Council on Aging Board

The City of Lowell • Council on Aging 276 Broadway Street • Lowell, MA 01854 P: 978.674.4131 • F: 978.970.4134 www.LowellMA.gov Council on Aging (COA) Advisory Board Meeting MINUTES Monday, May 9, 2022 at 9:00am at Lowell Senior Center I. Roll Call: Andy Hostetler, Frank Baskin, Joyce Dastou, Judy Huber, Gilda James, John Lawlor, Molyka Tieng, Lil Hartman. Guests: Steve Buckjune, John King. Absent: Beverly Gonsalves (excused), Anne Marie Porter. II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Approval of March and April Minutes – March: Motion by Joyce Dastou, Second by Judy Huber. Approved. April: Motion by Judy Huber, Second by Joyce Dastou. Approved. IV. Chairperson’s Report – There is an Age-Friendly planning meeting later this morning. All meetings productive but pressed last minute to create agendas. Likely to offer something like Empower program to build community leadership skills. Award-winning senior centers in MA: Natick won a national nutrition award. Dracut won for “at home grab and go: events. Duxbury received a technology award. Medfield “minds in motion” intergenerational award. Andy will organize a board trip to Natick. V. Director’s Report – Lil shared her written report. VI. Committee & Liaison Reports a. Frank Baskin: Senate is considering EMHOT funding request. Governor proposed 1.2 million in state budget and House increased it to 2.5 million. AgeSpan strategic planning SWOT analysis identified that size is a challenge, AgeSpan staff don’t understand the breadth of services the agency offers. b. Judy Huber: No news from MCOA yet about Board Development planning. DTA and Health Center will attend a SNAP enrollment day at Senior Center May 19.  The City of Lowell • Council on Aging 276 Broadway Street • Lowell, MA 01854 P: 978.674.4131 • F: 978.970.4134 www.LowellMA.gov VII. Guest Presenter, Amy Leal: Glady Rosa is the lead coordinator for outreach client follow-up. Amy has worked here 17 years. We improve quality of life and self-sufficiency for elders in distress. We’ve seen a lot of housing issues this year: infestation, landlords selling home or raising rent, people who are not happy with the family or roommates they live with. We are also doing lots of SNAP requests and fuel assistance. Outreach (funded by EMHOT) is not a substitute for 911. VIII. Items for Discussion: a. Old Business: Draft Room Reservation policy distributed. Custodial fees will be reviewed by City Council this month. Board raised question about political candidates’ use of space. Per Lil, since the pandemic we have only allowed candidates to share materials, collect signatures etc. outside our entrances. If requested, we would host candidate forums with all candidates invited. We do not allow single candidates to sponsor or speak at senior events, which could disrupt advertised activities or be considered using city resources for political campaigning (not allowed). b. New Business: Board attendance policy was discussed. We want to continue having a hybrid option available. If someone misses 3 meetings the Chair or Director should talk informally with them to see if they want to step down. When possible members should come in person, zoom only if they have a reason. We should enforce our attendance policy. We could offer “associate membership” as a way to keep participating on your own schedule, and as a way of developing a pipeline of future board members as well. Raised the idea of possible term limits or rotating on and off board, no motion to amend the attendance policy or term limits. Board would like to add a virtual participation section to the By-Laws in a future meeting. IX. Other  The City of Lowell • Council on Aging 276 Broadway Street • Lowell, MA 01854 P: 978.674.4131 • F: 978.970.4134 www.LowellMA.gov X. Adjournment Next Meeting: Monday, June 13 @ 9:00 AM Communication Remote / Zoom Participation: Meetings will be held at the Senior Center with public welcome and by using Remote Participation as follows: members of the public wishing to speak regarding a specific Agenda Item shall register to speak in advance of the meeting with Lil Hartman indicating the agenda item so that you receive a Zoom link or phone number for the meeting. All members of the public are welcome to submit their phone number to be invited to listen to the meeting on mute. Email: LHARTMAN@LOWELLMA.GOV Phone: 978-674-1170. All requests must be done before 7:00AM on the day of the meeting.