COLCHESTER COMMISSION ON AGING
Regular Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, October 9, 2007 – Colchester Senior Center
MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman Bernie Erickson, Vice Chairman Ann Smyk, Clara Erickson, Bill Wagner, Sally Carbone
MEMBERS ABSENT: James Cunningham, Regina Saparo-Hunt, Jean Stawicki
OTHERS PRESENT: Cathy Russi, Rosemary Coyle,
1. Call Meeting to Order: Chairman Bernie Erickson called the regular meeting to order at 1:06 p.m.
2. Minutes of 9/10/07 Regular Meeting: Bill Wagner motioned to approve the regular meeting minutes of 9/10/07. Clara Erickson seconded. All other members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
3. Financial Report: No items were reported.
4. Chairman’s Report: Bernie Erickson reported that Regina Saparo-Hunt has been released from the hospital and is now in a nursing home.
Older American Month was in September. The Senior Center celebrated by featuring the country of India for a week. They had an Indian speaker, lunch, and many other activities centered on the culture of India.
Bernie attended a budget meeting on September 17th. The budget was then presented and approved a week later.
Bernie and Clara Erickson attended the Senior Center Directors Luau in New London last Friday. This is a regional social event that tries to relate how all the senior centers from this county collaborate together. Cathy Russi is currently trying to work more with the Marlborough and East Hampton senior centers also.
5. Friends of the Senior Center Report: Bernie Erickson reported that The Friends of the Senior Center hold their meetings of the 4th Thursday of each month. They are beginning their second year and are trying to increase the attendance to the meetings. They feel that the direction of the new senior center/community center will depend on the upcoming elections. Rosemary Coyle stated that she believes that each candidate shows a real commitment to supporting the seniors. Bernie said it seems that one candidate is supporting a senior center and the other supports a community center with a senior center in it. Rosemary said the Block Grant money is dependent on a facility with an area designated for seniors. She also stated that she had heard
that the space needs committee is looking into the possibility of utilizing existing structures for this project.
Senior Center Director’s Report: Cathy Russi stated that the Busy Bee reported the Commission on Aging meeting would be on Monday, October 15th, so she called all the members to notify them of the mistake. This will also be printed incorrectly for November because of Veteran’s Day. Due to this holiday, the next Commission on Aging meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 13th.
AARP is sponsoring a forum on October 30th at 2 p.m. at the Senior Center to meet the candidates for 1st selectman as well as the other candidates who are up for election.
There is an elderly tax relief task force being formed. They are looking for representatives from Colchester Commons, Westchester Village, the Commission on Aging and the Board of Selectmen. Rosemary Coyle asked that a member of this commission serve on the committee. Bill Wagner volunteered to be the representative from the Commission on Aging.
The next big Senior Center trip is to Scandinavia and Russia. It will take place in May and June of next year. There are already 23 people signed up. It will stop in England, Holland, Finland, Denmark, St. Petersburg and Germany. Cathy is hoping that it will also serve as a fundraiser for the Senior Center. There is also a 3 day trip this weekend to Washington D.C.
TRIAD is holding their annual conference soon. The Attorney General will be there and it will be held at Central Connecticut State University. The town committee will meet in November, after this conference. Last year, the program they sponsored was Senior Appreciation Day.
The Senior Center had their health inspection. They found that the bleach was too strong, which has been worked out. Also, the hot water in the ladies room is a little too hot, which Cathy is working on and a thermometer in a refrigerator didn’t work.
There will be a Ladies Tea held on Thursday. A guest speaker from the American Cancer Society will attend and entertainment will be provided by a group from St. Andrews Church. Lunch will consist of either fish or quiche.
On Wednesday, Donna and Cathy will be attending a quorum at CL&P. This will provide them with all the information for energy assistance programs and other components that could support seniors in town.
Stan Soby approved a program offered through Health Net to senior centers. They will provide a licensed instructor for exercise classes. This program will begin in December and will run 2 times a week.
