Council on Aging

City of Chicopee Council of Aging June 13, 2017 . Members Present: C. Gemme, S. Michalik, S. Tawrel, H. Lenart, K. Rousseau, C. Supple, S. Alvera, J. Lukasik, S. Gelinas, Bernash, C. Staff: S. Manyak Excused: M. Rider, M. Moge, E. LaFlamme I. Call to order  The meeting was called to order at 4:45pm. There was no request to record the meeting. II. Public input  Mr. and Mrs. LaBreck are attending as guests  A. Picard presented on the Spring into Summer Concert Series. Dan Kane and invited guests will be entertaining the group. On June 29th, Sarah The Fiddler is coming and there will be a bake sale. The first concert was well attended by 90 participants. o There is a concert 9/17 at 2pm at Chicopee Comprehensive Auditorium. This is a major fund raiser for the Friends and the COA is asked to sell a packet of tickets, which are being sold at $20 each. Members can return funds to the locked box at the front desk. o FY 2018 has $13885 budgeted for the RiverMills Center III. Review of minutes  Minutes were reviewed from 5/9/2017 and accepted with a correction to item 7 reception committee update. C. Bernash has been holding meetings for the committee and Gdula is a correction. IV. Financial Report  The financial report was circulated with meeting materials. The Center is in good status financial status and is working to finish out the year in expenses. She is working to spend out the Formula One  grant. It was noted that there is about $4000 in funds that may be available to purchase equipment potentially for the kitchen  There is a $4800 bill for chairs that were purchased in 2016 but no purchase order was put in place. S. Manyak will have to ask the City Council for funds because it was for a previous year. There are some funds remaining in a previous year Formula grant for 2015.  There is $48722.77 in a Charter Communication Grant, that is considered cash reserve. Potentially some of these funds could be used to improve the patio or for storage.  Sherry went to a training at WestMass Eldercare and was told the community grant could be eliminated in the federal budget which could impact Elder Care would no longer be offering the food or companion programs  The FY 16 wellness grant has a surplus of $688 that needs to be addressed.  The FY 17 Wellness grant has $4387 remaining  The financial report was accepted and placed on file. V. Director’s Report  The Director’s Report was distributed. o Key issues in the last month to note was new landscaping around the parking lot. This will be maintained moving forward. o The exercise rooms get hot in the summer months and new fans were purchased to help with this problem. o Holly Angelo has been hired as Assistant Director o Students from Chicopee Comp have been doing some painting and other activities to improve center upkeep. o They have moved to “Plan C” for the café and have started discussions with Poleps o The report was accepted as written. VI. SALT Report  The last meeting was 5/12 and the group discussed October planning and the plan is to address to fire safety and cooking safety. The City Council 6/617 S. Michalik attended to share the winners of the poster contest. A certificate from the city was provided as well as a gift bag from the Fire Department o The Fire Department still has smoke detectors available to be installed but supplies are getting limited. After these are gone,  newer versions will be supplied and there will be a nominal charge. o The landlord or manager of apartments must provide smoke detectors and fire detectors are their responsibility. All other areas such as private apartments are the renter’s responsibility o There is a new liaison officer – Officer Ducharme. o There is a picnic on 6/22 at 4:30 at RiverMills and S. Michalik plans to set up a table for SALT.  He will have some information on identity theft to share  The next meeting is planned for July. VII. Receptionist Committee Update  C. Bernash, M. Rider and C. Gdula have been meeting to develop a description of receptionist training which was circulated. Materials for the training manual were distributed. A copy of the building layout will be included in the packet. The manual is not in a finished state at this point and some areas need addressing including the confidentiality statement policy. It was noted that the transportation drivers sign a privacy statement. A question was raised whether the receptionists should wear a picture ID. The phone system is somewhat difficult to manage so more information needs to address these challenges. Money is often handled at the front desk and policies need to be developed on how to rectify the funds to ensure there are no issues. There is a system in the manual but it is not being implemented consistently so the policy should be reviewed and then training to address it. o Implementation will be planned over the summer. o It was suggested that a script be kept near the phone for easy access o Michelle Blainey is the office manager who will be working to do the trainings  The board recognized the hard work of the committee to move this project forward. VIII. Transportation Committee  S. Michalik, C. Bernash, C. Gemme, C. Gdula, B. Kupiec, and L. Padyluka form this committee. C. Gemme shared the group’s work. They have discovered that the price for rides is very low and in the cars the fee is described as a donation and so it is not consistently  collected. People will need to be educated that there are expenses related to providing transportation. Round trip to the COA will be $1.00, and $2.00 will be charged for other round trip rides within Chicopee as well as other important destinations in Springfield. Rides may not be offered to Holyoke COA as they have been in the past. Cancellation and last minute cancellations need to be addressed. There will be a sign in each car that describes the fee. Coupons/vouchers are being considered. Transportation for banking, pharmacy, and shopping will be offered once the new structure is implemented  A public meeting will be held to explain the implementation of the new procedures and policies. Notices will be posted in the RiverMills Reminder IX. Public Body Checklist for Minutes  The checklist was distributed to the group. Members who have not been able to attend an Open Meeting Training were encouraged to attend one when they are available. X. Formula Grant  Sherry and Holly will be attending trainings for the new Formula Grant system. These will be held during summer months in preparation to developing the grant for next year. The group was reminded that the group that a meeting may be called this summer to address the grant development or other business matters. XI. Helping Hand Mini Grant  The center has received funding for $1000 to upgrade the transportation department’s printer.  S. Phillips made a motion to accept the Helping Hand Mini Grant, seconded by S. Alvera. The motion was unanimously approved XII Picnic  There is a Picnic being held on 6/22, with seating’s at 4:30 and 5:30. Tickets are $5.00 and there will be music as well as entertainment. The COA board were asked to attend if possible. The $4:30 is sold out. XII. Meeting adjourned at 5:50 pm.   C. Gemme thanked the group for their participation for the past year’s activities and support.  S. Manyak was recognized for the positive changes that have been made around the center  The next meeting is September 12, 2017 at 4:45pm. Submitted by Karen S. Rousseau