REGULAR BOARD MEETING
MINUTES
August 12, 2009
The North
Carolina Board of Funeral Service met for a duly scheduled Board Meeting at
9:00 a.m. on August 12, 2009 at the Board’s office,
Present: Larry
Andrews, President; J. T. Willoughby III, Vice President;
Also
Present: Paul Harris, Executive
Director; Stephen N. Dirksen, General Counsel; Fred Jordan with the N. C. Eye
Bank, Herb Reichlin with the Funeral Consumers Alliance, Pat Hayes with North
Carolina Funeral Directors Association, Dorman Caudle with Carolina Donor
Services and
Mr. Andrews
called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Willoughby had the invocation.
Mr. Andrews
read the Ethics Awareness & Conflict of Interest statement and Mr.
Willoughby and Ms. Wiseman stated they attended National Funeral Directors and
Morticians Association meeting in
Mr. Parrott
presented the July minutes for approval.
Mr. Willoughby stated there was one correction and that was in the
second paragraph. His name should be
added as absent. Mr. Parrott made the
motion to approval the minutes as corrected.
Mr. Blake seconded and the motion carried.
After a
reminder from Mr. Lea, Mr. Andrews asked for public comment. There was none and the visitors in attendance
identified themselves. Mr. Parrott
mentioned it was Mr.
Exam Committee:
Mr. Parrott stated eight applicants took laws and rules in June. All were first time and seven passed and one
failed. Ten applicants took laws and
rules in July. All were first time and
eight passed and two failed. The computer-based
exam is now ready for use. Staff will
now register and take the exam to test the system. Interested Board members should inform staff
so they can also be registered. The
“ready date” for applicants will be related to when the law books are available
for distribution. This report was
presented for information only.
Finance/Personnel:
In Mr. Briggs’ absence, Mr. Harris stated Finance Committee had met by
teleconference last week to discuss the state increased travel and subsistence
rates. They were recommending approval
effective August 1. Mr. Willoughby made
the motion to accept the recommendation and Mr. Lea seconded. The motion carried. Mr. Harris presented the July
financials. Mr. Lea made the motion to
accept them and Ms. Wiseman seconded.
The motion carried.
Laws, Rules
& Legislation: In Mr. Briggs absence, Mr. Harris presented
the report. The Rules Review Commission
staff requested only two minor technical changes to the proposed rules and
Board staff made the corrections. Staff
is drafting rules as required under provisions of Session Law 2009-125
(H221). These are to address procedures
for the board if the annual reporting deadline of October 1 is missed. Rules are also being drafted to meet the
requirements of Session Law 2009-458 (H1411).
This legislation provides direction on license renewals for active
military personnel. The Committee had
met by teleconference and recommends a delay until September 1 of publication
of the new law book. This would allow
inclusion of relevant enacted legislation from the current session and the
approval of proposed rules/rule changes now pending with the Rules Review
Committee. Delivery of the books would
be in mid to late October. This could
affect the “ready date” for the computer based laws and rules exam. Mr. Blake made the motion to accept the
recommendation of the delay on publication of the law books. Mr. Willoughby seconded and the motion
carried.
Preneed
Committee: Mr. Andrews presented the report for
information only. Discussion
ensued. Mr. Willoughby made the motion
to accept the report as information only and Ms. Wiseman seconded. The Motion carried.
Disciplinary
Committee: Mr. Lea presented the report and stated there
was one Addendum. Mr. Dirksen also had
one addendum for which there was no written report. Mr. Blake made the motion to approve the main
report and Mr. Parrott seconded. The
motion carried. After reviewing the
addendum a motion was made by Mr. Willoughby and seconded by Mr. Blake to
approve the written addendum. The motion
carried. Mr. Dirksen stated that an
individual had made a license reinstatement request. Mr. Parrott made the motion to conduct a
hearing in the matter. Ms. Wiseman
seconded the motion and it carried.
Traineeship Committee: Mr. Blake stated the a trainee registered in
May failed to submit any work reports and did not bring them for the meeting
with the committee prior to this Board meeting.
The committee recommends the trainee be assigned a new start date of
September 1, 2009 and meet the stipulations as set forth in the meeting. Trainee and supervisor will meet with the
staff prior to September 1 to review trainee requirements. Mr. Blake made the motion to accept the
recommendation. Mr. Willoughby seconded
and the motion carried.
Clinics:
Ms. Wiseman stated the June 25 Clinic at the
Other Committee
Reports: There were none.
Attorney Report: Mr. Dirksen
presented his report. Mr. Lea made the
motion to approve the report and Ms. Webber seconded. The motion carried.
Executive Director’s Report: Mr. Harris
stated under Old Business Mr. Tim Fleming and Mr. Horace Gunn would be present
to answer questions from a previous meeting.
Since the June 17 Board Meeting 56 reports have been filed. New Funeral Homes—LHorton Community Funeral
Home, Sanford; Long House Funeral Home, Cherokee; W. H. Bryant, A. E. Grier
& Sons, Mooresville; Lindsay Memorial Funeral Home, Farmville; and
Whitehead Memorial Funerals & Cremations, Rocky Mount. Change of ownership—Mackie-High Funeral Home,
New funeral service licensees: James Swanger, John Patterson, Ethienne
Rodriguez, Michael Braswell, M. Brian Hall III, Jerry Cranford, Joseph Chapman.
New funeral director licensees: J.
B. Rhodes III, Sarah Tessnair, Tony Silver, Florie Russell.
New trainees: Antenor Nixon, John
Wilson, Regina Taylor, Thomas Mowery, Amiee Thompson, Brandon Roberts, Kenneth
Holloway.
