REGULAR BOARD MEETING
MINUTES
October 3, 2007
The North
Carolina Board of Funeral Service met for a duly scheduled Board Meeting at
10:00 a.m. on October 3, 2007 at the
Present: T. E.
White, President; Mark Blake, Vice President; Rudy Lea, Frank McCree, Sr., J.
T. Willoughby III, George Parrott, Jack Briggs, and Windell Daniels. Larry Andrews was absent.
Also
Present: Paul Harris, Executive
Director; Stephen N. Dirksen, General Counsel; Fred Jordan with the NC Eye
Bank, Douglas McMillan and Lyn Cochrane.
Mr. White
called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. and Mr. Blake recused himself from
Item 12 Old Business.
Mr. Briggs had
the invocation.
Mr. White
opened the meeting for public comment and thanked Mr.
In the absence
of Mr. Andrews, Mr. Harris presented the minutes to the Board. Mr. Briggs stated there was one error. Page 3, Paragraph 2 should read 9:45 a.m.
instead of 10:45 a.m. Mr. Blake made the
motion to accept the minutes with the correction. Mr. McCree seconded and the motion carried.
Exam Committee:
Mr. Blake stated seven (one retake) applicants took the exam. Six passed and the retake failed. Discussion ensued. This was offered for information only.
Finance/Personnel:
In Mr. Daniels’ absence, Mr. Harris stated that the September bank
statements did not arrive in time to reconcile the financials will be presented
at the November 14 meeting. The first
budget draft for year 2008 has been sent to finance and personnel.
Preneed
Committee: In Mr. Andrews’ absence, Mr. Harris submitted
the preneed report, which was accepted for information only.
Disciplinary: Mr. Parrott
stated the Committee had met last week and the report had been previously
mailed. Discussion ensued. Mr. Harris stated there would be one addendum
if the signed consent order was received prior to adjourning the meeting. Mr. White delayed the vote until later in the
meeting.
Laws, Rules and Legislation: Mr. Briggs
stated the committee had met prior to the Board meeting regarding a guide for
when a license is required. This will
require further study and they will have recommendations at the next meeting. This was presented for information only.
Attorney Report: Mr. Dirksen
presented the report for information only.
At 10:25 Mr. Daniels entered the meeting.
Executive Director’s Report: Mr. Harris
submitted the Inspectors Monthly Status Reports for review.
Since the September 12 Board Meeting, eight reports have been filed. The following are establishment changes: Two ownership changes—Russell-Marks (formerly
Marks) in Rockingham and Garrett’s Funeral Home, Ahoskie; Closed—Sandhills,
Rockingham; New Chapel—J. Paye-W. L. Truesdale Memorial, Wadesboro.
Mr. Harris presented the dates and locations available for the Board
Members to attend the required Ethics Training.
Two members have attended and all members must attend by year-end. Mr. Briggs made comments regarding the
meeting he had attended.
The Cremation Association of North Carolina had met in the Board Room on
Monday. Mr. Harris inquired if the Board
found this as an ethics issued. There
was no response. Mr. Harris presented a
letter from LexisNexis quoting charges for printing the new law book. The State Print Shop is offering a quote
after Mr. Harris gives them a template for review. The Funeral Consumers Alliance of the
Triangle has published a summary of 2007 funeral establishment costs for area
funeral homes. The Division of Air Quality
may require air quality permits for crematories. Discussion ensued. The Commission of Anatomy will meet at the
Board’s office today.
Mr. Harris presented forms for approval.
These forms are the registration forms for funeral service license, embalmer
license, funeral director license, out-of-state exam registration and
application. The forms have been changed
to show a clearer title of the form, acknowledgement they have been read or
they must be submitted thirty-days prior.
Mr. Daniels made the motion to accept the forms with the one change and
Mr. Willoughby seconded. The motion
carried.
The next meeting is November 14 at which time the Crematory Authority
ballots will be counted and a public hearing for the CE rules and policy
recommendations will be heard. Mr.
Harris has had conversation with Vincent Miranda regarding the electronic
reporting of preneed annual reports.
Several funeral homes have volunteered to test the report when the
system is ready. They have also
discussed on-line license renewal (this will not be ready for 2008 renewals)
and changes to the website. The
Applications button will be changed to Applications and Forms.
A licensee has complained to Mr. Harris regarding the Board holding
clinics in
Mr. Daniels made the motion to accept the Report and Mr. Lea
seconded. The motion carried.
New Business: Mr. Harris
presented for approval the Crematory renewal application for 2008. Mr. Briggs made the motion to accept the form
and Mr. Blake seconded. The motion
carried. Mr. Harris presented for
approval physicians statement forms for cremation pursuant to § NCGS 90-210.129,
(o) & (q). Mr. Daniels made the
motion to referral to the Crematory Authority with the change. Mr. Parrott seconded and the motion carried.
Mr. Blake stated he had been informed of unlicensed supervision at
gravesides in the western part of the state, specifically at cemeteries. A funeral director is to be present at the graveside
until the funeral is over. Mr. Blake
would like the inspectors to attend funerals in their area and check for
this. Mr. Harris stated this was already
Board policy.
Mr. Harris stated he had received several calls regarding a local news
story and a man that had kept his severed leg to be cremated with him at
death. The leg had been “misplaced” and
the person that had possession of the leg wanted to charge admission for a
viewing. Discussion ensued.
Mr. Blake stated that PBS Front Line would be showing on October 30 a
program about the funeral trade.
Old Business. At this time Mr. Blake recused himself and left
the table. Mr. White introduced David
Wujastyk who was requesting his funeral service license be reinstated after
serving his probationary period. Mr.
White asked Mr. Wujastyk if he would like for Mr. Lea and Mr. Briggs to recuse
themselves from the vote since they were on the Disciplinary Committee at the
time of his Consent Order and he answered no.
Mr. Dirksen presented information to the Board and the members
reviewed. Mr. Wujastyk addressed the
Board on his behalf. Mr. Briggs made the
motion to reinstate the license based on the fact that the probation period was
complete. Mr. McCree seconded and the
motion carried unanimously.
Informational Items: There were
none.
Mr. White returned to the Disciplinary Committee report. Mr. Willoughby made the motion to accept the
report. Mr. Lea seconded and the motion
carried. Discussion ensued.
Mr. White
opened the meeting for public comment and recognized guest Mr. Douglas McMillan.
Mr. Blake made the motion to recess the meeting until Mr. Harris had
heard from outside counsel if the matter has been resolved. Mr. Briggs seconded. Mr. Blake, Mr. White, Mr. Briggs, Mr. McCree,
Mr. Willoughby and Mr. Parrott voted yes.
Mr. Daniels voted no. The motion
carried.
The Board
reconvened from recess at 12:15 p.m. Mr.
Harris stated the respondent has not replied and the matter has not been
resolved. Mr. Parrott made the motion to
adjourn the meeting. Mr. Blake seconded
and the meeting was adjourned at 12:17 p.m.
T. E.
White, Sr., President
Larry
R. Andrews, Secretary