REGULAR BOARD MEETING
MINUTES
October 14, 2009
The North
Carolina Board of Funeral Service met for a duly scheduled Board Meeting at
9:00 a.m. on October 14, 2009 at the Board’s office,
Present: Larry
Andrews, President; Rudy Lea, Frank McCree, Tryphina Wiseman,
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
Mr. Andrews
called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Wiseman had the invocation.
Mr. Andrews
read the Ethics Awareness & Conflict of Interest statement and no one
recused themselves at that time. Ms.
Wiseman stated she had attended the Board Meeting for the Funeral Directors and
Morticians Association of NC, Inc.
Mr. Andrews
asked the guests to identify themselves and make any comments. Mr. Adams provided guests and Board members
with information regarding Elkin Funeral Service.
In the absence
of Mr. Parrott, Mr. Andrews asked the members to review the September minutes
for approval. Mr. Wiseman made the
motion to approve the minutes. Mr. Lea
seconded and the motion carried.
Exam Committee:
Mr. Blake reported for Mr. Parrott stating six applicants took laws and
rules, four were first time and two were retakes. Four passed (including the two retakes) and
two failed.
Mr. Harris
stated the computer-based exam is ready but since the new law books will not be
mailed until late November or early December, the exam cannot be administered
until at least February 2010.
Finance/Personnel:
Mr. Briggs presented the financials and yielded to Mr. Harris for any
comments. The Committee and staff are
currently working on the 2010 budget.
The law book publish has provided an estimate of $2800 to mail books
directly to licensees, crematories and funeral homes. Staff has also requested a quote from a local
mail center and a price of $.85 per book was quoted not including the postage. A total price will be presented at the next
Board meeting.
Mr. Briggs made
the motion to accept the financials and Mr. Blake seconded. The motion carried.
Laws, Rules
& Legislation: The Committee met by teleconference on
October 5 and were presenting and recommending the following: (1) Revised renewal forms to require
disclosure of sanctions/actions/or denials since the last renewal. Require disclosure if applicant is still
under probation or other court jurisdiction.
(2) Insert location address and date of renewal on establishment and
crematory permits. Discussion
ensued. Mr. Briggs made the motion to
approve the recommendations. Ms. Wiseman
seconded and the motion carried. The
third Committee recommendation is to deny the request by Evergreen Corp. to
allow preneed sales through a chapel location.
This recommendation is based on clear statutory directive of N.C. Gen.
Stat. § 90-210.67(a) that “only funeral establishments holding a valid
establishment permit pursuant to G.S. 90-210.25(d) shall be eligible for a
preneed funeral establishment license.”
Mr. Briggs made the motion to accept the Committee’s recommendation and
Ms. Wiseman seconded. Discussion
ensued. Mr. Andrews called for the vote
and the motion carried.
Mr. Briggs
presented for review drafts of proposed rules for licensees deployed in combat
as military personnel pursuant to G.S. 93B-15(b) and procedures for late filing
of annual reports also required by G.S. 93-B-2(d). These items will be voted on at the next
meeting.
The Committee
is working with staff to develop procedures for firms to petition the Board to
find the establishment solvent in order to drop the preneed bond. This will be in the form a of a new rule.
Preneed
Committee: Mr. Andrews presented the report for
information only.
Disciplinary
Committee: Mr. Lea presented the report. Mr. Briggs recused himself from Case
M09-029. Mr. Blake made the motion to
remove M09-029 from the report and vote separately on the case and the
addendum. Mr. Lea seconded. The motion carried. Mr. Briggs abstained from the vote. Mr. Lea made the motion to accept the
recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee with the exception of
M09-029. Ms. Wiseman seconded and the
motion carried. Mr. Lea presented the
addendum for review. Mr. Briggs made the
motion to accept the Committee recommendations for V09-055, M09-001 and
M09-012. Mr. Blake seconded and the
motion carried. Discussion ensued
regarding Case M09-029. Mr. Briggs did
not participate in the discussion. Mr.
Blake made the motion to accept the recommendations for M09-029 and Mr. Lea
seconded. The motion carried. Mr. Briggs did not participate in the vote.
