Council on Aging Board

Lowell Council on Aging (COA) Advisory Board Meeting Minutes for November 18, 2019 In Attendance: Beverly Gonsalves (recorder), Lil Hartman, Andy Hostetler, Eric Lamarche, Amy Pessia, and Mary Donnelly I. Roll Call; as this appears nowhere in the Bylaws or City regulations, we decided we will not do in the future, but rather simply use the sign-in sheet II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Approval of minutes from last meeting IV. Chairperson’s Report: Andy reported that the Age Friendly initiative is moving forward. At the last meeting, it was suggested that Census workers could be recruited after the completion of the Census to help us with some of the audits and data collection. V. Director’s Report: Lil submitted a full written report and summarized the highlights. See attached report VI. Items for Discussion: a. Old Business a. Board openings: We received two applications for Board openings, and the Board will make recommendations to the Mayor. The issue was raised if whether we will need a closed session Board meeting. However, Eric reported that applications should be filled out online, and that he believes the City ultimately makes the decision. b. New Business: a. Transportation Project: Beverly gave a report on some of the information that she collected on transportation at other Senior Centers. i. It was suggested that neighborhood walks could be planned around the Acre and City Hall Area to assess walkability for those who walk to the Center. For example, crosswalks are in need of painting but they  cannot be painted at this time--the weather is too cold. Stevens St. could use another crosswalk, someone reported. b. Shoveling: We need volunteers. The ROTC students from Lowell High School used to be involved in this project. Andy will look into this. c. Officers and committees for 2020 i. Officers 1. President: Andy Hostetler 2. Vice President: Eric Lamarche 3. Treasurer: Amy Pessia 4. Secretary: Beverly Gonsalves ii. Committees 1. Outreach 2. Healthy aging 3. Other? d. Other i. Related to transportation, Lil reported that the Veoride bike service is ending for the season because the weather is too cold. ii. Lil reported that Carl has worked six months without a vacation, he will work three more days and then be out for the rest of the year. iii. We discussed building maintenance issues, and the need to plan ahead was addressed, since the City will finally own the building by ~2023. iv. In addition to transportation issues, we will identify any other benchmarks related to how other senior centers work VII. Other: Gerry Avila said that we need to bring more people in, not enough seniors stay after lunch when we do have entertainment. Beverly  will meet with the Director of the Dracut Senior Ctr. to inquire about their larger attendance. To Andy: What about bringing in the students from the University who are in the music courses? Andy will check into this. John King wants all to remember December 7, 2019 which is Pearl Harbor Day. There will be a special Veterans presentation at the auditorium on December 7, from 9AM – 11AM VIII. Adjournment Next meeting will be Monday December 9, @ 9 AM