Mary Shepherd Home Citizens' Advisory Committee

Shepherd Home Advisory Committee MINUTES October 12, 2022 5:00 Location: Shepherd Home Conference Room or Zoom video Those in Attendance: Col. Phil Cacciola, Chair; Vice-Chair; Atty. Ralph Wilson, Veteran Larry Riley, Retired, Carl Rodenhizer, Columbus House Phil opened the meeting at 4:40 since we had all planned attendees. Approval of the minutes from the September 21 meeting was deferred. Property manager transition Wanda Purcell from DeMarco noted in her written report that several candidates for the position have been interviewed, but DeMarco HR has yet to make a decision. Finances A finance report through the end of August was distributed. Phil asked if we could start seeing actuals vs a budget. Donation The Middletown Elks has offered a defibrillator as part of a fundraiser they had. We discussed some training of tenants in its use, possibly in connection with the Health Department. Occupancy We continue to have two vacancies, but there are two active applications that are being processed. Program Report Tenant issues None to note. Program report Middlesex Health continues to hold monthly clinics. Their next one is October 19 from 9:00- 12:00. We discussed encouraging tenants to get a flu shot. It was noted there are a couple of community events in town that we could refer tenants. We’ll also check with Kevin Elak to see if Shepherd might host a session for tenants. Phil was concerned about the reference to American Senior Benefits in the program report. Carl said he would explore further to determine what is not covered by the VA benefits. Building issues The roof replacement has been approved by NEF. We expect the roof to take thirty days, starting on November 1. Related to the porches, we have security issues due to people propping the doors open. Carl will look into adding fobs to the side entrance to discourage the propping for doors. There have been requests to expand the number of laundry machines in the building. Carl will explore the viability. Phil noted that one option could be a signup sheet so time is reserved for a tenant, Meeting adjourned at 5:30. Next meeting, November 9, 2022 Submitted by, Carl Rodenhizer