WASI critics appeal to state

WASILLA — A local senior citizens watchdog group and a Wasilla City Council member have taken their frustrations with Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. administrators to Juneau.

Members of Mat-Su Elder Watch and Councilwoman Dianne Woodruff are appealing to the Alaska Attorney General’s office, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and Sen. Linda Menard for help in convincing WASI Executive Director Sondra Kaplan and the board of directors to be more transparent with financial records and board meetings.

Emails and letters sent to state officials by Woodruff, WASI member Anne Kilkenny and Mat-Su Elder Watch representative Lois Wier this past week outline a number of issues raised at WASI since last fall, including closed board meetings, alleged intimidation of WASI members by Kaplan and some board members, a forced code of silence on WASI staff, questionable accounting practices, sudden staff terminations, disenfranchisement of members, election of board members and bylaw amendments without member input and a lack of public notice prior to board meetings.

It appears their pleas are getting through to some officials. DHSS Division of Senior and Disability Services Director Duane Mayes said Friday he’s planning to attend the 9 a.m., Thursday WASI board meeting, and then hopes to meet with WASI members afterward.

“I’ll be in Senate Finance Committee meetings on the 13th and 14th in Juneau, but I’ll do everything I can to get to the Valley Thursday,” said Mayes, who lives in Eagle River. “We have an employee within the division who’s our grants manager overseeing senior grants and she’s shared some of her concerns and the complaints she’s heard from Wasilla seniors. So I’d like to go out and reach out to these folks in person to see if there’s anything I can do to help.”

Kaplan, WASI Board President Mary Sears and new board member Mike Chmielewski say in a letter to the Frontiersman submitted Monday in response to Elder Watch’s correspondence to the Attorney General and other state officials that the board and Kaplan are doing everything they can to listen to members’ concerns and remain transparent as they prepare for the annual membership meeting in October.

“In this regard, we are taking into account points that both individuals and groups have proposed,” the letter states. “There is a process in place to address the concerns in an appropriate manner.”

It goes on to say that WASI board members are well intentioned, working with the process to bring about improvements regarding concerns presented and are a group of individual volunteers who are willing to listen to any member’s concerns or input.

WASI continues to seek financial support toward sustainability, the letter says. There are efforts underway to share resources, diminish duplication of services and prepare for an expected increase in senior population termed the “Silver Tsunami.”

“In an effort to continue positive communication and open transparency, all meetings are open and efforts are made to present an informative flow of sought out information,” the letter states. “Again, this is clearly the intention of WASI. Keep in mind that positive, longstanding change comes about slowly.”

The letter goes on to say that accountants and legal counsel believe WASI is doing everything it can to promote an open, transparent and helpful environment.

The last paragraph addresses the Elder Watch group specifically.

“Our experience with the Elder Watch members has been that they are an ad hoc group who collect and provide opinions about WASI,” the letter says. “They do not necessarily represent the majority. However, we are being diligent in listening to their concerns and making appropriate changes for the membership of WASI.”

The letter does not address concerns of Elder Watch and Woodruff that Kaplan and the board have withheld financial documents they’ve requested from her and the board more than once.

“After repeatedly asking Sondra and the board for their financial organization statements and other documents that should be open for review as a nonprofit, I have so far received only a small portion of those documents,” said Woodruff, who makes her living as a public accountant. “Although they have made some efforts to be more transparent, they’re still not as open and forthright as they should be.”

Woodruff said she doesn’t understand why WASI’s Medicaid figures would be going down when they should be going up, for instance. She is skeptical the organization’s food services budget is really in as bad of shape as Kaplan and the board have reported.

“The meals program should not be short of funding and it appears that at least a portion of the financial distress the organization finds itself in is due to poor management,” Woodruff says in an April 4 email to the WASI board. “I still have concerns regarding the lack of complete honesty, transparency, management competence, board oversight and lack of focus on and input from the seniors the organization exists to serve.”

Woodruff says in the email that while she sees willingness of some board members to work in a cooperative spirit to address issues, she believes it will take some time before WASI is as open as it should be.

She said she has made it clear to the board she planned to vote against WASI’s request for a $35,000 grant for food services at Monday’s city council meeting. Councilwoman Colleen Sullivan-Leonard had put it on the agenda in an effort to help WASI after a similar grant request was narrowly defeated by council a few months ago.

Sullivan-Leonard later decided she wanted to withdraw the resolution for funding because she knew it wouldn’t be passed anyway and she didn’t want to provide another public platform for WASI critics. However, once something is put on the agenda for consideration, it cannot be taken off, according to city officials.

“It seems there are still games being played and I, for one, am out of patience,” Woodruff wrote to WASI board members. “When the organization is willing to sit down and have an honest conversation with the community with all the information laid out for everyone to see, I may be able to help. But since I’m still waiting for all but one of the items I asked for on Feb. 11, I’m not holding my breath for that to happen.”

Woodruff added in that email details about her efforts to get financial documents from WASI board member Stan Mitchell March 21. She said that although Kaplan had called her at home March 19 and invited the councilwoman to meet with her at her office, she said she didn’t see any point in meeting with her until she had received all the documents she requested.

When Woodruff finally opened the packet Mitchell gave her on the 21st in front of Mitchell, she realized it contained only one of the items she had requested —audited financial statements from the fiscal year ending June 2009.

“Imagine my surprise to hear from (WASI member Anne) Kilkenny that he said he had given me the information I asked for,” Woodruff said. “I asked her to forward his email, and it does indeed state he ‘gave her what she has been asking for,’ which is simply not true.”

Contact K.T. McKee at kate.McKee@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.