TOWN OF ARLINGTON
COUNCIL ON AGING
27 Maple Street
Arlington, MA 02476-4909
Harry McCabe, Chair
Karen Nichols, Vice-Chair
Shirley Chapski, Secretary
Regular Meeting of the Council on Aging
September 18, 2008
MINUTES
Place and Time of Meeting: Arlington Senior Center, 27 Maple St, Arlington, 7:00 p.m.
Members Present: William Carey, Harry McCabe, Karen Nichols, Ann FitzGerald, Joanne Morel, and Shirley Chapski
Members Absent: Mildred Hurd and Lucilia Prates
Others Present: John Jope, COA Executive Director; Art Budnik, Friends of the COA, and Kelly Madry, student nurse at the COA.
Quorum Identification/Call to Order: Karen Nichols presided and Shirley Chapski kept the minutes. A quorum of 6 was present.
Minutes of the June 19, 2008 Regular Meeting: Shirley moved to receive the minutes of the June 19, 2008 meeting, Harry seconded. Harry moved that for purposes of discussion the minutes of the June 19, 2008 meeting be approved, Ann seconded. The following correction was made: Page 1, Executive Director’s Report – Joint Board Lunch, Line 1; change “Arlington Center Center” to “Arlington Senior Center.” Harry moved to approve the minutes, as corrected; Shirley seconded; all in favor. Motion carried.
Citizens Open Forum: Kelly Madry, a nurse at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and a Master’s degree student at Regis College is doing her clinical care at the COA under the direction of Pat Falwell and John Jope. She is working on a town assessment for her school paper. Harry requested a copy of her paper when she is finished with her project.
Art Budnik, one of the directors of the newly-formed Friends of the COA, said they will be introducing themselves to Arlington on Town Day, Sept. 20. Art spoke on the Friends group, who they are and what directions they are taking. Their mission is not only to raise funds for the COA but to spread awareness of the COA and its role in the community. The Articles of Incorporation have been filed with the State. Harry asked for a copy of their By Laws and that a representative of the Friends attend the COA meetings. Art then departed the meeting.
REPORT OF THE VICE-CHAIR: Karen reported that (a) Minuteman Senior Services has sent out an email on a fundraising they are conducting; (b) Christine Connolly has sent us a notice concerning Martha Coakley convening a series of four regional energy round tables. The one closest to us is Salem on October 3 if anyone can attend. Discussion on home heating for those who require assistance followed.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
The Executive Director’s report is attached hereto and made a part of these minutes. John made the following additional comments:
Item 2: The Chinese language brochure has been completed and will be available at the COA booth on Mass. Ave. on Town Day. The brochures will also be available at the Arlington housing sites on the dates of the flu clinics. Harry asked that copies be sent to the board members.
Reminded the board to sign up for the “Indian” lunch on October 24 at the senior center. As well, John has sent invitations to town officials. The meal will be catered by Bollywood of Lexington. The regular lunch supplied by Minuteman will also be available. Karen mentioned that there is a Chinese Senior Center in Waltham.
MCOA Annual Conference: The conference will be held October 15-17. Several board members as well as members of the COA staff will be attending the conference.
The Friends of the Arlington Council on Aging, Inc.: Along with the filing of papers for nonprofit status, a $750 filing fee is required. John asked the board if it will consider paying this amount for the Friends as it is an investment that will be of benefit to the COA. Harry requested a copy of the Friends By-laws.
Harry moved that the board approve the payment of $750 from the Gift Fund to assist the Friends group; Joanne seconded; all in favor. Motion carried.
Arlington Town Day, Sep 20, 2008: The COA booth on Mass. Ave. will be manned by a board member, staff and volunteers.
Flu Clinics: Clinics are scheduled for selected dates in October, November and December and will be held at the Senior Center and at senior housing sites for building residents. Several board members volunteered to help with the clinics and John will pass their names on to Christine Connolly.?Arlington Food Pantry: The food pantry is in serious need of food and cash donations this year. The COA is providing a basket for food donations on Town Day and John will deliver the donations to the food pantry. Ann suggested that we ask those getting flu shots this year to bring an item for the Food Pantry.
Arlington Cable Station: On Tuesday, September 23, there will be a shooting of an episode of Golden Opportunities with Michael Festa, Secretary of Elder Affairs, and Undersecretary, Dr. Ruth Palombo as the invited guests. Those wishing to be part of the live studio audience are invited to come to the studio at 3:45 p.m.
