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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-11-01 Council on Aging Minutesode rg4o Town of Reading � cIJ�IVE0 I , Meeting Minutes ©WN CLERK MA. Board - Committee - Commission - Council: 2823 DEC 12 PH 12: 02 Council on Aging Date: 2023-11-01 Time: 6:30 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Conference Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: Council on Aging Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Joan Coco, Rosemarie DeBenedetto, Karen Janowski, John Parsons, Jean Prato, Marilyn Shapleigh, Nancy Tawadros, Jackie Behenna, Nancy Ziemlack Members - Not Present: Karen Fotino, Karen Pinette, Deborah Small, Linda Connors, Sally Hoyt Others Present: Chris Kowaleski, Nora Bucko, Kendra Cooper, Jenna Fiorente, Mark Dockser Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Nancy Tawadros Topics of Discussion: COA 11/1 Meeting called to order at 6:30 pm Approval of 10/10 Minutes tabled to the next meeting. New Business: ARPA Funds Update Jenna Fiorente Jenna went through her ARPA funds presentation deck, introduced the team, and shared the breakdown of the ARPA funds spend and future projected spend for feasibility, programming, programming staff support, programming accessibility and inclusivity, supplemental programming space. Karen Janowski suggested leveraging some of the ARPA funding to be allocated to pickleball programming. There was discussion. On -Going Business: Elder Services Report/Noxious fumes Update Chris Kowaleski Chris shared that Elder Services had a fantastic October. He spoke about programming and activities. Chris spoke to future programming. Chimney will be inspected on 11/2. Air quality test will take place when outdoor temperatures are appropriate. National Grid fixed the leak in the stove. Acquired rough estimate for acoustical panels and met with IT to explore audio and projector upgrades. Chris ran an analysis of programming of surrounding towns and determined that Reading is doing more than those towns. Volunteer coordinator interviews are taking place. There was discussion. Requests for Funding (1)Elder Services (2) COA No request for funds. Page 1 1 RFQ Update Nancy Tawadros We have 6 responses to the RFQ. The team is meeting tomorrow to discuss and narrow down the 6 proposals to three that we will pursue and interview, develop standardized interview questions that the group will ask. Following the interviews, we will develop a ranking selecting designers in order of priority. There was discussion. Select Board Update Mark Dockser Mark spoke to the RFQ process and shared that we have some strong proposals. Select Board is anxious to move this forward and highlighted the strong experience that these vendors have. He also spoke to community engagement and that some of these firms speak to their involvement/advisement in these activities. He also spoke to the interest that the trust funds are accruing. Symonds Way Liaison Update Karen Janowski Three agenda items including dog park, pickleball, and one response to RFI for publiciprivate partnerships was presented. Meeting again next week voting on recommendation for citizen's position to be passed. There was discussion. ReCalc Liaison Update John Parsons ReCalds meeting was canceled this month. They have a list of centers that they will visit. Nora Bucko shared a specific list of questions covering programming, finance, and transportation. Mark shared that ReCalc will be briefing the designer that will be selected. There was discussion. Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley Liaison Update Karen Fodno Karen was not present. MCOA Conference Update Marilyn Shapleigh Four folks went to MCOA conference. She shared an update on the learnings, and found it enriching to learn more about what other towns are doing to serve their communities. There was discussion. Communication and Outreach (COS) for a new Senior Center: Letter Writing Campaign Karen Janowski Marilyn Shapleigh Marilyn shared accomplishment for October was the press release went out which included link to PSC video tour. Next will be to drive community awareness on RFQ process. There was discussion. RCTV Outreach Jean Prato Jean shared her disappointment in RCN. No response to several requests to meet. There was discussion. Outreach Event Karen Pinnette, Karen Fotino Jean Prato Karen and Karen were not present. No report. Mailing List Nancy Ziemlak Nora Bucko Page 1 2 Nancy shared that they have the street list from the town, and Nora's husband John was able to take the list out and parse it out into different categories and how to leverage for a potential campaign. There was discussion. Karen Janowski made a motion to adjourn at 8:15pm. John Parsons seconded. Motion to adjourn was not passed Discussion on ARPA funds ensued regarding the COA's purview on the spend and programming. There was continued discussion. Rosemarie made a motion to adjourn at 8:26pm Marilyn Shapleigh seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:27 pm Page 1 3