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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-10-15 Council on Aging MinutesCouncil on Aging October 15, 2001 Town Hall 16 Lowell Street Reading, MA 01867 4 E R K t. ;MSS. 12, Present: Dottye Foxon, Ray Cabot, John O'Neill, Joanne O'Brien, Ed Merullo, Betty Cronin, Edwina Kasper, Gay Williams, Pamela Brown (Director). Absent: Dick Anderson, Barbara Powers. Guest: Gail Wood, Liaison to Board of Selectmen • Dottye Foxon called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. • The minutes of September's meeting were accepted unanimously (motion by John O'Neill, second by Betty Cronin). • Our guest, Gail Wood, was introduced. • Pamela reviewed the Financial Report. Reporting back on questions from last month, Pamela noted that the percentage represents that portion of the budget spent to date; the "printed as of date is not so clear - this month's report printed as of 9-30, reflects expenses through 9- 18. She commented that in the Human SerNiees-B~ona ons account, over $500 comes from the knitters (included in the $706), and lamp repair donations (net of any expenses) pass through here as well. She will be asking the folks who generate the report if we might have a separate line for the knitters - revenues would be used to purchase more yarn (that which they make is generally given away). Pamela will research the source of the monies in the COA donation account (fund 25, department 547) for the next meeting. Acceptance of the Finance report was moved by Joanne O'Brien and seconded by Ed Merullo; a unanimous vote followed. • Pamela spoke regarding the September activity report eport and highlighted the following: • There were wonderful reviews from the participants of the Managing Your Finances computer class taught by Steve Osten. We hope to have more classes. • The knitters sale at the Atlantic was a resounding success - lots of people had an opportunity to see the work of the knitters and the support was gratifying. • Pamela has been working with the Scuttlebutt group to expand their programming. They have developed a program for the coming year, and information regarding the meetings will be sent to area Veteran agents and COAs. • Pamela is going to the Food Pantry twice a month to make contacts and support the effort there. We also discussed the capture of statistics (meals on wheels, shopping trips, etc.) We will see if we can develop a format to show month to month activity with cumulative data, to have an easy overview of increases or decreases in activities. Pamela also asked us to consider having our meetings in the Senior Center rather than Town Hall (assuming no scheduling conflicts) - that way we can better relate to any issues regarding the Center. Acceptance of the report was moved by Betty and seconded by John; unanimous acceptance followed. • In Other Business we heard about and further discussed a number of points. • Concerning the computer room there will be a meeting on October 16 with Theresa from RMLD. Theresa will be the instructor for 5-7 classes for 5 students (beginners). We also have (thanks to Sue Reardon) two high school volunteers who will start as mentors in the computer room at the end of October. They will help out those who register for this service to be offered from 2:45- 3:45. A letter was sent to those who have used the computer room in the past, informing them of this opportunity. • Dottye addressed the topic of officers for COA and reported that she has been told by groups who have attempted rotation of officers that it does not work. We will discuss this again at a later meeting, in an effort to insure smooth transitions from one chair to another (and other officers as well). • There was no report on the Circuit Breakers due to Dick's absence. • Dottye also brought up for our consideration getting some art work at the Center to break up empty wall space and to encourge our artists. Ray Cabot volunteered to look into this - we need to determine how much art work is needed, should it be art work by seniors, etc. • We also reviewed wording and "presentation" related to the plaque recognizing gifts which made establishment of the computer room possible. • Pamela is "experiencing" the excitement of Holiday Baskets and the Adopt a Family Programs. She has sent letters to last year's donors (individuals and groups) and to those who have been recipients (this included a form to be filled out if they would like to participate this year). Recipients must reply by Oct. 31St. The social worker and Coordinator of Volunteers are working with Pamela on this task - the matching is a very time consuming effort. We discussed the food deliveries for Thanksgiving and Christmas - last year about 50 seniors got bags of food. There is some thought to distribute hot meals instead of the bags (which contained cans {hard to open and sometimes too much food)). Further, the number of those truly needing the food for the holiday (i.e. alone) might be more like 25 than 50. We will research the idea of delivering T-giving meals ON the day, perhaps with supplies from Boston Market. We need to determine how many need meals, who can deliver (we do not anticipate this to be an issue), how much it will cost, and can we solicit the Chamber of Commerce for donations. There was another suggestion that perhaps for Christmas we could deliver chicken pies (and...) from Harrows. • Under the topic of Outreach with Ramblings it was determined to consider this topic (mailing, etc.) at a later date given the current demand, with holiday issues. A motion was made by Ray and seconded by John to table this discussion until February at which time a committee might be established to tackle this issue. • The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Gay W CU,Cantis, Gay Williams, Sec'y