format that the County has in place. Based on a unit meeting, concerns have been raised because of reports in the newspaper regarding potential violence issues. She said there is a lot of discussion because when they moved into the Health and Human Services Building (HHS) they were talking about having the security of separate units and the other issues that go with that. When she brought these issues up several months ago, it was determined that the Administration Building has a policy and they could just follow that. However, the dynamics are a little bit different in the HHS building because they have State and County personnel. To date, she is not aware that a group has been formed to have policies enacted for the entire building.
Artley suggested that maybe each area is doing their own thing and they do not know what each other is doing. She said she spoke with Facilities Manager David Kempf about the idea of having a buzzer installed so the Board of Supervisors could access her area without trying to track someone down to let them in. She thinks this can be resolved by getting some construction work completed. As far as the emergency plan, she asked whether it should be a building-wide policy or if each department should operate separately. One concern that came up was during a fire drill, they could inadvertently have 200 employees meeting in the same location. This could create problems trying to determine who is there and who is not.
Artley said locking the outer doors is also a concern because currently the building opens at 6:30 a.m. and closes at 6:30 p.m. She asked Kempf how this would be handled for evening Board meetings and he said he would have to reprogram the building for those particular nights. She added that the third floor is not currently secured by the key card and the HIPAA compliant information is stored there. They are technically an 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. building as far as office hours and asked if they should enact a policy to lock the building at 4:30 p.m. then if there is a night meeting, the Board would meet individuals at the door and escort them out after the meeting.
Artley said right now not all of her staff has a key card and they tend to prop doors open so they can get in and out. This eliminates the sense of security that other employees are relying on. She said when she met with Kempf she did not have her list of questions with her and another question that came up is what is the building built to withstand. They have been told that in the event of a tornado, everyone should go downstairs to the men’s and women’s restrooms. She does not know how many people can fit in there and asked if it is ok to go to an inner hallway.
Artley said another concern they have is that visitors are not aware of the No Smoking policy. They are smoking outside the building and there is nothing there to accommodate their cigarette butts. She said there have been days when entering the parking ramp, drivers cannot see pedestrians very well. Last winter the south side seemed to have lights on but the north side did not. Sullivan asked Medical Examiner Administrator Mike Hensch if he was involved in emergency planning. Hensch said he and M. Sullivan met with Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Wilson and Emergency Management Planning Officer B.J. Dvorak. He said M. Sullivan was going to work on the plans and does not know if he followed up on that. Harney asked Kempf if he would address some of the comments made.
Kempf said he can address some of the comments he and Artley had addressed earlier. As far as tornado and fire, seven years ago they adopted some procedures within the County that are written in such a way that they are applicable to any building within the County. Within the confines of those policies there is a section that individual departments are responsible for in establishing their personal responsibilities. For example, County Treasurer Tom Kriz has people who are designated to close down the windows and lock up. Those policies and procedures do apply to the HHS building. Kempf said regarding the parking ramp lights, they were broken and fixed. They are broken again and will be fixed soon. He said the question about what the building can withstand is a question that cannot be answered. The building was built based on established building codes. There is no such thing as a tornado proof structure. He said he has told individuals that the restrooms are just one of the places to go for safety, however, any place in the center core of the building, preferably on first floor, is safe in the event of a tornado. Kempf asked what other questions he is missing.
Neuzil asked about fire response and evacuation charts. Kempf said that will be coming with the signage that should be arriving in the next week or so. Neuzil asked if the signage will be in the main entrance and indicate where to go. Kempf said the signs will indicate the avenues of egress out of the building depending on where an individual is located in the building.
Neuzil asked if there is a system or procedure to know who is in the building and who is out of the building and whether that is a departmental responsibility. Kempf responded it is part of the individual department’s responsibility. Generally the procedure is if the department evacuates the building they designate an area for their department to gather. Someone within that department will do a head count. Unfortunately, a lot of the occupants of the building are out traveling around and the only way to remotely track who is in the building is through the departments.
Neuzil said there were two other issues. One is security, particularly locking the doors after 4:30 p.m. and the other one is if there is a situation where an individual has a knife, is there a plan for that. Kempf responded there is an intercom system in the building and a warning could be put out. The departments are designed to be able to be secured. Right now the outside doors are programmed to lock at 5:30 p.m. This programmed time is dependent on what the departments have going on. It is a public building and they do not want people coming to the building for services and the doors are locked.
