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
December 15, 2008
MINUTES
Place and Time of Meeting: Arlington Senior Center, 27 Maple St, Arlington, 6:00 p.m.
Members Present: Lucilia Prates (arrived at 6:20 p.m.), William Carey, Harry McCabe, Ann FitzGerald, Joanne Morel, Mildred Hurd, Karen Nichols and Shirley Chapski
Members Absent: None
Others Present: John Jope, COA Executive Director, Art Budnik, Friends of the COA, and Annette Bender, Minuteman Senior Services
Quorum Identification/Call to Order: Harry McCabe presided and called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Shirley Chapski kept the minutes. A quorum of 6 was present.
Minutes of the November 20, 2008 Regular Meeting: Harry moved to receive the minutes of the November 20, 2008 meeting, Shirley seconded. There being no changes to the minutes, Harry moved to approve the minutes, Shirley seconded; all in favor. Motion carried.
Citizens Open Forum: ?Annette Bender, Minuteman Senior Services, distributed Minuteman’s Fiscal Year 2008 Service Report for Arlington which lists consumers who were served in each program in Arlington. Annette spoke on Minuteman’s new program, called the Commonwealth Corps at Minuteman, which will recruit stipended volunteers who will make a one-year commitment to service. Corps members will be Community Ambassadors and Annette’s job in Arlington is to work at the COA to get the word out about what services there are for seniors. One thing she has been asked to do is to contact the Selectmen to see if they would like to participate in the Meals on Wheels program and perhaps accompany a COA van driver on his route. The program is in its
early stages and Joan Butler will be contacting John to see what ideas he might have as to how Minuteman can be of further help.
Art Budnik, Friends of the COA, All of the paperwork is now in order for tax exempt status as well as for the Board of Charities and will go out this week. They will then be in position to start planning to solicit funds and come up with some fundraisers. They have also voted to expand their board; they have three directors and will increase the number slowly to seven. They have also been outreaching to some of the clubs and hope to have a presentation at the Retired Men’s Club.
REPORT OF THE CHAIR: Harry said the Town Manager plans to attend the COA January 15th meeting.
Board Self-assessment Surveys: Harry collected the completed surveys from the Board members. Ann and Joanne offered to tabulate the information contained in the surveys.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
The Executive Director’s report was received, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part of these minutes.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
FY2010 COA Budget Recommendations: Harry reported that he has had some discussions with the Selectmen concerning the COA budget recommendations and he added that we will need a supporting information package for Town Meeting which is best mailed to town meeting members prior to Town Meeting. Discussion followed as to the best time to mail the information. It was felt it would be better to wait until after our meeting with the Town Manager before we act further. Joanne spoke on having seniors present at Town Meeting to speak on their behalf and also a spokesperson that is knowledgeable on senior issues.
2010 Warrant Articles: John passed out written Summary Information for the 2010 Warrant articles; namely, the Harry Barber Community Service Program ($7,500) and Minuteman Senior Services “Fair Share” for FY2010 ($10,679). Joanne moved that the two warrant articles be approved; Shirley seconded; all in favor. Motion carried. Harry signed both submittals for the Warrant and a cover letter to Christine Connolly Sharkey.
?Memorandum of Understanding: John next gave Harry the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the COA and the ASA regarding the COA’s share of the mailing costs for the monthly newsletter. This item was amended and approved by the members at the November meeting. Bill moved to approve the Memorandum of Understanding; Shirley seconded; all in favor. Motion carried-. Karen Nichols, Vice Chair, signed the MOU
Discussion followed on how to get the word out to seniors and their families on issues pertaining to them. Suggestions included articles in the senior newsletter and asking local churches to include items in their newsletters. Both Karen and Annette Bender of Minuteman offered to help in gathering information on senior problems and providing testimonials from elders.
OTHER REPORTS:
COA Representative/Liaison to Minuteman Senior Services: Harry had no report.
COA Representative to the Arlington Seniors Association (ASA): No report.
ASA Representative to the COA: No report.
Budget Committee: No report.
Joint ASA/COA Committee: The committee met early in December and reviewed John’s compilation of the “Yes” and “No” answers on the survey; the essay type responses have not as yet been logged into the computer.
John next distributed a media advisory dated December 8, from the National Association of State Units on Aging talking about programs for older adults.
COA Annual Report: John has started to work on his annual report to the Town Manager which is due in mid January. One of the items called for is “Objectives” and John passed out copies of the 2008 and 2009 objectives and discussed each one. John is looking for ideas from the Board for the 2010 objectives and the Board needs to get suggestions to John by January 5th.
There being no further business to come before the meeting, Shirley moved to adjourn; Karen seconded; all in favor. Motion carried. Adjourned at 7:28 p.m.
Shirley Chapski, Secretary
Next Regular Meeting January 15, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
| 
