Colchester Commission on Aging
Regular Meeting Minutes
Monday, December 14, 2009 – Colchester Senior Center
Members Present: Chairman Jean Stawicki, Vice-Chair Clara Erickson, Bernie Erickson, Sue Maikshilo, Betty Ann Oppelt, Barbara Warden
Members Absent: Bill Wagner, Theresa Hendricksen
Others Present: Patti White, Rosemary Coyle
1. Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 1:07 p.m.
2. Minutes: Clara Erickson motioned to approve the regular meeting minutes of 7/13/09. Betty Ann Oppelt seconded. All other members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
3. Financial Report: Bernie Erickson reported that the senior center collected $272.20 in November from bus transportation. Of that, $92.00 was from out of town trips. Sue Maikshilo motioned to approve the Financial Report. Barbara Warden seconded. All other members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
4. Chairman’s Report: Jean Stawicki reported that the 2010 meeting dates have been filed with the town clerk and confirmed that it was filed prior to the 30 day Freedom of Information requirement for the January meeting. Betty Ann Oppelt motioned to approve the Chairman’s report. Sue Maikshilo seconded. All other members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
5. Senior Center Director’s Report: Patti White reported that the Holiday Fair raised over $3,000, not including the tag sale. They will do another tag sale in conjunction with the town in June.
Irene Watson is running the Creating Memories program. It’s held Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The engaging activities are well received.
TVCCA will be changing to a new food provider. They’ve had complaints about the quality of food. Beginning in January, they will serve fresh prep meals, prepared on site, rather than premade and delivered. They have started this program along the shoreline and it’s gotten good reviews.
The Holiday Party will be held on December 23rd. Pizza and desserts will be served. Many people have signed up already. The Commission is invited.
The Senior Center will be holding a seasonal flu clinic in January, date to be announced. The center will contact those who were signed up for one of the previous clinics before opening it to the public. Medicare does cover this vaccine.
Congressman Courtney will be at the center on December 21st to discuss healthcare reform.
The new First Selectman has asked department heads to meet with him to talk about next year’s budget. There could still be cuts to the 2009 budget because of the state deficit.
The center now has voice mail on line 1, so people can leave messages at night or on the weekends. There are also phones in the room where the Making Memories program is held.
Norm Dupuis had brought up some concerns about fire and safety. Patti met with Chief Cox and the Fire Marshall. The center is not required to have fire drills or fire extinguishers, although, OSHA recommends fire drill training on a regular basis. The staff will be undergoing CPR, defibrillator and blood borne illness training.
Bernie Erickson reported that the Golden Glow sang at the Wadsworth Atheneum this past weekend. They decorated a tree with a Wii bowling theme.
Rosemary Coyle reported that the Senior Center Study Group met for the 1st time. Theresa Hendricksen was voted chair and Norm Dupuis vice-chair. They generated questions to begin thinking about the issue. The charge from the Board of Selectmen is quite specific. They will be looking at a stand-alone building, a combined community center and the use of existing buildings in town. Their job is to make a recommendation within the one year time frame. The next meeting is at 5:30 pm on January 14th at the senior center.
The center will begin showing movies on Friday afternoons at 12:15 pm. ‘The Proposal’ will be the first on January 15th. They are also going to start afternoon Bingo from 2-4 pm.
Barbara Warden motioned to approve the Senior Center Director’s report. Sue Maikshilo seconded. All other members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
6. Old Business:
A. Saybrook Visitation Program: Patti met with the Saybrook visitation group. This is a thriving program that matches volunteers with shut-ins or people in convalescent homes. The volunteers go through a short training that covers safety and liability issues then they visit with a senior on a regular basis. It was agreed that the center would begin to form a group for Colchester. Patti asked Commission members to try to think of a name. She said the center would run the program, but would ask Commission members to volunteer. There was discussion regarding what types of services would be available. They decided to start small with visitation and the group can always change scope later. Clara suggested starting with seniors who have stopped coming to the center.
B. New Business: No items were reported.
9. Adjournment: Clara Erickson motioned to adjourn the meeting at 2:09 p.m. Sue Maikshilo seconded. All other members present voted in favor. MOTION CARRIED.
Respectfully submitted,
Michelle Komoroski
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