Kempf said when they start having Board of Supervisor meetings in the HHS building, particularly the second Thursday of the month which is a public meeting, Iowa Code states the County has to have the building open to the public so they can come and go as they please during the meeting. They will still maintain normal building hours but he will have to program the locks accordingly for the late night meetings. He said he has staff in the building until 11:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. They are responsible for checking the building for people who are not supposed to be there. There have been a couple of cases where there have been some individuals who made it up to the third floor looking for a place to stay for the evening.
Kempf said Freeman Lock and Alarm has been instructed to get the elevator key card program up and going. The County identification cards are slow in coming partly because of the time involved in producing the cards. It will take approximately 10 minutes to produce each card which means between 60 and 80 hours of nonstop work to produce cards for all County employees. He does not have the time available and has talked to the Board about his need for additional assistance in reaching this goal.
Harney said the question was raised about smoking outside the building. Kempf said he can put temporary signage up until the permanent signs arrive and get ash buckets set up, although those tend to promote smoking. Neuzil said at the entrance to the parking lots there should be a reminder that it is against the law to smoke. Kempf said there is designated signage that is coming but he can get some temporary signage up. Stutsman said she understands the mess created by smoking, however, she is concerned about putting ash receptacles in the area that may indicate it is ok to smoke. Kempf said maintenance staff has been cleaning up the mess.
Sullivan said he did not see any plans from Emergency Management in terms of the HHS building. Kempf said Sullivan and Wilson spoke to him about it but nothing has come of that discussion. He forwarded the policies they have been using to Wilson, they are stored on the shared drive, they have been sent to everybody several times, and are covered in new employee orientation. Neuzil reminded the group to keep doors locked that are supposed to be locked and if they see doors propped open, close them. Kempf said he has had requests from the Department of Human Services and Artley for release buttons at the reception desks so they can buzz people in as opposed to using key cards. This is easy enough and he will make a couple of phone calls.
Kempf said they are moving along quite well with the Administration Building remodel. The Information Technology demolition has been done and the majority of the offices in that space have been framed up, electrical work has been inspected, and they are starting to sheet rock. The Treasurer’s Office construction is at the same stage. He reminded the Board he requested they relocate at the end of August 2009. Starting August 28, 2009 they will be relocating Executive Assistant Andy Johnson, Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne, and Board Secretary Jo Hogarty to the first floor conference room. There will be a couple of work spaces available for the Board in this area as well as temporary-permanent offices in the HHS building.
Kempf said these moves will enable construction to occur in the Board of Supervisor’s area sooner and eliminate a few weeks off of the end of the project so they can return to their offices as quickly as possible. The contractor has been great to work with, they are being aggressive, and the sooner they are finished the more money they will make. The big concern is getting IT complete so they can move Planning and Zoning into that space which will enable them to move the City Assessor to the old Planning and Zoning space.
Kempf said one thing regarding parking that has changed is the installation of the gate at the National Guard Armory parking lot. They applied for an I-JOBS grant to possibly make that an enhanced project. If they receive funding the location of the parking will change to where the National Guard Armory building is currently located. The gate would be on the west side as opposed to the east side. He is working with Hansen Asphalt on an estimate to resurface the Car Quest parking lot. He is also working with the City of Iowa City regarding their right-of-way, parking, and expectations. Neuzil asked if the Car Quest lot would be additional employee parking. Kempf replied yes and said it would be post and cable with a key card access arm. Neuzil asked where the County vehicles will be located in the ramp. Kempf said the plan was that County vehicles will park on the north side of the first level of the ramp. There will be a key associated with each vehicle to gain access to the ramp. Employees will be able to use the remainder of the spots on the first level and all of the second level. Public Health Director Doug Beardsley asked for clarification on which part of the first level employees could use. Kempf said employees can use the rest of the north half.
