DISMISSED WORKSHOP BOARD HOLDS MEETING ANYWAY

PERRYVILLE -- A board that oversaw state money for the handicapped met Tuesday in a closed session despite the fact that all of its members were dismissed last week by Perry County commissioners.

Nevertheless, the meeting was held, said Al Cearlock, who was chairman of the Senate Bill 40 board.

Seven former members of the nine-member board gathered at Perryville's sheltered workshop to discuss what steps might be taken in response to the commissioners' action.

Although members declined to comment on the topics of the closed meeting, a copy of the board's agenda listed four points:

* A question asking if the board should hire an attorney.

* A statement that board members who want to be reappointed to the board should submit a letter of request.

* An order to reaffirm a chronological history of board members.

* A question asking when board members' terms end.

Presiding County Commissioner Tom Sutterer doubted the legality of the meeting. The board lost its legal status to function once commissioners issued a letter last week declaring that the board violated a state statute.

According to the statute, Senate Bill 40 boards must submit members' names to county commissioners for reappointment once their three-year terms end. Perry County's board had not submitted names, Sutterer said. "They are not legal because they never requested reappointment," he said.

The board was made up of nine members, who appropriate money from a county tax levy to sheltered workshops, group homes or other organizations that provide services for the handicapped. Board members' terms are set so that three expire each year.

The sheltered workshop at which they met is owned by Perry County and leased to VIP Industries. Based in Cape Girardeau, VIP Industries operates in five counties and has the largest sheltered workshop program in Missouri.

Tuesday's meeting didn't bother Sutterer.

"It's simply a matter that they feel they are a board and are going on with business," he said.

Prior to Tuesday, Sutterer said the commissioners had been contacted by an attorney stating that the board had been disbanded illegally. Sutterer declined to elaborate.

Perry County commissioners have voiced disagreement with the board for its continued support of VIP Industries, which has managed the sheltered workshop through an annual contract from the board since the early 1970s.

County commissioners have fielded numerous written requests by people wishing to be part of the new board, Sutterer said. Commissioners are taking their time with applications, going over each person's background, he said.

A new board should be chosen by April 26, Sutterer said.

Commissioners are responding to a deadline, he said. VIP Industries' contract requires 60 days notice prior to July 1 if a new contractor will be sought by the board.

Only one former board member, state Rep. Patrick Naeger, has asked to be reappointed, Sutterer said.

Naeger would have come to Tuesday's meeting at the sheltered workshop, but he said he had to be in Jefferson City for the General Assembly.

Naeger said that on its Tuesday agenda, the board had referred to itself as the Perry County Sheltered Workshop Board of Directors. Such a board has never existed, he said. Only the Senate Bill 40 board and a board for VIP Industries have been involved in the workshop.

"This confusion is intentional," Naeger said. "It's the result of outside influences on the board."

Arlene Schlichting was the only other former board member who missed the meeting. Her work schedule prevented her from attending, Schlichting said.

Questions about operations at the Perryville sheltered workshop in recent weeks have made Schlichting consider her status as a board member, she said.

"When I first heard all of this come out, I was about ready to completely get off the board," she said, referring to four managers citing poor working conditions for the handicapped as their reason for quitting on March 24.

At this point, Schlichting said she hasn't decided whether she will seek reappointment to a new board.