Council on Aging Board

The Lowell Council on Aging Senior Center • 276 Broadway Street • Lowell, MA 01854 P: 978-970-1171 • F: 978-970-4134 www.LowellMA.gov LOWELL COUNCI, ON AGING-COA BOARD MEETING Minutes of October 21, 2019 WELCOME PLEDGE OF ALLEGIENCE ROLL CALL: attending: Joyce Dastou Director Lil Hartman Mary Donnelly Guests: Gerry Avila John Lawlor Tom Cahill Andrew Hostetler Don Greenwood Vincenzo Milinazzo Gilda James Amy Pessia Beverly Gonsalves Absent: Eric Lamarche APPROVAL OF MINUTES : Sept. 9, Mary Donnelly, Vincenzo Milinazzo CHAIRPERSON REPORT: There is a vacant seat, (Sidney Lang’s). Lil will announce in the November Newsletter and notify partners. The election of officers is usually in October. The board will need to talk about a committees at the November meeting. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Lil handed out her report for October 2019. Attached: OLD BUSINESS : The Go Lowell Bike Working Group. priorities are safety first, comfort, the impact from traffic, and access for seniors. Andy brought up the subject of walkability issues being of importance. Lil brought up the the subject of the bike surveys for the City of Arlington, better lighting is an important issue & bicyclists understanding traffic safety rules. Ray Destrempe is the new custodian, hired from the library. Lil is looking into having an additional person in the reception area. Lil spends a lot of time Grant writing, this month submitted Cultural Council & Greater Community Foundation proposals, . The S. C. is hoping to hire a full time chef by November 22, 2019 and has identified the need for a clerk in FY 21. The 36 passenger bus will not be used in the winter because fewer people sign up for trips. Transportation Lil is working on hiring per diem bus drivers to cover drivers days off. Small trips, bus will pick up here. Large trips the bus will pick up at the VFW. To get the bus down at the Ayotte Garage, Carol has permission to use the garage twice a year to board the bus there, but the people would have to use the Rest Rooms in the Tsongas Arena. Councillor Nuon wants Lil to look into subsidized bus rides. Lowell Seniors already have a range of transportation options and expanding participation in these would be more cost effective. There is no room for a gift shop here, the space is being utilized for other things. There is no money in the the budget for overtime pay for building reservations by outside groups. Lil is proposing a custodial fee to the City Manager’s office for discussion. OTHER BUSINESS On Saturday, the 26th Gervais Motors is having a fundraiser, that if you test drive a car, $20.00 will be given to the Salvation Army. Salvation Army usually makes $8,000. 00 from this fundraiser. . ADJOURNENT: Motion to adjourn: 1st Joyce 2nd Vincent NEXT MEETING November 18, 2019 @ 9:00AM