DRAFT MINUTES
Council on Aging
Minutes of Meeting
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Board Members Present: Chairwoman Pat Donahue, Elaine Heredeen, Pamela Greaves, Dolores Nangle, Donna Clifford, Alice Williams, Joan Lovely
Board Members Absent: Domingo Alvarez, Jane Sarnowski,
Also Present: Doug Bollen – Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services and Bill Woolley, Assistant Director
Recorder: Stacy Kilb
Chairwoman Donahue Calls the Meeting to order at 6:30PM.
1. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
A vote will be taken to waive the reading of (or read) and accept (or amend) the Minutes of
The previous meeting held on February 16, 2011.
A motion to waive the reading of minutes is made by Pam Greaves seconded by Alice Williams and passes unanimously.
2. COMMENTS/RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CHAIRPERSON
The Chairwoman points out the discrepancy in the bylaws, which state that the COA will elect members to be on the North Shore Elders, when in fact they are appointed by the mayor. She would like to change the bylaws to reflect this.
JL asks if she has spoken to the mayor about this; the Chairwoman has. JL wonders if we are changing the bylaws to shift the choice back to COA from the mayor, but it is the other way around. The mayor will be appointing representative.
The Chairwoman motions to remove choice of officers to NS Elder Services from the bylaws, and is seconded by Alice. All are in favor.
3. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/Assistant Director
· New Senior Center – update on status of new Community Life Building
Joan Lovely reports. A Capital Committee has been formed to raise funds to outfit the building with interior fixtures, furniture, etc. They currently have $400,000 but must raise another $250K. There will be a meeting April 5th to discuss fundraising. They will need a lot of community involvement. The Chairwoman hopes there will be a professional fundraiser involved. Naming rights are discussed; help from local businesses will be sought.
Bollen says that groundbreaking will be in the spring. The area has been leveled. There is some question as to whether or not the businesses at the end will remain or not; they will probably move (Jeepel Auto and the marble place).
Woolley comments that Domingo Alvarez would be submitting his resignation due to ongoing health issues, thus opening another spot. Jane Sarnowski has also been ill and may or may not resign. PG asks if Domingo talked to anybody at Voces but he did not mention it. However it would be good to have representation on the Latino board.
There is a meeting tomorrow on the budget – they are still asking for level funded, which is good.
The President’s budget is cutting 45% out of the National Senior program – we have 3 people who work under it and we will be losing one up to possibly all of them due to these cuts. This will be in the FY 2012 budget.
Woolley and Bollen just attended a sunshine ordinance meeting. This has to do with the state’s new Open meeting law; cities and towns must adhere and it has to do with agendas for boards and commissions; they must be much more detailed so city clerks needed to do a training. City council has had to lead the way on this. Note the new format and information on the current agenda.
Issues that are voted upon must be on the agenda, e.g. today’s vote would have to be ratified at the next meeting via another vote to be announced on the agenda for the next meeting. It must be posted on the agenda online and at City Hall and in an area visible after business hours so it is posted behind the building as well. One question was about the director’s report and how much should be on it, other than things that must be voted upon. If there is an update only do all points have to be listed? JL opines they should err on the safe side of more detail, though it makes more work for someone.
Questions also arose as to how detailed minutes need to be. It is a work in progress. Bollen again outlines where the agenda must be posted. PD comments that it seems like Bollen should put down everything he will mention but that will be very detailed and take a long time, especially as the report is not voted upon. Lynn Duncan had commented that that level of detail was not warranted. The Director’s report could be attached to the minutes, unless they themselves suffice. Discussion continues about questions at the meeting. Minutes must be posted within 21 days but if someone wants the notes they can be turned over immediately before they are approved.
PD comments that she understands the purpose but it is so bureaucratic that it could limit people’s willingness to participate. The draft gets posted within 21 days.
The First Aid policy was handed out and should be read for discussion at the next meeting. There were questions as to how situations should be handled and a class was run by an ambulance company; Woolley took notes and these formed the policy that was handed out. In the past, if someone fell it was assumed to call 911, but this is not always the case.
Woolley says that opinions as to how to respond varied greatly from very responsive to nonresponsive. There is already a typo in the policy on page one and notes its correction.
Bollen points out that Woolley has a presentation from the Department of Foreign Languages to members of the Salem State foreign language Honor Society, which is inviting him to the ceremony. For recognition of his work in foreign language and community service, he should present on the importance of multi-lingual and multi-cultural education and collaboration.
PG suggests making it a field trip for the seniors.
Bollen comments that the meals on wheels driver has always been paid a stipend for gas, but now they will have to get a 1099 form. This is a federal requirement; hopefully they are under a certain income and will not be affected. The stipend is supposed to go for gas for the vehicle so perhaps they could write it off as an expense. They get about $17.40 a day; PD comments that they’re getting taxed when the rich find all these loopholes to get out of taxes.
Re: Design of the senior center: we have met with the interior designer many times and it is all set so the finances need to come together next.
The Recreation booklet has been filed and will be out in a couple of weeks for the spring/summer edition. $4000 in ads were sold; it is paid for by the Recreation revolving fund, not taxes. It is 40 page longs. It will be out next Friday.