OTHER REPORTS
COA Representative/Liaison to Minuteman Senior Services: Harry reported that Minuteman Senior Services, under a grant from the State, is looking for 15 people for the newly created Minuteman ACCESS Corps. These are paid positions, 10 of which are Community Liaison/Program Assistants and five as Medical Escorts. Available hours range from 15 to 35 per week.
COA Representative/Liaison to the ASA: No report.
ASA Representative to COA: No report.
Budget Committee: The Committee did not meet this month but John reported that we are on track. The COA has still not heard anything from Arl-Lex Taxi; they have not signed the new contract, have not been submitting bills, but are still providing services. Discussion followed on how it will play out when and if they submit bills. John next reviewed the Transportation figures: the revenue and expense totals for fiscal year to date are $7605 (not counting any subsidies) and $17,672, respectively. We will be getting $62,850 in block grant funding this year and it will be posted soon.
Joint ASA/COA Committee: The committee did not meet over the summer but John reported that the results of the survey are almost through being logged in. Once that has been completed the raw data will be made available to the committee. Harry requested a sample copy of the survey. John will make copies available. Harry will check with Ann MacGowan about setting a date for the next Joint Committee meeting.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Annual Election of Officers: Karen opened nominations for officers for the year 2008-2009 to serve until the next annual election in May 2009. Shirley moved to nominate Harry McCabe as Chair, and he agreed; Karen seconded. Harry moved to nominate Karen Nichols as Vice Chair, and she agreed; Joanne seconded. Harry moved to nominate Shirey Chapski as Secretary and she agreed; Karen seconded. Karen cast a common ballot for the nominees; all in favor. Motion carried.
Proposed COA Board Training: Karen and John reviewed the information contained in the last Board Training sessions conducted Summer 2005 and determined that the data needs to be updated. After discussion, it was agreed that John will work on the updates over the next few months. The training sessions will be held in 2009 to be conducted over a four week period – one two-hour session per week. The newly created Friends group will be invited to participate as well.
Planning a Joint ASA/COA Fall Meeting: Since there is no ASA representative in attendance, this discussion tabled until a future meeting.
Status of New COA Van: Shirley asked John what the status of the new van was and he said there is no new information at this point in time.
NEW BUSINESS
”Thoughts to Share” Passout: John said what he sees tonight will cause him to eliminate a couple of points contained in the document dated June 2008 because the board is holding to the issues and making decisions. He would suggest taking a position on things happening in the Town that affect others and encourage the board to go beyond the regular board meeting and speak to our selectmen – be more visible. He also asked the board to consider term limits. Harry said we have discussed this many times and stressed that how long a member serves is decided by the selectmen and we cannot make that decision. John continued, saying the board needs to be more proactive and feels we could do a lot more if we had some kind of an annual plan. Discussion followed and Harry suggested that the
Self-assessment Survey John distributed this evening be a starting point to setting goals and John added that the completed surveys would be a help to him in designing the board orientation packages.
FY2010 COA Budget Recommendations: John is starting to prepare recommendations for the FY10 budget and distributed to the board a list of resources needed to accomplish the COA’s mission.
In addition to the current full-time social worker position, add a half-time social worker who could also cover the Intake & Referral position as needed.
?The Intake & Referral position needs a private office to meet with clients in order to maintain confidentiality.
Restore Geriatric Nurse Specialist to full-time status.
Restore Transportation Coordinator/Supervisor of Volunteers to full-time status.
When the Transportation Enterprise Program runs at an annual deficit, the Town’s General Fund should subsidize the program.
Have access to a grant writer/researcher.
Discussion ensued and it was agreed that Christine Connolly be asked to attend a COA meeting to discuss our recommendations. Harry asked that John prepare for the board’s information only, a budget for FY10 reflecting the dollars and cents and hours including current staffing and proposed changes.
Change of Date for the Next Regular Meeting: Because the MCOA Fall Conference will be held on October 16, it was agreed to hold the next regular meeting on Thursday, October 23, at 7 p.m.
Karen asked John if he had been written up in The Advocate as president of the MCOA. The answer being no, Karen and Ann agreed to put something together at the MCOA conference for publication in The Advocate.
Board Self-Assessment Survey: The survey was distributed for the members to complete and return at the next board meeting.
Action Items: *The Indian Lunch, *Golden Opportunities Shooting Sep 23; *Board Assessment Survey; *Setting a date for an ASA/COA meeting; *Write the article for the newspaper; *Prepare a Council Confidential Budget for FY10.
There being no further business to come before the meeting, Shirley moved to adjourn; Joanne seconded; all in favor. Motion carried. Adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Shirley Chapski, Secretary
Next Regular Meeting October 23, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
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