Board Minutes: August 12, 2024

Present, Country Represented
Blaine Arbuthnot, Terry McMillian Crowley
Meagan Hillman, Prowers
Rick Butler, Baca
Kim McDonnell, Joni Wilk Bent
Rob Oquist, Otero
Dennis Pearson, Kiowa
Karl Sporlender (Not voting), Huerfano

Guests
Mindy Baumgarder – CO AG’s Office
Elizabeth Riffle, Robert Archuleta – Crossroads Turning Points
Theodora Barychewsky – Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
Jessica Apodaca – Pueblo DPHE
Rob Miller – SafeSide Recovery
Felicia Tapia – SoCo Harm Reduction
Sarah Money – Colorado Health Network
Marisa Stoller – City of Pueblo
Kristin Carpenter – Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drugs
Christine Charron – Southern Colorado Health Network
Tori Cervi

Call to Order
Meagan Hillman called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m.

Approval of Agenda
Dennis Pearson and Rob Oquist moved and seconded the approval of the Agenda – Agenda approved.

Approval of Minutes
Dennis Pearson and Joni Wilk moved and seconded the approval of the minutes – Minutes approved.

Facilitator Update
Rose gave an update on the Treatment RFP. It has been the most responsive so far out of any of the RFP’s we have released. She is getting a lot of questions and interest from organizations. She is also working on getting the Prevention and Education contracts out to the organizations that were awarded the funding. She has also been working on getting the Mini-Grants contracts to each of the counties. Rose and Wendy are working on getting the financials updated and will have them for presentation at the next meeting for everyone to review.

There was also discussion about the updated two-year plan that is required by the MOU. If anyone wants voice a change on the percentages, please email Rose your suggestions, so the full board can vote on the percentages at the next meeting. The adoption of the 2-year plan will be on the agenda for the August 26 th meeting. Criminal Justice is one area that needs to be re-worded and the correct wording from the new MOU from the Attorney General’s office will be used in the updated two-year plan.

Discussion was had on the additional Prevention and Education application that was missed on the first review of the RFP’s. Las Animas and Huerfano County Public Health and Environment submitted a grant application for an Education and Prevention grant for a total of $582,528.00. The Board decided to continue with the current plan of releasing the RFP’s for all the other categories of funding first, before discussing reissue of funds left in the Education and Prevention category.

VOTING ITEM: Additional Prevention and Education Grant
Blaine Arbuthnot and Rob Oquist moved and seconded the approval of the additional Prevention and Education Grant for Las Animas and Huerfano County Public Health and Environment at an amount of $582,528.00 – Motion approved.

County Mini-Grant Presentations:
Joni Wilke, Director of Public Health, from Bent County presented for Bent County. The PowerPoint will be attached to these minutes for public review. Bent county used their mini- grant funds for a community mural, they partnered Rise Above and CSU Extension services to help with the project. The local kids painted the mural with a message of “Your friends count on You” and Connect effect with the teens. The CSU Extension office donated the lighting and the stationary swing that is located by the mural. This project with a community lead effort with the Bent County Health Department doing the primer work for the mural and the Las Animas High School students helping with Rise Above on the painting of the mural. This mural has had a very positive impact on the community and has generated a lot of conversations around the Opioid Crisis in the community and surrounding areas.

Kim Gonzales presented from Las Animas County. They did a youth and family event on May 15, 2024. This event had hands on learning stations to educate the youth and their families about the Opioid Crisis in their community. They found that the hands-on experiences were much more effective than the talking at the youth. The kids got involved and definitely learned about the effects of Opioids in their bodies and on the community. The stations were set up so that the youth received stamps and at the end of the event, prizes were given out to the youth with all of their stamps from the stations. They learned about the myths and facts about opioids as well as parents received information on how to talk to the youth on the dangers of opioids. Conversations were sparked with the topics and everyone left with a since of community. Parents and students have asked for additional events and they are planning to have more events to help with the education, they are also expanding to do the events in the schools.

Rick Butler, Baca County Commissioner gave a brief overview of what they are focused on with their Mini-Grant. Baca County is using their funding to help train the teachers in their county on how to use Narcan and making sure that each school is trained in use. They will also supply the school districts with Narcan so each teacher can have access to this life saving tool.

Otero and Crowley Counties will do the next mini-grant presentations at the meeting on August 26th .

Adjournment
Blaine Arbuthnot and Rick Butler motioned to adjournment – Motion approved

Next Meeting:
Monday, August 26th at 3:00 p.m.

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