MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE
GOVERNING BOARD OF THE
COLORADO RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION
2-21-20
The monthly meeting of the Governing Board of the Colorado Retirement Association was held at 8:30 a.m. on the 21st day of February, 2020 at the office of the Association.
The following were present at the meeting:
- Lucas Hale, Board Chairman- In person
- Chris Felton, Board Member- In person
- Paul Danley, Board Member- In person
- Tobe Allumbaugh, Board Member- By teleconference
- Scott Vargo, Board Member- In person
- Jerry DiTullio- Board Member-By teleconference
- Darius Allen- Board Member- In person
- Elizabeth Price, Executive Director- In person
- Tim Mullen, Chief Financial Officer- In person
- Ed Krisor, Legal Counsel- By teleconference
- Dawn Small, MARCOM Director- In person
- Katie Dirksen, Retirement Services Coordinator- In person
- Lois Kruse, Office Administrator- In person
Lucas Hale called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.
A motion was made by Jerry DiTullio to approve the minutes of December 13, 2019 as presented. The motion was seconded by Chris Felton and passed unanimously.
Ed Krisor presented information regarding the posting resolution which needs to be addressed each year at the first board meeting of that calendar year. Scott Vargo motioned to adopt the resolution as presented. Paul Danley seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
The meeting was joined by Wendy Dominguez and Peter Mustian from Innovest to present the 4th quarter product analysis/portfolio review. Included in their report was CRA watch list report, long term outlook for the economy and capital markets, product analysis 4Q19, portfolio review 4Q19 and Innoviews, the quarterly Innovest newsletter. The Innovest team left the meeting at the conclusion of their presentation.
Lucas Hale led the discussion regarding Board education requirements and which conferences, meetings, webinars, Innovest and Galliard presentations would meet the threshold for required hours of education. Putting electronic forms in place to help ease the paperwork burden was discussed as well. Suggestions were made to schedule a meeting in August to introduce the new board members, possibly work on the strategic plan together and advise them of the education requirements as well. Elizabeth will provide the edits at the next board meeting.
Discussion of board meeting frequency requested by Jerry DiTullio and led by Lucas Hale reviewing with the board the current meeting frequency structure and offering alternatives for consideration including number of meetings per year, start times, teleconferencing and possibly longer meetings.
After discussing the options, it was the consensus of the board to leave the meeting schedule as it is at this time.
Executive Director report was given by Elizabeth Price and included information on HR, Interim sales/marketing, finance/operations and client services areas.
Scholarship update- Katie Dirksen presented some suggestions that staff had discussed in reference to the scholarship program. After a discussion of the options there was a motion by Scott Vargo to change the scholarship program to give 6 one-time scholarships of $2000 each, one of which will go to a participant each year, and the new process will begin with this scholarship year. The motion was seconded by Chris Felton and passed unanimously.
Election updates were given by Dawn Small noting that voting will be an on-line process starting this year. There was discussion regarding eligibility of persons nominated and elected to the board.
A motion was made by Lucas Hale seconded and passed unanimously to accept revisions as presented with an additional revision that the Commissioner that is nominated, the person that is being nominated and the person who ultimately serves on the CRA board must be CRA participants.
Lucas Hale called for a five-minute break at 10:27 a.m.
The meeting reconvened at 10:36 a.m.
The marketing report was given by Dawn Small outlining the 2020 participant campaigns and key digital performance indicators.
A motion was made by Luca Hale at 10:45 a.m. to go into Executive session pursuant to 24-6-402(4)(f) C.R.S. for the purpose of discussion of staff personnel matters. Chris Felton seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously Executive session ended at 11:11 a.m.
A motion was made by Scott Vargo and seconded by Lucas Hale to budget $9,500 for Elizabeth Price to implement a Wellness Plan for CRA employees that included 8 VTO hours and a fitness reimbursement of up to $600 per employee per year. Elizabeth will have full discretion to make decisions for implementation of the plan.
Tim Mullen gave the CFO report outlining the revised 401(a) and 457(b) plans and acquired the necessary signatures from the board members. Also, there was a discussion about the Secure Act and the sections that are in effect currently as well as the ramifications to our participants of the sections of the Act that will go into effect at a later date. The lack of IRS guidance pertaining to the Act was also discussed.
Expense reports were accepted with no discussion
The next meeting of the CRA Board of Directors will be held on March 20, 2020 via teleconference from the office of the Association.
There being no further business to come before the Board, a motion was made by Lucas Hale and seconded by Scott Vargo to adjourn and the motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 11:21 a.m.
