Council on Aging Board

Council on Aging (COA) Advisory Board Meeting December 9, 2019 I. Sign In: Present: Mary Donnelly, Beverly Gonsalves, (recorder) Lillian Hartman, (Director), Andy Hostetler, Eric Lamarche, John Lawlor, Vincenzo Milinazzo, and Amy Pessia. Absent: Joyce Dastou, Guests: Jerry Avila, Gilda James II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Approval of Minutes: the minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Chairperson’s Report: Andy reported that there will be additional updates under Old and New business and provided an update regarding the music program collaboration with UMass Lowell. The event would be a live band Karaoke. He forwarded an email to Board members with a flyer attached describing a similar program offered at Chelmsford Senior Center. Andy inquired about scheduling this event, and Lil indicated that it could be held on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday. It could overlap the Social on Fridays, but not with the Dinner dance on third Fridays. V. Director’s Report: Lillian submitted a report (attached) and summarized the highlights. She also reported that unduplicated sign-ins/swipes on the My Senior Center System reached 1,000 for the fiscal year in November—surpassing last fiscal year’s total. The goal is 2,000 (there are approximately 15,000 seniors in Lowell). VI. Items for Discussion. a. Old Business I. Board Applications should be submitted to the City of Lowell. Apparently several have been submitted. The City Manager’s Office will make the final decision about the new appointment. II Committees: At the last meeting, we decided on two standing committees. The consensus was that this is enough for now, given that we previously had three inactive committees. The mission of Outreach committee is clear, and will be comprised of Andy, Beverly and Amy (ANYONE ELSE?). The Healthy Aging Committee (HAC) could help us move toward accreditation. As a way to start, we can refer to NCOA-NISC guidelines for accreditation, and also draw on AARP resources, to inform the activities of the HAC. The HAC will be comprised of Andy, Amy, Eric, Mary, and John. Eric suggested we do another  assessment like the Lowell Seniors Count, but they may be too large of an undertaking at the present. VII. Other a. It was mentioned that the holiday decorations have been very sparse. Our decorating coordinator has been out sick. b. We discussed the lack of necessary medical equipment at the Center. We consulted with the Dracut Senior Center, which reported having plentiful medical equipment, canes, walkers, and wheelchairs. C. Regarding our Shoveling Program. Andy reported seeing an article about high school seniors in Quincy volunteering to shovel for seniors. Would this work in Lowell? Andy said he would touch base with ROTC at both Lowell High School and UMass Lowell to see if they are interested in helping. d. Somebody suggested the possibility of creating welcome signs in different languages to help with outreach. e. Mary Donnelly relayed information from the Chelmsford Housing Authority . They have higher asset and income limits than the Foster Grandparent program. Mary also spoke about the hoarding issue. She has a few people to refer to any hoarding program we offer. Eric Lamarche reported that the Lowell Fire Dept. has brochures on hoarding. f. Mary also spoke about gift cards for the needy distributed in past years at Christmas. Lil is working with potential donors. g. Jerry Avila asked about the bus shelter across from Market Basket. Unfortunately there is not enough room between the building and the street to have an enclosed shelter. VII Adjournment: a motion to adjourn was unanimously approved. Next Meeting: Monday January 13, @ 9AM out the gift cards that were issued at Christmas time for the needy from Home Instead, but Home Instead has said no this year. Lilian is contacting Trinity for their donations. Eric Lamarche said that the Lowell Fire Dept. has brochures on hoarding information. The bus shelter across from Market Basket was mentioned. There is no room to put and enclosed bus shelter at that site. VIII Adjournment all Next Meeting: Monday, January 13 @ 9AM