Neuzil said if there are overflow issues at HHS, parking will be available in the Administration Building lot. Kempf said that would be a rare occurrence. Sullivan asked Kempf when the vehicles currently parked in the lot will be asked to move. Kempf said they could start on the project any time. Neuzil asked if individuals who use the Administration Building parking lot will be asked to move over to the National Guard Armory. Kempf said that will be up to the Parking Committee and Board to make that decision. Whenever the Board or Parking Committee decides they want to move forward with the project, it can begin any time. Neuzil said they can add this to a Key Issues meeting. Stutsman said they should wait until the skywalk is open due to the danger of crossing the street. Kempf agreed. Neuzil asked if the City of Iowa City is going to put meters up on the street for parking. Kempf said the last he knew the intention was to put up meters and he has not heard anything to the contrary. His understanding is they are going to put meters on both Clinton and Dubuque Streets.
Kempf said the use of the third floor is contingent upon when the key card access is installed in the elevator. Once that is completed, they can begin moving exercise equipment to the floor and make the space available to employees. The bathrooms and locker rooms are currently being used by some of the people who bike to work. Once the space is open they will have to discuss who is eligible to use the space and whether it includes State employees and family members. Neuzil said the Space Needs Committee can sort that out. Kempf said his game plan is to have it up and running this fall before it gets cold.
Neuzil asked Kempf about the bike racks and lighting for the Administration Building. Kempf replied the bike racks are ordered. He said if the Board likes the new signage for the HHS building he will replace the old Administration Building signs with signs that match the HHS building signs. The bushes around the Administration Building will be removed, the building will be cleaned up, and they will pant some lower bushes or grasses in the fall.
Johnson said Board members have indicated they liked what Linn County put together last year as far as their county priorities and having materials to hand to Legislators that are well organized. He is working to create a comprehensive list of issues from the departments. If the Board chooses to identify priorities within that list, he can separate those out as well. Neuzil instructed the department heads to think about what the key issues should be for the Legislature. Stutsman asked Johnson what his target date is for getting this put together. Johnson replied he does not have one yet. He said at the Key Issues meeting August 26, 2009 the Board will discuss planning a meeting with legislators, when to have materials ready, and layout the timeline. In the meantime, they can email him with ideas and he will keep an ongoing list.
Neuzil said, regarding the Smoking Policy, to remind employees they cannot smoke on public government grounds based on State law. The rule for the Administration Building is designated as sidewalk or dumpster but technically it sounds like sidewalk near the dumpster. Shramek said they cannot smoke on a sidewalk leading to the building. Neuzil asked Kempf if he knew the rule. Kempf said the law states they can smoke on public sidewalks, but not the ones leading up to a building. This has allowed people to smoke closer to the building than when they were required to smoke in the designated smoking areas. He would like smokers to be courteous toward others, move away from the building, and treat it with a certain level of common sense.
Neuzil said there have been issues of people wanting to stay overnight inside the parking ramp area. He has driven by at night and seen people hanging out there. Kempf said he has not seen that but if that is the case someone needs to let him know. Neuzil said he is letting Kempf know that he has seen that. Stutsman asked if he means homeless people. Neuzil said yes they were hanging out in the stairwell and asked Kempf if that area is going to have a lock. Kempf said there will be a remedy for that particular use of the stairwell through the key card access.
Shramek said they have all six collective bargaining agreements open this year. The process will start in September 2009 and she is in the process of getting meetings scheduled. Also, for open positions, they are receiving a huge volume of applications. For example 150 applications were received for the Clerk I position.
Kempf said the occupants of the HHS Building need to be aware that door frames will be reworked and repainted after hours. There are still some issues with the geothermal system at SEATS/Secondary Roads. The subcontractor has been directed to get the problems resolved or Kempf will bring in someone else. He said his department has been very busy preparing for fall and winter. An offer has been made to hire a new custodian at the Courthouse and the position should be filled by September 1, 2009.
Social Services Director Amy Correia said she has hired a new staff person to answer the phone and greet the public. She is in the process of hiring a grant funded, part-time Social Services assistant.
County Engineer Greg Parker said due to the recent rain, the contractor for the Black Diamond Road bridge replacement is trying to pump the water out and the project is coming along slowly for this time of the year. They put dust control down, on the detour August 18, 2009, for the Derby Avenue and 120th Street project. Paving of Oak Crest Hill Road, north of Hills, should be completed August 18, 2009. They are hoping by the end of this week or the first part of next week, those two lanes will be open for two-lane traffic. He reminded the Board, that during construction, they can only maintain one lane of traffic because they do not have the right-of-way in that area to accommodate two lanes of traffic. He said he has been working with Iowa City Community School District Superintendent Lane Plugge to ensure they are working with the residents in that area. Weather permitting they will only have to deal with this inconvenience until October 2009.
