Council on Aging

City of Chicopee Council of Aging June 13, 2023 . Members Present: S. Tawrel, S. Gelinas, K. Rousseau, K. LaBreck, S. Michalik, H. Lenart, L., D. Naumchick, C. Gemme, L. Houle Staff: S. Manyak I. Call to order ▪ The meeting was called to order at 4:45pm. There was no request to record the meeting. II. Public input ▪ No public input this meeting III. Review of minutes • Minutes were reviewed for May were accepted as written IV. Business Reports A. Executive Director Report • Sherry Manyak noted that the heating and ac system is now operational. Maintenance was able to locate the missing part on eBay and finally complete the work that was needed. Additionally, the parking lot has been relined. A new maintenance worker will be starting soon and will work evening hours. • $2 Tuesdays started last week. The total was 120 for the first day which is a higher participation rate. Sherry has inquired about ARPA money to support the lunch program to keep the cost down moving forward. Sherry is meeting with Community Development to see if there are grant funds that can be sought to reduce the lunch prices. The mayor is supportive of this initiative. • Sherry met with the State Health Department as a follow up about the health needs for older adults in Chicopee. She targeted food security as an important issue with this group. • The Center is fully staffed at this time. • Sherry noted that the vacation schedule is impacting staffing for the kitchen. They are trying “Directors Lunch” where the Director and staff will prepare the lunch.  o It was suggested to seek support from the Police, Fire or City Council for one of the lunches that was impacted B. Café • Sherry reported there was a $826.25 profit for May and things continue to do very well. Additionally, the kitchen had a profit of $78.76. It continues to be very challenging to make lunches for less than $3.00. There was a total of 388 meals delivered during the month. • A question was raised as to whether there could be more meals available for sale in the café. The funds from the meals are recorded as a café sale. C. Fiscal Reports • The fiscal reports for May were distributed to the group for review. • The April fiscal report was unanimously accepted by the group. The center is fiscally balanced for this point in the year. The fiscal year ends June 30th. • Formula grant funds should be without expected expenses by the end of the year. • The Fiscal Report for May was unanimously approved. D. Friends of RiverMills • The last meeting for the Friends was June 9th and it was well attended. This may have been due to a breakfast that occurred prior to the meeting. Here was $720 from the cash calendar as well as $30 from Stop and Shop. • The gift shop earned $2042, and the car wash tickets are selling quickly. It was noted that there was a large donation of costume jewelry and that impacted earnings. They also do very well with donated books and puzzles. • The next meeting will be in September E. Budget • The City Council meets to review the RiverMills budget .There will be a special meeting on 7/6 at 11am, D. ▪ K. Rousseau, C. Gemme, M. Rider, S. Gelinas, D. Naumchick, and S. Tawrel will attend. F. Adam Gomez Grant • Sherry put in a request for shade for the patio and new chairs for the dining room The request was approved, and Sherry is waiting on confirmation of funding. G. Apply for Grants • Sherry has been Applying for a number of grants • Mar Tap is $1000 for transportation • Spectrum grant for technology • Brookdale- the center decided this grant was not a good fit • Cultural Grant was submitted to celebrate Hispanic Culture • Title III grant – the request has been submitted to the main board for approval. This is for transportation’ • MCOA – still reviewing this funding opportunity to make it fit with the parameters related to outreach. • Enhancing Digital Literacy – The center applied for this grant for $50,000 through the department of Elder Affairs. The request was for laptops and tablets and other devices that could be provided to the participants. This would include training on how to use the device. There will be 30 COA’s selected in the state. • The Center has applied to be a part of the OATs program. Jonah and two volunteers are able to help with this. The Volunteers will be teaching the classes. The new person through the Digital Literacy grant would also assist with this work H. WMEC Audit • The grant through the WMEC requires an audit every 2 years. This has been collected. This included a survey to all participants using the transportation services and the data was sent to Western MA Elder Care. I. Lunch Survey • Sherry is developing a survey for the lunch program to obtain feedback from participant as part of program improvement. The Survey will be distributed soon. J. Concerns regarding maintenance of the grounds • A letter was developed to be sent to the Mayor and the President of City Councilor regarding the concerns that have been raised about the lack progress being made. There have been promises about  beautification of the grounds including a building including bathrooms near the bike path. • The City Planner is also responsible for the Age Friendly Initiative and this work seems to be stalled. There was a request for a written update two months ago. • The group reviewed the letter and signed prior to sending it forward. K. MCOA Training • Four members attended the MCOA training. A question was raised about what else the board members could do to support Sherry as a Director. V. Meeting adjourned at 5:45 pm • Next meeting is September 12, 2023. Submitted by Karen S. Rousseau