Traineeship
Committee: Mr. Blake stated staff had received two
trainee applications that will be the first to require the Supervisor
Certification Program. Another licensee
requested to take the certification so he will be fully qualified when he
decides to take on a trainee.
Mr. Blake
yielded the floor to Mr. Harris who discussed the new trainee forms. Input from staff, trainees, and supervisors
was used to update the form. Mr. Blake
made the motion to accept the recommendation from the Traineeship Committee
regarding the new forms. Mr. Lea
seconded and the motion carried.
Discussion ensued regarding the implementation of the forms. Mr. Blake made the motion to begin use of the
forms from this point forward. Mr.
Briggs seconded and the motion carried.
Clinics:
Ms. Wiseman reported rooms are reserved for the clinic at the
Other Committee
Reports: There were none.
Attorney Report: Mr. Dirksen
presented his report. Two more Howell
claims for approximately $3700 plus interest were presented. Mr. Blake made the motion to approve and Mr. Lea
seconded. The motion carried. Questions ensued regarding the Howell
matter. Mr. Blake requested staff to
pursue the matter of the Howell repayment.
Mr. Dirksen responded a civil law suit has been filed.
Executive Director’s Report: Mr. Harris
reported Mr. Dirksen had been able to make a lot of progress with pending cases
since the last meeting and because there were not hearings scheduled for
October.
Since the September 9 Board Meeting 13 reports have been filed. New Funeral Homes—Appalachian Funeral
Services and Crematory, Sylva (crematory permit has not yet been issued);
Wesley Heights Mortuary Service, Charlotte; Affordable Cremations of
Winston-Salem. New Crematories:
New funeral service licensees: Charles Richard, Jr., Kevin Sanderlin,
Kenneth Taylor, Sr.
New funeral director licensees:
Catherine Davis, Dana Statton, Thomas Williford.
New trainees: Charles Chambers,
Duane Cutlip, David Cochran, Ioanna Farber, Vickie Jackson, James Moss, James
Shackleford, Jeremiah Whitt.
Mr. Harris stated Ms. Stegall will probably be returning to work in three
weeks.
Mr. Harris stated he had met for lunch with Dan Buchanan, former mortuary
school instructor, who will now be managing a
A letter was written to all trainees regarding the Department of Labor
traineeship co-op program and the $50 fee to register trainees after staff
received a $3000 bill from DOL. This
letter explained this $50 was not required by the Board and did not affect
their traineeship. One person sent the
$50.
Duane J. Johnson vs. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Et. Al dismissed against all
parties.
Information and links regarding H1N1 are on the website, were mentioned
in the e-mail newsletter, and will be included in the next printed newsletter.
Mr. Harris was unable to schedule Preneed, FTC and Cremation law reviews
for October but will schedule them for December. The November meeting will be held on November
4th and 5th since Board office will be closed November 11
to observe Veteran’s Day. The Board
Christmas Party is scheduled for December 8th at 6:30 p.m. The Newsletter will be mailed the first week
of November. Mr. Andrews received the
report from the State Auditor regarding closed session minutes. A response is due by October 16th. Staff is working on the response.
Mr. Briggs had questions regarding Wesley Heights Mortuary Service.
Mr. Harris stated the law books were scheduled for late November
publication and a proof is expected by November 1st.
Mr. Blake stated long time licensee Allen Brown, passed away
recently. Mr. Harris stated Mr.
Willoughby’s mother in law passed away and the service is scheduled for October
15th.
Mr. Blake made the motion to go into closed session to consult with legal
counsel in order to preserve attorney/client privilege and plan an
investigation. Mr. Briggs seconded and
the motion carried. Mr. Andrews
appointed Ms. Wiseman to keep closed session minutes.
Mr. Briggs made the motion to return to open session. Mr. Blake seconded and the motion carried.
Mr. Andrews stated there is no action taken at this time.
New Business: There was
none.
Old Business: There was
none.
Informational Items: Mr. Blake
stated the News and Observer once again had an article regarding Mr.
Guyette. Funeral homes in the plural
were mentioned when in fact only one funeral home was involved. Mr. Blake suggested another letter be written
to the News and Observer.
Public Comment: There was
none.
Mr. Blake made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Lea seconded and the meeting was
adjourned at 10:33 a.m.
Larry
Andrews, President