Parker said Highway 965 from Quarry Road north to 120th Street has been paved and both lanes are complete. They are hoping to have those lanes open to traffic this week. Paving will begin on the north bound lane south toward Quarry Road. There is a pre-construction meeting on August 19, 2009 for the Dubuque Street Trail project. Up and coming projects include a letting for 120th Street at the intersection of Highway 965 over I-380 to the bank. This is a dual project with the City of Cedar Rapids. Oak Crest Hill Road from Hills south to the Washington County line will also be let in October 2009 and he anticipates spring construction for both projects.
Parker said they are having some permitting problems with the Oakdale Boulevard project. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has invoked Iowa Code language that allows them to push projects back that are not financially strained based on the time frame. This project has been moved to the bottom of the pile and they are at the mercy of the DNR to approve the permits. They were looking at a January 2010 letting, but that may not happen now.
Parker said the 2010 project for Cosgrove Bridge may be delayed. County workers are still trying to get in there to do cross sections and determine what size bridge they have to replace but the rain is delaying their progress. Sharon Center Road Bridge design is being completed. Permit requirements will probably be the only hold up. They are looking for a spring letting. The safety audit is being completed for the Twin County Dairy project at 540th Street. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is determining if they want to join the County on this project. He does not know what the outcome will be regarding the turning lanes and they plan to begin construction in summer 2010. Parker said the second application of dust control has been completed and all seal coat applications have been completed. They are doing general maintenance such as mowing and weed control. Due to the flood in 2008, they are taking care of pothole patching. The utility permits are on target compared to 2008. They heard from Senator Grassley’s staff that the Mahaffey Bridge Road project did not get included as part of this funding cycle. He said he has not heard back from Congressman Loebsack’s office but he is hoping for a positive response. They will resubmit this project for the next funding cycle. Parker said there will be a meeting regarding Sutliff Bridge August 18, 2009. The structural inspection has been completed and they are going to meet with the engineer who conducted the inspection to determine where to go from here.
City Assessor Dennis Baldridge said they have had two appeals to District 4 and eight to the new Property Assessment and Appeal Board for the State of Iowa. Equalization orders were recently released and they had none other than the agricultural property in Iowa City which is less than $2 million in value. He said Deputy City Assessors Brad Comer and Marty Burkle have started on the reappraisal project for commercial property.
Conservation Director Harry Graves said he is pleased to report that the progress on the Kent Park Headquarters and Maintenance Facility is moving along rapidly despite the number of rain days since the project started. The LEED buildings are coming along, the concrete has been poured, the structural insulated panels that make up the walls and roof have been erected on the headquarters portion of the building, and the walls will be completed on the maintenance facility soon, and the roof will be put on shortly. The completion date on the project is December 21, 2009 and at this point the general contractor believes he can still meet that deadline. Graves said his staff is building a replacement for the Kent Park water plant building. It will be a highly energy efficient building, and will be heated by the geothermal system that heats the other two buildings. The Bullhog brush cutter, from Pheasants Forever/Habitat Forever, will be used to remove large invasive species of Autumn Olive and Exotic Honeysuckle. The cost of this project will be augmented by a grant that the Hawkeye Cooperative Weed Management agency has received. He said his goal is to have all the large patches of invasive species removed so Conservation can maintain those areas with their own equipment in the future.
Graves said he recently submitted a grant application to the County Review Committee and the DNR for the Kent Park Camp Ground which is a $627,000 project. The review will take place September 16, 2009 and he is hopeful that the project will receive funding. He said summer 2008 has been one of the most productive summers for the Conservation staff since he has been here. He said they recently let a contract for a long awaited construction of wetland projects at the Cedar River crossing area and weather permitting, the work will commence in September 2009. Stutsman asked Graves what they will do with the brush. Graves said the brush comes out of the cutter as mulch. Last year they used the mulch on slopes which helped prevent soil erosion during heavy rains.