The new vehicle is on its way. They are just waiting for inspections to be completed.
Cathy attended a program through CASCP (Connecticut Association for Senior Center Personnel) in New Britain on October 2nd. She will also attend the Municipal Agent meeting on October 22nd. Each town must have a Municipal Agent and Cathy serves as the Director/Municipal Agent for the Elderly for the Town of Colchester.
Make a Difference Day will be held on October 27th. Cathy has dubbed the title as ‘Building Community Bridges’. All four schools are again committed and each one has a mission to collect certain items. People can also make donations, either cash or items for the tag sale. The senior center will be open in the morning from 9 – 12:30 for the tag sale, which will raise funds for postage. Clara Erickson added that this is how the Senior Center has been mentioned in the national newspaper.
Cathy will be on vacation from November 5th through the 14th.
The flu clinic will be held on November 15th. Please make an appointment if you’re interested.
The Holiday Fair will be held on December 1st from 9 am until 1 pm.
The new cell phones have been received and are working.
Cathy, Irene, Louise and Ginny attended a defensive driving program. The Senior Center has a lot of part-time, per diem drivers. There is one candidate that applied for the part-time driving position who already works at the town hall. They are just waiting for some clarification on labor laws before it can go through.
Cathy is open to suggestions for new programs. Her goal this year is to make contact with different boards and authorities in town to see what people are interested in and also to clarify for them what services the Senior Center provides. Sally Carbone suggested a reading/knitting session based on the book, A Good Yarn, by Debbie Macomber. The book gives instructions over a three part series for a baby afghan, so participants could listen to the story and knit an afghan at the same time. Clara remarked how well received the art classes are.
Cathy contracted with the TVCCA and their catering service for the Thanksgiving program. She usually does all the cooking, but will be away this year.
Cathy mentioned that she will begin working on the budget soon for next year. Rosemary related how important she thought it was that Cathy presented all the Senior Center statistics to the town. It helps for them to see how much the Senior Center actually does and how it affects the community. Cathy said she is aware of a swipe card program that is available to keep track of those statistics automatically. The cost of the machine is between $4,000 and $5,000, which Cathy thought she would be able to cover with a grant. However, there is an additional $1,000 annual cost to keep it going, which she wouldn’t be able to budget for.
Cathy again stated that she would really like to apply for national accreditation. It would open new funding sources to the Senior Center because the accreditation designation is needed to be eligible for many of the grants that are available. She feels that the programming offered and the staff would pass, however the building would definitely hold them back. They look at things like the building as a whole, space, needs assessment, parking places, etc. There is a fee for applying and it is also a lot of work. Cathy would be happy to go through the process, but feels it wouldn’t be worth it at this point.
Ann Smyk motioned to accept the Senior Center Director’s Report. Sally Carbone seconded. All other members present voted in favor. MOTIONED CARRIED.
6. Old Business: No items were reported.
7. New Business: Rosemary Coyle wanted to address the petition that came before the Board of Selectmen last week. It would have frozen taxes for those citizens over 62 years old with an income under $65,000. The Selectmen unanimously defeated it because of a legal opinion stating it was in violation of tax laws and statutes. What’s missing from the petition as it exists is that it didn’t address how it would impact the rest of the community. This additional information needs to be added to the budget on an annual basis. There need to be guidelines and a system of applying them annually. Most towns that have implemented elderly tax relief have set aside a certain amount of funds in their annual budget so it becomes a cost that is planned
for. The committee will need guidance on what you can and cannot do because there are many statutes and tax rules that have to be followed. The Board of Selectmen are all committed to finding a solution to the tax problem but much research needs to be done before anything can be instituted. They are currently looking for a program that will affect the most people without adversely affecting everyone else.
8. Any Other Business Deemed Necessary: No items were reported.
9. Items of Interest: No items were reported.
10. Adjournment: Bill Wager motioned to adjourn the meeting at 1:55 p.m. Motion seconded by Sally Carbone. All other members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
Respectfully submitted,
Michelle Komoroski
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