The tax abatement program is filled at 25 people with one on the waiting list. It may be increased in the future if there is interest. Some people have gotten full time jobs when finished and others have volunteered. Bollen asks if everyone got an invitation to the volunteer party on April 11th; they have but not everyone has responded. It will be catered. They expect 90-100 people.
Attendance Report:
Category |
February 2010 |
February 2011 |
Transportation |
1222 |
1289 |
Meals on Wheels |
2054 |
2226 |
Congregate* |
397 |
397 |
Activities |
1404 |
1422 |
Social Services - 60+ |
267 people serviced 415 times |
224 people serviced 347 times |
Social Services – Under 60 |
6 people serviced 8 times |
28 people serviced 41 times |
*Numbers will level off as we have been with the new vendor for a year. Closures due to snow lead to fewer people.
Social Services attended the following Trainings:
-Suicide Prevention
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Hoarding
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Utility Shut Off Rights
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Applying for Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Task Forces joined:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Hoarding Task Force
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -North Shore React
Representatives from Police, Fire, EMT’s, Board of Health’s, Area Agency on Aging, and COA’s meeting to address the issue of continuity amongst our the different agencies.~ Everyone is on such limited budgets we all want to work together as often as possible to minimize the duplicate use of resources as well as to ensure that the ball is not dropped along the way.~ This group is particularly interested in some information Social Services brought back from the MCOA conference titled “A Senior Support Team: A Collaborative Community Approach for At-Risk Elders.”~ This model being used in Worcester is going to be looked at by this group and we are very excited that we could bring the information to them. *Update the local Salem NSREACT has been meeting and cases are being
referred for at risk elders as well as the Salem Police logging calls a specific way to track frequent 911 calls from seniors.~ This log is then given to Social Services to assess possible services needed.
Woolley comments on the Spanish language outreach effort and how he is only one piece of the puzzle. We serve about 100 Spanish speakers with varying frequencies. He has some opportunities to speak at Salem State regarding the program. He made a power point and will also be talking to Salem Harbor CDC ESL class. With the new building there will be even more opportunities. Publicity must be considered so he is working on a few PowerPoint presentations.
The new radio equipment is advancing, and will cost $8000. They have $4500 coming through an application, already have $2000 now, and are also applying for vans on the same grant and can repeat the request of $2000 in the next cycle to cover the radio equipment. This will be a new digital system of van radios and upgraded equipment to cover the change to a new frequency and comply with FCC regulations going into effect in the next 2 years.
Woolley belongs to the North Shore COA and senior center directors, and is secretary. This is a 24 community organization that will be hosting a group here in May and will cover recruitment of college and grad school interns. Normally only 8 or so organizations attend meetings.
He would like to request helping research building and room rentals in anticipation of hosting this gathering at the new Senior Center. He asks board members to please call other senior centers to find out if they rent out their space and rooms and what their policies are so that we can standardize use of space in the new facility. PD comments that she does not think it is appropriate for board members to do that; Woolley as Director should speak to other board members. PD feels she would be an outsider asking questions. PG says she helped do that when on the search committee and they did get response. Woolley comments they could call the receptionist. Joan lovely thinks it would be appropriate for the board to call another board and ask about board involvement. JL says policies are public record so they should be
receptive. PD asks about Paul Lanzikos . PG outlines their work and research. Woolley says he just wants to start early with policy research rather than leave it to last minute. PG outlines the types of questions that would be asked. PD asks for clarification and Woolley explains. PD says it would be helpful to make a list of questions for them as guidelines and bring it to the next meeting so they can divvy up which cities or towns to call.
DN asks if the City actually has places that they rent. Old Town Hall used to be one but is now administered by Gordon College. Winter Island is also rented and policies are in place, but we need more specific, relevant information. This goes beyond COA activities for rental. Discussion continues about rental of other City facilities. PD asks if they asked the Parks and Recreation Commission to do this as well but Bollen did not. JL asks if this info will be used as a guideline or are we going to do what others do? We will do what we want regardless but want to compare options.
Names of the building are also discussed.
Tomorrow is the St. Patrick’s Day party with 80 people signed up.
A Winter Island manager was hired; it is David Gilbert from Salem. Bollen outlines the process and the candidates; it was competitive. Mr. Gilbert is provisional; tomorrow’s Winter Island Commission meeting is at 8AM tomorrow and they will set a date and time for the next public meeting then. They plan to cover what must stay, things that should be there, and things that should not be there. JL hopes they will prioritize preserving the forts. Bollen outlines research being done on WI. PD hopes they discuss parking.
PG asks about WI stickers, if they will be given out Friday. It will be April 1st, and at the same price; also for dog park tags.
4. TREASURER’S REPORT
· Update on budget and accounts
PD comments that the report can be accepted as there is nothing unusual. Everyone is concerned with CDBG which is rumored to be cut 7.5%. Many City agencies get money from the grant.
5. COMMITTEE REPORTS
6. NEW BUSINESS
7. VISITOR COMMENTS – Opportunity for Visitors to speak
PD says Andy LaPointe called and Pat Liberti is out of town so Friends are not present.
8. NEXT BOARD MEETING will be on Wednesday, April 20, 2011
9. VOTE TO ADJOURNMENT
A motion to adjourn is made by Elaine, seconded by Donna, and all approve.
The meeting ends at 7:50PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stacy Kilb
Clerk, Salem Council on Aging
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