Mr. Harris presented his ethics report and stated he met at the General
Assembly to discuss HB1166. He had been
in contact with lobbyist for the FD&MA of NC, Inc. and the NCFDA.
The Real Estate Board contacted Mr. Harris regarding the mandatory Board
Member training required by Session Law 2009-125(H221). Board staff, outside counsel or the
Mr. Harris presented five Advisory Opinions issued by the Ethics
Commission and gave a brief synopsis of each.
Mr. Harris had met with Mr. Pollard from the State Auditors Office and
provided him with the closed session minutes.
The budget passed including increase of fees for the State Registrar’s
office for vital records searches and copies.
Mr. Harris reported that this does not appear to affect local death
certificate cost which is still $10.00 per certificate.
Mr. Harris gave an update on the status of pending legislation of H734,
H1134, H644, SB491, H801 which were not reported out of Committee. SL2009-350(H81) which amended the Open
Meetings Act and SL2009-288 (SB159) which updated the funeral expense allowance
for estates.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources
copied the Board with a letter to the five crematories in the state that
perform 532 crematories per year. If
they provide 533 cases, then they must have an air emissions permit.
Mr. Harris participated in a teleconference meeting of the NC Emergency
Management Mass Fatality group. The
SMORT program has not progressed as anticipated. Mr. Harris plans to attend the next meeting.
The Hester-Whitted-Day appeal was dismissed. The Board received a mediation order for the
Melton Riddle matter.
Mr. Harris stated Mr. Andrews had received a letter at the Board office
and had given him permission to open and read.
It was a complaint regarding tissue removal that the next of kin did not
authorize.
The Transport/Removal application request three affidavits of character
from someone that has known the applicant for three or more years. One of those three must be from a funeral
director. Since persons working for a
transport/removal service are required to file with the Board, an applicant has
stated they do not know a funeral director and requested a response from
staff. Mr. Harris would like to refer
the request to Laws & Rules Committee for study. Mr. Willoughby made the motion to refer the
removal/permit request to the Laws & Rules committee. Mr. Parrott seconded and the motion carried.
Mr. Harris reported receiving a call from a licensee that had requested
information regarding a reciprocal license from another jurisdiction. The staff in the other jurisdiction expressed
great confidence in North Carolina’s licensing requirements. Mr. Harris stated that was a compliment.
Preneed, FTC and Cremation law reviews will be scheduled before the end
of the year. The last reviews were well
attended. Mr. Harris has been in contact
with cemetery owner for Crown Memorial.
A meeting to get the problems resolved is being planned. The International Conference of State
Examining Boards Anaheim, California, meeting is scheduled for February 25 and
26, 2010. Mr. Willoughby made the motion
for him to begin research on travel. Mr.
Parrott seconded and the motion carried.
New Business: Mr. Harris
presented the Crematory Authority ballot.
Since there are two positions to be filled and two candidates names
running, Mr. Harris referred to 21 NCAC 34C.0101(b)(6)(E) that states, in part,
that if there is only one candidate for each seat, the Board shall declare the
candidates elected without hold an election.
Mr. Lea made the motion to accept the petitions naming J. Barry Bowman
and James D. Weatherspoon elected to the Crematory Authority. Mr. Blake seconded and the motion
carried.
Informational Items: Mr. Blake
stated he had testified in a homicide case that was six years old and stressed
the importance of taking notes and keeping the paperwork in the deceased file
for reasons such as this.
Mr. Harris stated that Mr. Parrott was absent for the June meeting and
the May minutes were presented but not approved. Mr. Parrott made the motion to approve the
May 2009 minutes. Mr. Willoughby
seconded and the motion carried to accept the May minutes in the record.
At this time there was a ten-minute recess and Mr. Blake departed the
meeting. Upon reconvening, Mr. Harris
stated the Evaluation of Statement of Economic Interests letters from the State
Ethics Committee were included for Mr. Andrews, Mr. Blake, Mr. Lea, Mr. McCree,
Mr. Parrott, and Mr. Willoughby. Ms.
Wiseman and Ms. Webber had previously filed theirs with State Ethics.
Mr. Willoughby made the motion to go into closed session to consult with
an attorney to preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and
the Board in the matter of Duane J. Thomas vs. Forest Lawn Mortuary, et. al.
Mr. Lea seconded and the motion carried.
Mr. Willoughby made the motion to return to open session and Mr. Lea
seconded. There was no action taken in
the matter discussed in closed session.
Old Business: At this
time Horace Gunn and Tim Fleming entered the meeting to discuss and answer
questions regarding their outside embalming facility, Wesley Heights Mortuary
Service. Discussion ensued. Mr. Willoughby made the motion to go into
closed session to discuss Westley Heights Mortuary Service. Mr. Lea seconded and the motion carried. Upon reconvening, Mr. Andrews deferred to Mr.
Dirksen to discuss the action taken. Mr.
Dirksen stated the application was denied but can be resubmitted September 1,
2009, with the inclusion of documents showing the legal ownership
structure. Mr. Lea made the motion to
accept the recommendation and Mr. Willoughby seconded. The motion carried.
Mr. Andrews requested a recess in order to begin the hearing regarding
Morrison-Sturdivant. At this time
Charles McDaris entered the meeting. The
meeting was reconvened at 11:35 with Mr. Andrews, Ms. Webber, Ms. Wiseman, Mr.
McCree and Mr. Willoughby present. Mr.
Parrott and Mr. Lea did not participate.
The Board recessed for lunch until the 1:00 hearing.
Larry
Andrews, President