HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-14 Council on Aging Minutes o�• or HF,b
Town of Reading
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TOWN CLERK
" " REA, MNG, MA.
Board - committee - commission - council: L d
Council on Aging X11 DEC 16 PM 2: 53
Date: 2019-01-14 Time:
Building: Pleasant Street Senior Center Location: Arts and Crafts Room
Address: 49 Pleasant Street Session:
Purpose: Version:
Attendees: Members - Present:
Barbara Carney (Associate Member), loan Coco, Jolyn Ek, Margaret Havey,
John Parsons, Pocja Parsons (Associate Member), Thomas Procopio, Sandy
Shaffer, Marilyn Shapleigh, Debby Small, Brian Snell, Jayna Stafford
(Associate Member)
Members - Not Present:
Sally Hoyt (Associate Member)
Others Present:
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Marilyn Shapleigh
Topics of Discussion:
Call to Order by Brian Snell at 6:30
Acceptance of Minutes from December: It was noted that on page 1 of the January COA
Packet of materials (the Agenda) it should say "reasonably"not "reasonable". December
Minutes Accepted.
Elder Services Report- December Report (Admin): Sign-in challenges continue to result in
under-stated statistics. Improvement is expected when the tablet and scanner are
obtained. Jane Burns commented that the safety plan for all town facilities is currently
under review by the Facilities Department. Emit Schmarsow from the Massachusetts
Executive Office of Senior Affairs will be meeting with the Selectman about best practices
and new senior centers next Tuesday. Evaluation and feasibility for a new senior center is
among the Select Board's goals for this year. Jane Burns will send out info to the COA and
attendance is encouraged. Accepted.
Financial Report - December Report (Admin): Accepted
MVES Report: No meeting in December, but FY18 statistics were included in packet and the
value of services to Reading is reported to be $3,416,000. The town contributes just under
$6,000 (for the congregate meals), so it is a great return on investment.
Old Business:
Dementia Friendly Reading: Meeting minutes from December are Included in the packet.
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Patron's Trip Report: Statistics are included in the COA packet to make the COA aware of
trip costs. Total Patron's expense exceeded annual interest In FY16. In FY17 trips under
spent interest. No fee is charged for these trips. Meal costs are included in Patron's
expense.
Every year we are spending more on trips, but we also have other expenses (e.g., lobster
roll dinner). We cannot charge for trips for several more years because of the grant used to
fund it. The COA is encouraged to look at the trend towards overspending and the
implications for the accrued interest and annual interest for Patron's. Also, the old van is on
"life support"; if it goes out of service, trips will end because one van must handle dally
within-town services. Plans are in the works to apply for another van grant.
Christmas Meal/Gift Delivery: The 12 who received meals had a clear demonstrated need;
Kerry Vallee and Alyse Warren delivered them all and also did a lot of home visits (1 hour
each) in December.
New Business:
Tufts Healthy Aging Report: An updated report is Included in COA packet. COA is
encouraged to read it to learn more about the makeup of the senior population in Reading.
Alyse Warren is using it to plan for wellness programming.
MySeniorCenter 2019 National Summary: Data is Included in COA packet as an FYI.
Reading is very much in line with overall trends across the country.
Volunteer Appreciation Dinner/New Ideas?: Typically the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner is
held in April, but it seems a bit stale. Maybe we should consider changing the locale to the
Mandarin or Bunratty's. This would be more expensive than the Pleasant Street Center, but
we could drop the gifts to help offset costs. Also, as part of the freshen up, we might drop
the volunteer of the year award program. lane Burns will research costs and this will be on
the agenda next month. COA members are asked to do research and bring Ideas to next
month's meeting.
Special Events:
• Austin Prep Brunch/Bingo for Reading seniors on March 1u at Austin Prep. Open to all
Reading Seniors. Middle school students are preparing food, serving, sitting with
seniors, and running the Bingo games. This will be on the front page of Pleasantries.
COA members are encouraged to promote the event.
Next Meeting: February 11, 2019
Motion to adjourn by John Parsons, seconded by Thomas Procopio. All in favor. Meeting
adjourned at 7:56 by Brian Snell.
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