HOLDEN COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present: Rev. Dr. Jerry Heslinga; Richard Mansfield; Louise Charbonneau; Susan Sullivan;
Cheryl Owoc; Barbara Anger; Albert Ferron; Jim Robinson; Maureen Buffone
There was no quorum for the November 6, 2008 meeting. Sue Sullivan moved to accept the minutes from the October 2, 2008 meeting, which was seconded by Al Ferron and passed unanimously.
Chairman Heslinga introduced Jim Robinson to the Board members. Jim is the treasurer of the Help at H.O.M.E. Committee. He took an early retirement from National Grid about one (1) year ago. Jim has been a Holden resident for over 22 years, and his background has been in finance and regulatory issues. Jim got to know Brian Bullock through National Grid and has been interested in getting involved in community activites.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT
The Treasurer's Report from the November 3rd meeting is as follows:
Commerce Bank $6,000.00+
Leominster Credit Union $5,079.18
C.D. $22,083.39
The total proceeds from the Fair amounted to $4,480.75, which is the best that the Fair has ever done. The annual Valentine's Day Cookie Sale will take place on Friday, February 13, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
COORDINATOR'S REPORT
Louise outlined December's events as follows:
December 1.................Information on Scams by Officer Christopher Carey
December 3.................Your Town, My Town, Our Town - Presented by Deborah and Peter Lincoln, a Lunenburg couple who has visited ALL of the state's 351 cities and towns
December 4.................Movie "A Christmas Memory"
December 8.................Sr. Center Christmas Party - Toupins Catering will be preparing a menu of Garden Salad, Freshly Baked Raisin Bread, Top Loin of Beef with Gravy, Whipped Potatoes, Whipped Butternut Squash and Warm Blueberry Custard Bread Pudding for dessert. Music will be provided by Elliot Lockwood
December 11...............Mountview Holiday Breakfast - Movie "The History of Christmas"
December 13...............Wachusett Area Rotary Christmas Breakfast, over 300 seniors have signed up
December 18...............Movie "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey"
December 24...............Senior Center closed at 12:00 - No lunch or afternoon programs
December 25...............Senior Center closed - Christmas Day
December 26...............Senior Center closed
December 30...............New Year's Party
December 31...............Senior Center Closes at 12:00 - No lunch or afternoon programs
The number of Seniors signed up for the Senior Center's Christmas Party on December 8th is way down, and we are having trouble meeting the minimum. The price of the meal this year is $18.00. We may need to rethink next year's party.
Louise passed around a notice received from Emmett Schmarsow. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles will no longer be mailing out renewal notices for driver's licenses. They expect to save over $600,000.00 annually. They are also reducing their hours of operation.
There have been one or two cases where Welcome Aldrich was used in the past month. Cheryl received numerous phone calls and is still working on some cases. The money goes directly to the vendor. The usual delivery is 150 gallons. Jim Robinson will be handing out a preliminary report at today's Help at H.O.M.E. meeting. Between Welcome Aldrich and Help at H.O.M.E., there has been $3,000.00 in donations and $1,000.00 in disbursements. Jack Chandler put up a fundraising sign outside the front of the Senior Center, which will be updated periodically.
OLD BUSINESS
The town is in the process of purchasing the new senior van from the state bid list and delivery is expected in late January/early February. This is much cheaper than outside bids. Al Ferron said that he would like to give Sunnyside a chance to bid. Rick agreed that it may be the fair thing to do. Al will talk to Jacquie Kelly.
There will be a benefit on December 14th in Hull for the daughter of one of the DPW workers/firefighters. Louise will put a flyer with the details.
Rick reported that he attended the Elder Services board meeting last month. Their mission is to keep people at home as long as possible. They work with senior centers, cover 15 communities, and have a $20 million budget. There are several committees that Rick was asked to take a look at. Louise commented that Elder Services has a top-notch outreach program. We had a protective services program here last November.
Maggie Woodward from Elder Services opened the building the day after Thanksgiving to help out with Meals on Wheels. Bob and Terry Black will come in the day after Christmas and New Years to do the Meals on Wheels. We are very lucky to have volunteers like them.
NEW BUSINESS
There was discussion concerning outside for-profit groups wanting to do programs in the Senior Center. Louise has been approached by businesses regarding long-term care insurance, investment planning and reverse mortgages. It was decided that these groups can rent the building, but the Senior Center will not sponsor them in any way. Rick agreed it is a good idea to limit, and the board will support Louise on this. Rick said the board should write up a policy and put it on the agenda for next month. Louise attended a workshop at the MCOA conference and spoke to the presenter, who agreed that it is appropriate to handle it this way. He covered a lot of situations that Senior Centers find themselves in. The AARP can provide the same information, and they do not benefit in any way.
Sue Sullivan suggested enforcing an energy fee for building use. The schools are doing this, and Jerry asked Sue to email the school's policy to him for review. Brian Bullock has given Louise discretion as to who to charge. Louise, Rick and Cheryl will put a policy together.
Newsletter Issue: There has been a long history of problems with Quality Business Solutions. Their business practices are questionable, and their lines of communication are poor at best. They first moved to another location, then had a problem with flooding, did business for a very short time with Ledgeview Printing in Westford, and are now doing business with Alpha Graphics in Worcester. After the Dorrens left Ledgeview Printing, Denis Clare of Senior Citizen Publishing was contacted, but we have not heard back from him. They had printed the newsletter in the past, but we changed because they were using colored ink which was difficult to read. This month's newsletters from Alpha Graphics were beautiful. The only other option is to produce our own, but most felt that staff time would be better spent on other things. Jerry said that if
they are comparable and willing to print in black ink, it would be OK to switch to Senior Citizen Publishing. Louise asked Chris Oriol and Rick Mansfield to let her know when their contracts with the Dorrens expire.
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone, Secretary
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