City of Aurora Veterans Advisory Council met Feb. 9.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
Council Members
Jose Cervantes; Randy Fisher (Vice-Chair); Ansar Kazmi; Ken Leask; Josh Pfeuffer; Guillermo Trujillo (COA);
At the start of the meeting Mr. Trujillo (City of Aurora Liaison) announced that the Mayor was asking Mr. Pfeuffer to be the new chair and that Mr. Pfueffer had agreed to serve.
Call to Order The meeting was called by Mr. Pfeuffer at 5:40 p.m. Four members were present and the fifth member arrived shortly after the Roll Call.
Pledge of Allegiance Mr. Pfeuffer led the Pledge and the Moment of Silence.
Moment of Silence
Roll Call Mr. Fisher completed the Roll Call. Attendance was 100%. Mission Statement Mr. Fisher read the Mission Statement
Acceptance of Previous Minutes Accepting the November minutes was postponed to a time when the minutes are found.
Public Comment No members of the public were present.
Treasurer’s Report The balance of the five AVAC funds are as follows:
Scholarship Fund - $11,000; Council Fund - $19562.66; Service Dogs Fund - $133,297.65; Memorial Bricks Fund - $1172.85; Assistance Fund - $20,242,94
Committee Reports
Scholarship Fund Eleven $1,000 college scholarships will be awarded this spring according to Mr. Fisher.
Web / Social Media Members were reminded that submitted content must be appropriate and meet City requirements.
Service Dogs Mr. Pfeuffer announced that a potential recipient had been identified, who served with Mr. Pleuffer and lives In Washington state. We have not had a candidate from Aurora in over three years. He reported the past vendor in Texas is not available. “Dog Tag Buddies” is the new vendor and was vetted by Mr. Pfeuffer and Mr. Toma.
Memorial Bricks Mr. Cervantes report no activity on the brick program. Mr. Pfeuffer remined the Council that bricks for two vendors that have gone out of their way for AVAC and COA need to be ordered.
Assistance Fund Mr. Fisher reported that a female veteran needs extensive dental work that is not available to her from the VA. “Smiles for Vets” has found donors and other resources including AVAC. Council members will study the application for assistance to make appropriate changes.
Dogs for Vets Mr. Leask reported that he is still talking with interested groups and that Dr. Jane Davis will be invited to the March AVAC meeting.
COA Liaison Report Mr. Trujillo passed out a “Member Guide for Boards, Commissions, and Councils.” He talked about maintaining boundaries between an individuals beliefs and our representing the City of Aurora and AVAC. Part of the packet was a Code of Conduct which each Council Member signed. He talked about the difficulty of finding new board members for AVAC. We had a list of a half a dozen potential members and they all failed to complete the application and have expressed no desire to serve.
Upcoming Events The Golf Outing is coming in early June. AVAC needs council members to attend the outing and attend the banquet where the check is presented to AVAC. Two COA parades are coming (Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Mr. Trujilo and Mr. Pfueffer will contact Mike Nelson (COA) to register.
Old Business
New Business The Council voted to change the start time of our meetings to 6 p.m. from 5:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously.
The Assistance Fund will pay up to $600.00 for a female Aurora veteran to have major dental work through Smiles for Vets program. Motion passed unanimously.
The Council voted to earmark $36,250 for a veterans service dog pending completion of the application, participation by the veteran (J. Granger of Washington state) in the program and the dog meeting their training standards. Motion passed unanimously.
Announcements / Good of the Order No items
Next meeting is March 9, 2022
Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
https://www.aurora-il.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02092022-2814
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