The following minutes of the December 14, 2006, Regular Meeting were approved
at the Meeting of the COA on January 18, 2007:
ARLINGTON COUNCIL ON AGING
27 Maple Street
Arlington, MA 02476-4909
Robert Tosi, Jr., Chair
Paul West, Vice Chair
Shirley Chapski, Secretary
Regular Meeting of the Council on Aging
December 14, 2006
MINUTES
Place and Time of Meeting: Arlington Senior Center, 27 Maple St., Arlington, 7:40 p.m.
Members Present: Robert Tosi, Jr., Mildred Hurd, Ruth Palombo, Karen Nichols and Shirley Chapski.
Members Absent: Paul West, Ann MacGowan, Harry McCabe, and William Carey.
Others Present: John Jope, COA Executive Director
Quorum Identification/Call to Order: Bob Tosi, Jr. presided and Shirley Chapski, Secretary, kept the minutes. A quorum of 5 was present. Minutes of the November 16, 2006 Regular meeting: Shirley moved to accept the Minutes of November 16, 2006 meeting, Karen seconded. There being no corrections to the minutes, all voted in favor. Motion carried.
Citizens Open Forum: None.
REPORT OF THE CHAIR: Bob Tosi and John met with Christine Connolly November
13 and they focused on budget matters.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT: The Executive Director’s report is attached hereto and made a part of the minutes. John made the following additions:
Warrants for Town Meeting: To be addressed under “New Business.”
Elks Christmas Party: As in past years, the use of COA vans will be donated to bring people to the Elks Christmas Party in December and the drivers volunteer their time.
•Flu Clinic — The flu clinic, held on November 30th at St. Athanasius Church, went very smoothly. A second clinic was held at the senior center last week for two hours in the A.M. Flu shots were also administered to the homebound.
OTHER REPORTS:
•COA Representative/Liaison to Minuteman Senior Services: No report.
•COA Representative/Liaison to the Seniors Association: Mildred did not attend last month’s Senior Assoc. meeting and also did not receive notice of that meeting.
•Arlington Seniors Association Representative to COA: No report.
•Budget Committee: The committee is delaying reviewing the numbers in order to focus this month on the Transportation Committee’s report. Next month The Budget Cte. will report on November and December figures.
•Transportation Committee: Ruth Palombo reported that the Transportation Committee met this date and developed a general three-part plan for the board’s consideration and approval. The three areas that need to be focused on are:
(1) educating staff (COA and senior center staff) as well as town officials and participants in the COA Transportation Program (ridership) of the need to increase funding revenues,
(2) gathering figures on our current program and getting some examples of transportation costs from other COAs (John will provide the figures); and
(3) developing a plan for raising revenues so that the Transportation Fund can become more self supporting and thus allow the COA to continue the services we are currently providing.
Bob said we are likely to get an increase in CDBG funds but it is not guaranteed. He also talked about the Information/Referral Clerk’s salary, which is presently coming out of the Transportation Enterprise Fund, and that it should rightly be part of the COA budget.
As voted at the November 16, 2006 meeting, the COA will move ahead with the purchase of a new van which has already been budgeted for in the Enterprise Fund. Bob has discussed with Christine Connolly about meeting with the Capital Budget Committee and asking them to consider setting aside an amount of money (± $2500) each year so that in 5 or 6 years when we are ready to buy another van the money will be available.
Ruth moved to approve the Transportation Committee’s three-part plan, namely: (1) educating both the COA staff and senior center staff as well as town officials and participants; (2) gathering cost information and surveying other COAs on their transportation program structure and costs; and (3) developing a plan for raising revenues so that the Transportation Fund can be more self supporting. Karen seconded the motion; all in favor. Motion carried.
Ruth moved to increase the revenue from the Sanborn Fund for rides for cancer patients from $30 to $40 round trip. Discussion followed and Ruth asked John to provide figures on the Sanborn Fund so that at the next meeting the board will have a clearer picture of how the fund stands. Ruth withdrew the motion.
After further discussion of the Sanborn Fund status, Ruth again moved to increase the cost of a round-trip ride for a cancer-related individual to his/her medical appointment from $30 to $40. Discussion ensued and she asked John to get updated figures for the next meeting and come up with a comprehensive plan. Mildred seconded the motion; four voted in favor, one against. Motion
carried.
•Sevoyan Bequest Committee (SBC): The next scheduled meeting for the SBC is Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.
•Senior Center Outreach Task Force: No Report.
•Sevoyan Policy Task Force: The members of the subcommittee, Harry, Bob and Shirley, will be presenting their thoughts and recommendations at the January 9th meeting of the SBC.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS Deferred until January meeting.
NEW BUSINESS:
•Review/Approval of the 2006 Annual Report: Discussion of the report, which is due in the Town Manager’s office early January, took place. Ruth suggested adding the current percentage of elders in Arlington’s population and it was also felt that including the number of people served in the various programs offered by the COA would enhance the report. John agreed with the suggestions and will get the figures. After discussion, Shirley moved to approve the report incorporating the suggested changes; Ruth seconded; all in favor. Motion carried.
•Request to Approve Annual Transfer of $10,000 from the Sevoyan Trust to the Sevoyan Dental Subsidy Program: Ruth moved to approve the transfer of $10,000 from the Sevoyan Trust fund to the Sevoyan Dental Subsidy Program; Karen seconded; all in favor. Motion carried.
•Warrant Articles: Warrant articles for town meeting open December 18, 2006 and close on January 26, 2007. After discussion, Shirley moved to submit a Warrant Article for the Harry Barber Community Service Program in the amount of $7500; Ruth seconded; all in favor. Motion carried.
There being no further business to come before the meeting, Shirley moved to adjourn; Ruth seconded; all in favor. Motion carried.
Adjourned at 9:25 p.m.
Shirley Chapski, Secretary
Next Regular Meeting January 18, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.
ARLINGTON COUNCIL ON AGING: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
December 14, 2006
the mission of the council on aging is to provide advocacy and support services
to help arlington elders live dignified and independent lives
1. For the November 30 flu clinic, the Board of Health and COA staffs used prearranged appointment times for each client to assure a smooth client flow, and to avoid crowding and backups. Our vans were dedicated to bring seniors to and from the clinic that morning. More than 800 doses were dispensed at the clinic, in addition to those given to the homebound.
2. The Lahey-supported Tai Chi and Aquasize programs have begun, and are proceeding well.
3. The Thanksgiving Day meal delivery took place on Thanksgiving morning. COA staff had compiled the list of recipients, arranged the delivery routes, and had drawn the maps for volunteers to follow as they brought some cheer to the frail homebound. The Retired Mens' Club underwrote the expenses and students from the Brackett School had made Thanksgiving Day greeting cards that were delivered with the meals. Other volunteers (including several families) delivered the meals.
4. On November 10, our governor vetoed ("9C") money to Councils on Aging. If not restored, incentive grants would be eliminated and formula grants would be reduced. 349 councils now stand to take a 3% cut in their local funding ($250,000 overall), or about 25¢ per elder (this is about $2,200.00 for Arlington). As we're now halfway through the year, COAs lose the second half of their new funding and there's nowhere to go now to replace these funds. The legislature reconvenes in January; MCOA is taking a firm stand to have these monies restored.
5. COA van drivers again offered their time this year, and the COA offered its vans, to bring seniors to the annual Bowes/Elks Christmas Dinner in early December.
| 
