HOLDEN COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present: Rev. Dr. Jerry Heslinga; Louise Charbonneau; Sue Sullivan; Barbara Anger; Richard Mansfield; Faye Ellis; Jim Robinson; Cheryl Owoc; Maureen Buffone.
The minutes from the January 7, 2010 meeting were approved and accepted.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT - Barbara Anger
Barbara reported that the account balances are as follows:
Commerce Bank |
$13,177.71 |
Leominster Credit Union |
$6,194.31 |
C.D. |
$22,837.13 |
The annual Valentine Cookie Sale will take place on Friday, February 12th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. At the request of one of the Friends, there will be a "White Elephant" table this year.
The Friends agreed to pay for the repair of the dishwasher in the kitchen. The estimate to repair the booster, which is needed to elevate the water temperature to 180 degrees, is $1,300.00. Jerry asked Barbara to express the Board's thanks to the Friends for undertaking this additional expense. There were also repairs made to the dishwasher in December that amounted to $829.21, which was paid from the town budget. Terry is now using "real" plates, cups and flatware for lunch. The seniors are happy with the change from paper plates and plastic utensils, but most of the kitchen volunteers want no part in helping to prepare for and run the dishwasher. Louise put a request for volunteers in March's newsletter.
HELP AT HOME ~ Jim Robinson
Jim reported that the books are not yet closed for January, but it was an active month with $10,500.00 in receipts and $6,000.00 in disbursements. Corrections were made to the Financial Report for period ending December 31, 2009. Line 26 was changed from $18,492.13 to $10,492.13, and Line 27 was changed from $14,112.91 to $6,112.91. Last month, there was a fair amount of discussion about how funds are disbursed from these accounts. Jim put together a Handling of Receipts and Disbursements summary, a copy of which has been incorporated into the minutes. Lori asked Jim to do this several months ago, and is suggesting obtaining three (3) signatures to authorize payment of bills. Funds are kept in a cash account for purposes of making disbursements. After the end of the active period (end of winter), funds will be transferred to Welcome Aldrich.
There was discussion on whether or not donations to these accounts are tax deductible, in response to Sue's question about Help @ HOME being a 501(c)(3). Per Rick Mansfield, 501(c)(3) is just one avenue to make donations tax deductible. If we don't fit 501(c)(3), we might qualify for 501(c)(4) or 501(c)(5).
Cheryl reported there are three (3) applications out; one (1) was just received and two (2) are still in the process. Jim spoke about the Resource Fair that Help @ HOME will hold on March 20, 2010. It is an opportunity for anyone interested to come in and learn what resources are available. Today's Landmark will have information about the fair.
BOARD OF ELDER SERVICES REPORT ~ Rick Mansfield
Rick did not attend last month's meeting, but is still in involved in the 202 housing project. Applications need to be submitted by the end of June.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT ~ Louise Charbonneau
Mr. Ferron called Louise this morning to say he is still in rehab and would not be able to attend this morning's meeting. Louise said he sounds much stronger. He is in Beaumont Rehabilitation on Plantation Street in Worcester.
Our long-time van driver, Tom Malitas, decided to retire as of the end of January. We welcome Mary (Pettis) Sloan as Tom's replacement. Mary will drive on Mondays and fill in when other drivers need to be out.
The "Valentine Lady" will be here on February 10th to display her large collection of antique Valentines. On February 17th at 1:00 p.m., the senior center will host a visit from "Miles Gregarius," a Roman Legionary Soldier, portrayed by Andy Volpe. The presentation gives the audience a glimpse of the life of an ancient Roman soldier in the first century. Tina Bemis from Bemis Farms Nursery will be here on February 22nd at 1:00 p.m. to speak of her lifelong interest in plants, how she got started, stories and adventures in the ever-changing world of flora. As reported last month, we are a pilot site for the "Dine With a Doc" program. Initially, we had scheduled the first luncheon for March 15th. Now they have decided that they would prefer if Louise was here, so our first luncheon will be Monday, April 5th. Also,
they have decided to change the name of the program. It will be called "House Calls." By changing the name, they don't have to pay for the trademarked name "Dine With a Doc."
The movies for the month of February include "Casablanca" on Thursday, February 4th, "Father of the Bride" on Thursday, February 11th, "Sabrina" on Thursday, February 18th and "The Cutting Edge" on Thursday, February 25th.
Louise and Jacquie met earlier and discussed the 3rd senior van that is rusted through and will not pass inspection. Jacquie asked Jack Chandler if he would be interested in taking the van, but no one wants to restore it. It was decided to either scrap or sell the van.
Another issue this past month was regarding a DMR rider on the van that has been transported back and forth to work. His father thinks his son should be able to ride the van. They are using the freedom grant to transport him. He emailed Selectman O'Brien because he was not satisfied with the answers he was getting from our office. Someone from PBS called him back to explain how it works.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
Sue wanted the board to be aware that Louise offered the senior center to the school district for meetings. The first meeting was an informational meeting. Representatives from Social Security came in for a second meeting to enroll retirees.
CITIZENS' ADDRESS
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 a.m.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. at the Holden Senior Center.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone
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