MEETING MINUTES
April 2, 2009 ~ 3:00 PM
HOLDEN SENIOR CENTER
PRESENT: Brian Bullock, Town Manager; Karen Halley, Wachusett Food Pantry; Jacquelyn Kelly, Assistant Town Manager; Cheryl Owoc, Outreach, Holden Council on Aging; Donna Cross, Holden Municipal Light Dept.; Joseph G. Sullivan, Holden Board of Selectmen; Jim Robinson; Maureen Buffone, Secretary; Melissa McKeon, The Landmark.
Call Meeting to Order - Brian Bullock/Karen Halley
Karen Halley called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m.
The minutes from the March 19, 2009 meeting were approved and accepted, with Jim Robinson abstaining.
Food/WFP Update - Karen Halley
Karen reported that 140 families were served at the food pantry in March, 19 of which were new families. The food pantry has been receiving an increased number of phone calls. Most recently, a call was received from a woman who just moved to Holden with no visible means of support. Rutland is starting to fun their food pantry on a regular basis, which includes Oakham and Hubbardston.
The library is once again running their Food for Fines program in April.
Fuel Assistance/Heating - Louise Charbonneau/Cheryl Owoc
Cheryl reported that it has been a quiet week. They have three (3) families that are in imminent danger of having their electricity cut off on April 15. Paula said two (2) of those will not be able to be helped, but she will be meeting with Karen's referrals tomorrow, in hopes of getting them some assistance. Donna Cross sent out 225 letters and will start sending out the disconnect notices in the next two (2) weeks. She said that the rules and regulations need to be followed, and the program we have now is working well. Jim stated that the amounts received and the amounts paid out are out of proportion. We don't know what next year is going to bring. It is expected that more veterans will be asking for help.
Fire Safety/Fundraising Sign - Jack Chandler
No representation.
Fitness (building fitness/energy conservation) - Donna Fitch
No representation.
Facts (reference manual) - Cheryl Owoc
Cheryl is still gathering information and is open to input from other committee members.
Treasurer's Report - Jim Robinson - Fundraising Tally
Jim reported that the Help at H.O.M.E. receipts for March totaled $4,380.00. He will be sitting down with Louise over the next month to itemize these amounts. There was $8,000.00 transferred from the Help at H.O.M.E. account to Welcome Aldrich, leaving a balance of $8,314.75 in that account. The donations to the Welcome Aldrich account amounted to $1,275.00. The total combined balance is $33,715.61. Joe Sullivan made a motion to accept the Preliminary Financial Report for period ending March 31, 2009, which was seconded by Cheryl Owoc and passed unanimously.
There was discussion at this morning's HCOA meeting that the Friends are having difficulty paying for the mailing of the newsletters, and there is concern for the homebound seniors.
It was decided to block out November for the mailing of Help at H.O.M.E. donation envelopes in the electric bills.
Clergy Outreach - Rev. Rich Simpson
No representation.
Banner Update
Woodmeister will sponsor the Help at H.O.M.E. banner, and they have submitted a check request to their accounting department.
Other Business
Brian stated that Help at H.O.M.E. should be a 501C. Karen will call Brian Forts to discuss.
Some of the ideas for the future 15-second sound-bite were presented.
Louise recommended to Jacquie that the committee not meet again until June, and that the meeting not be held the first Thursday of the month, as the HCOA meetings take place on those days. It was also suggested that the meeting location be changed to the light dept., to make for an easier separation once the meeting has ended.
Set Date for Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 3:00 p.m. at the Holden Municipal Light Dept.
Adjournment
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 4:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone
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