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 15, 2005
MINUTES
Place and Time of Meeting: Arlington Senior Center, 27 Maple St., Arlington, 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Mildred Hurd, Robert Carey, Robert Tosi, Jr., Paul West and Shirley Chapski.
Members Absent: Ann MacGowan, Harry McCabe and Ruth Palombo.
Others Present: John Jope, COA Executive Director, and William Carey.
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 17, 2005 Regular Meeting: Bob Carey moved to receive the minutes of the November 17, 2005 meeting, Paul seconded, all in favor. One correction was made: p. 2 Unfinished Business, Municipal Budget for FY07, line 4, the words “eight members” should read “seven members.” There being no further corrections, Bob Tosi voted to approve the minutes, as amended, Bob Carey seconded; all in favor.
Citizens Open Forum: William Carey said he has been appointed to the COA board and will be
sworn in soon. Bob Tosi welcomed Bill saying he would be an asset to the COA board and mentioned his years of service to the town.
Election of Officers:
Shirley moved to nominate Bob Tosi as Chair, Bob Carey seconded, all in favor. Bob Tosi accepted the nomination and Shirley moved to appoint Bob Tosi as Chair to serve until the Annual Meeting in May; Paul seconded; all in favor.
Shirley next moved to nominate Paul West as Vice Chair; Bob Carey seconded; all in favor. Paul accepted the nomination and Shirley moved to appoint Paul West to serve as Vice Chair to serve until the Annual Meeting in May; Mildred seconded; all in favor.
Executive Director’s Report:
The Executive Director’s report is attached hereto and made a part of the minutes:
John made the following additional comments: Item #1 Student Nurses: They have completed their semester project, which was a presentation to the the COA staff on the “Walk-The-Rink” program, funded by Lahey, which will take place starting in May. John feels Lahey may fund the exercise programs for another year, so that needs to be taken into account when writing the Warrant article. The spring semester’s student nurses from UMass will be here in January. Item #2 Medicare D: SHINE counselors, along with Lourie August, social worker, and Joyce Killingsworth, intake and referral worker, are involved in working with clients and getting the job done. John plans to talk with Town Counsel soon about having clients seeking Medicare D advice, sign a release saying their decision was theirs
alone. Item #3: Podiatry: The podiatry clinic is well patronized. It is held once a month by appointment. Item #4 ASA/COA Joint Board Meeting: Plans are gong well. Item #5: FY 2007 Budget: Still being worked on. Bob Tosi said he hadn’t seen a copy of the final budget for the previous year--John will take care of that request. Item #6 Annual Report for 2005: A draft of the annual report was included in the board package. John is still working on the final version. Item #7: FY07 Budget Statement: A requirement by the Town Manager’s office, it is essentially a projection of what each division has as a mission, some highlights, a look at the fiscal picture, and objectives. Item #8 Holiday
Project: Through Patsy Kraemer, Human Services, this holiday gift-giving project is undertaken annually. The Board of Health and the COA have jointly “adopted” three Arlington families and are purchasing gifts for the children.
Item #9: Golden Opportunities: Two repeat shows are being taped for January; one of which is a Golden Opportunities classic with Harry Barber. A new element of the program will be an investigative reporter on the street.
OTHER REPORTS:
•COA Representative/Liaison to Minuteman Senior Services: No report.
•COA Representative/Liaison to the Arl. Seniors Association: Mildred attended the last meeting of the ASA board and reported that plans are underway for the 25th Anniversary of the ASA. Pictures of past presidents are going to be taken for display. There was also discussion about starting quilting classes.
•ASA Representative to COA: No report.
•Transportation Committee: John said the committee has not met but added that the committee needs to start moving forward on investigating ways to bring expenses in line with revenues. The goal of last February was to have at year’s end a sense of where we are and where we are going with regard to transportation issues but it is unlikely that that deadline can be met.
•Sevoyan Bequest Committee: No report.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
•Budget Items/Warrant Articles: The three Warrant Articles — continuation and expansion of the health program, Minuteman Services Fair Share for ‘07, and reinstatement of the Harry Barber Community Service Program — are being worked on by Harry and Bob Tosi.
•Joint ASA/COA Boards Meeting: Bob Tosi reported that members from both boards, met on Dec. 6 concerning plans for the joint meeting which will take place on January 12, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. at the Senior Center. He distributed a draft Agenda for the Jan 12th meeting. A final meeting before the event is scheduled for Jan. 9 at 10 a.m.
NEW BUSINESS:
•Memo to the Arlington COA Board from John Jope re Board Leadership.
•Financial Report: After discussion of the November 2005 financial report submitted by John, Bob Tosi said he would like to see the COA Budget and Finance Committee reinstated. Shirley volunteered to serve on said committee along with Bob Tosi. Next, Bob Tosi moved to establish a Budget Committee to be composed of three members to meet monthly with John Jope; Shirley seconded the motion; all in favor.
•Board Meetings: The Joint ASA/COA Board meeting scheduled for Jan 12, 2006 will be a Special Meeting and the next regular meeting will be Jan. 19, 2006. If the special meeting of Jan. 12 is canceled due to inclement weather, it could take place the following month.
•MCOA Report: John referred to the item “Policies and Procedures Alert” which states that “MCOA was made aware that the political action group that wants to overturn the Mass. Supreme Court decision to allow gay men and lesbians to marry has targeted senior centers as their new location to collect signatures.” The report further states that there are established regulations as to what is allowable when collecting signatures, campaigning, or distributing literature on public property. Instructions for accessing this information are contained in the report.
•FY Budget Request: MCOA is asking that Elder Affairs increase the formula grant by $2 million for FY07.
•Mass. Association of Older Americans, Inc. (MAOA): John referred to a letter from MAOA which seeks to involve retirees in this statewide senior advocacy organization. Membership for an organization is $50/year.
•FY2007 Warrant: Paul West moved to approve the letter (copy attached) to Patsy Kramer asking for her support for the Warrant Articles the COA voted on at its Nov. 17, 2005 meeting for the FY2007 Warrant, Mildred seconded the motion, all in favor.
There being no further business to come before the meeting, Shirley moved to adjourn; Bob Carey seconded; all in favor.
Adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
Shirley Chapski,
Secretary
Date of Special Meeting, January 12, 2006 at 6:00 p.m.
Date of next Regular Meeting, January 19, 2006 at 7:30 p.m.
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