Public Health Director Doug Beardsley said the Board of Supervisors approved employee flu shots for benefit eligible employees. There will be a schedule coming around from the Health Promotion Coordinator. He said they have been busy planning for the H1N1 virus. There will be a regular flu shot season and they are developing plans to distribute H1N1 vaccines, should they receive it, and who it will go to and how it will be delivered. They have been working with area hospitals, schools, Emergency Management, and other County departments. If anyone would like someone from the Public Health Department to come to individual departments to answer questions, they would be happy to do that. County Assessor Bill Greazel asked when the employee flu shots would be given. Beardsley said the employee flu shots will begin the first week of October 2009.
County Attorney Janet Lyness said the Board approved to eliminate the position of Assistant County Attorney in charge of Child Support Recovery. This position has been providing service for Johnson, Iowa, Jones, and Benton Counties for several years. In the last year they have only been able to cover Johnson and Benton Counties because of the workload. Most other counties have switched to having Assistant Attorney Generals handle child support. She said when they make this switch, if anyone has any complaints about child support, please let her know. The Department of Human Services has assured her that Johnson County will receive the same level of attention they have received in the past.
Ambulance Director Steve Spenler said for the first time in five years the call volume has decreased from 2008. He will be attending a meeting with Coralville Fire Chief David Stannard to put plans together to move the Coralville truck from the current Fire Station to the new location. Neuzil asked if they are getting ready for the Hawkeye Football season. Spenler said they are getting ready for football, students, and H1N1. Sullivan asked Spenler over what period the call volume is down. Spenler responded that the first month and a half of the fiscal year it is down and in talking with other ambulance service directors, they are seeing the same trend over the last five months. They have seen this in the past where they have had an increase in call volume over a five year period and then they stabilize for awhile and increase again.
SEATS Director Tom Brase said he wants to thank the Public Health Department for putting on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator training (AED) and they have an AED device in their break room. He just returned from the Easter Seals Institute that he attended with other members of the community and they will be looking for any unmet needs for transportation in the County. He asked if anyone has ideas or input to email him. The total rides for SEATS is going up and missed rides is going down.
Information Technology Director Jean Schultz said an email will be sent announcing the Employee Computer Purchase program. She asked if any of the department’s employees do not have email to please share the information with them. For current employees participating in the program, if anyone terminates employment please let her know as soon as possible so any outstanding amounts can be recovered. She said they recently released the new website and they are putting public relations announcements at the bottom of the home page. If anyone has any positive information to share with the public, let her department know. They finished converting their reporting to a package called Reporting Services. Their goal is to allow departments to run reports whenever they need them. If anyone needs assistance in using the program she is available to help.
Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said they have acquired $1.7 million for buyout, cleanup, and demolition of the structures they are buying out. They received a small grant for dangerous and hazardous structures and he will be sending out a Request for Proposal (RFP). In theory, they should begin the buyouts and demotions before the end of 2009 and have them completed before spring 2010. Neuzil asked what Dvorak’s role is with the U. S. Census. Dvorak replied he is the census guy. Neuzil said the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) is having a Census Bureau 101 training workshop in November 2009. Dvorak said he did it in 1998, 1999, 2000, and it was much more work. It is easier now than it was ten years ago and should not be a problem.
Sullivan said the ISAC Steering Committee Meetings are August 25, 2009 and he will be attending and said if anyone would like to carpool to let him know.
Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier said the 40 hour work week issue has been addressed and he enjoys working with the Veteran Affairs Assistant. The $10,000 allocation from the State has been received. This is a one-time allocation and the State mandate has been met. The second allocation from FEMA 27 has been received and expended. Additional allocations will be received and all funds need to be expended by December 31, 2009. Baier said veterans who are disabled and 0% compensated or higher can receive life-time hunting and fishing licenses for $5.50. He said there has been a lot of interest in this program. He said he enjoyed working with Sullivan at the Johnson County Fair on July 30, 2009.
Neuzil thanked everyone for their participation at the Johnson County Fair. He suggested moving displays out in the open for better participation. He asked Johnson if the Employee Appreciation Lunch is still on. Johnson said it is Friday, September 11, 2009. Neuzil said in the past they have had volunteers to help with cooking. Johnson said an email will be going out to department heads and elected officials to solicit participation. Artley asked where the lunch will be held. Kempf said they may try to feed everyone on the third floor of the Health and Human Services Building and grill in the Car Quest parking lot.
Neuzil said the next Department Head meeting will be October 20, 2009 at 1:30 p.m.
Adjourned at 2:47 p.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Angela Roemerman, Recording Secretary