Council on Aging Board

Council on Aging (COA)Advisory Board Meeting Minutes Monday March 9, 2020 at 9:00 am Council on Aging Conference Room 276 Broadway St., Lowell, MA 01854 I. Sign In: Mary Donnelly, Andrew Hostetler (Chair), Eric Lamarche, John Lawlor, Amy Pessia, Ann Marie Porter, Lil Hartman (Director), Beverly Gonsalves (recorder); Absent: Joyce Dastou, Vincenzo Milinazzo. Guests: John King, Michael Laurent, Gilda James, & Steve Buckjune II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Approval of Minutes: The minutes were unanimously approved. IV. Welcoming Our New Board Member: Anne-Marie Porter V. Chairperson’s Report: Andy reported that the Age-Friendly Lowell project, which both he and Lil are involved in, has been asked to submit a full grant proposal to the Tufts Health Plan Foundation. The COA will be very involved in this project, and we will be looking for local seniors to take on leadership roles. He also announced that the Live Karaoke Band, a collaborative project with UMass Lowell Music Department faculty and students, is scheduled for April 27, 2020. Ideally, this collaboration will continue into the future, and he and Gina Greher of the Music Department have talked about applying for grants to support future music programming and research related to it. VI. Director’s Report: See attached report. Lil went over the most important issues, including changing the Senior Center’s hours of operation. Specifically, she proposed that the Senior Center open at 7:00 instead of 6:30 AM. The main issue is staff shortages in the morning, particularly in for upstairs coverage. In response to a question from Anne-Marie, Lil responded that this would only affect 10 to 15 seniors, who would just have to come a half hour later. She will solicit feedback on this proposal and bring it to the next Board meeting for a vote. John King asked if gym staff have CPR training; Lil reported that this training is not required. Regarding transportation, John King asked is there is transportation for events that run beyond 4 pm, which is closing time for the Senior Center. Lil replied that there is not because no one works after 4. VII. Items for Discussion: a. Old Business a. Committee Reports i. Outreach Committee: The outreach committee did not meet over the past month. Mary reported that there is a Great Lowell Health Alliance Breakfast Mixer on St. Patrick’s Day, Tuesday March 17 from 9:00 to 11:00 at the LGH- Saints Campus. She and Amy will both attend  ii. Healthy Aging Committee: The Health Aging Committee met on Friday, March 6 and dedicated most of the meeting to discussing a revision of the COA mission. Following discussion, the Board voted to send the following mission statement to the City Manager: The mission of the Lowell Council on Aging is to promote the well-being and independence of adults 60+. We do this through advocacy and programs, including food/nutrition, health/fitness, outreach, education, socialization, and transportation. The Lowell COA is committed to honoring the diversity and building on the strengths of seniors. The HAC also discussed doing a post-it mural at the Senior Center, asking seniors to respond to the prompt: “What does the senior mean to you in one word?” This could eventually be used to generate a word cloud and other things. iii. We also reviewed the Code of Conduct, adding “sleeping during hours of operation” to the list of proscribed activities, removing some duplicative text, and adding that the code of conduct also applies to volunteers and vendors (who are also subject to a City of Lowell code of conduct). b. New business: None VIII. Other 1. Steve (guest) asked about the estimate to fix the bus, which Lil confirmed includes parts and labor and will be paid for by a state grant. 2. Gilda (guest) asked about the Fashion Show, fund raiser. FLCOA has tentatively agree to sponsor the event, but Joe Pierce stated that we will need a budget for it. 3. John King (guest) inquired about scheduling the CHOP Dinner in regard to limitations of after- hours building use. Lil responded that, since staff and overtime expenses for these events come out of the Director’s budget, it is necessary to limit it. Events including a recent census workshop offered in evening usually takes senior center staff time away from daytime operations. Mike (guest) inquired about whether volunteers could work these events, but there are liability issues and the City won’t allow it. IX. Adjournment Next Meeting: Monday, April 13 @ 9:00 AM