Montpelier Senior Activity Center Advisory Council

MSAC Advisory Board Meeting January 22, 2014 1:30 pm at City Hall Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 1:35 pm Present: MSAC Director, Janna Clar; Board Chair, Tina Muncy; Board Members: Peter Harris, Frank Wood, Elizabeth Dodge, Janet Ressler, Fran Krushenick, Sylvia Kingsbury and Sue Stukey. Minutes of the previous meeting on December 11, 2013 were accepted with minor corrections. A. Old Business 1. Member Comments: a. Question: Can we use the van to pick up members for lunch? Response; Good idea, would need a driver and add management hours. Perhaps pay to ride? Existing bus service works for some, but not all. b. Swimming: Member was upset at having to share the pool on Sundays. Response: We have the lap lanes designated from 2-3 pm, on Sunday, not the whole pool. Janna will follow up. Schedule: Tuesday: pool is MSAC’s the whole morning; Thursday: shared; Sunday? We will need to evaluate numbers at the end of the year. Currently we have 40 registered. Aerobic class is full. c. Whitney and Barbara Dall’s presentation on Hiking in Spain: Room too crowded! It was difficult to set up, find markers, get chairs upstairs and get information on the AV equipment. They had no connector for a Mac computer. This event pointed up the need for someone to be available in the office in the evening to direct people, answer tech questions and help with logistics. There was also a missed opportunity to show people our beautiful building. Janna responded that in the future such events should be scheduled for the large activity room downstairs, if possible. She noted we don’t have all the different possible Mac computer adapters, which are costly, as most users have PCs and one adapter works. The Board acknowledged that James had created a wonderful AV guide. Staff is training regular users in use of AV equipment. 2. Other Business a. Follow up on Board Retreat of Dec 18 (Janna’s Report, attached). Included: Board members will be asked to “advise” rather than be required to “sell tickets, etc” for fundraising events. Important to have an “Event Coordinator” for each event. (Perhaps Dan Groberg?) Discussed possible Committees for MSAC: Perhaps one or two Board persons on each committee. Need for a “Job Description” for each event. Tina, Janet and Janna (and ?) will meet on February 6 to create committees including general members and board members as well as key staff. In her report, Janna listed her priorities as: Programming, Budget maintenance, Facility maintenance and improvement, Policy Development, Strategic Planning and Outreach. The Board suggested adding Fundraising. b. Janna announced there would be a reception for city workers and volunteers with the legislature on January 30 from 5 – 7 pm at the Capital Plaza. All are welcome. c. Town Hall Meetings: All towns have MSAC funding on their agenda. May be difficult to get voters to support additional funding and we would welcome supporters at Town Hall meetings. James is creating packets of information for each town and putting our information on each town’s web site and Front Porch Forum. d. Finances: Johanna attended a workshop at the Vermont Community Foundation on obtaining grants and other funding. Salaries for staff are close to budget. We may save a bit with changing staff patterns; Our Condo Association Bill (heating?) was $2500 less than expected. Budget is doing well this quarter, with more full classes than ever, with less subsidizing necessary. Contributions Account is halfway to its revenue prediction. B. New Business 1. The Annual Meeting will be June 24, 25 or 26, 2014 and Janna will discuss dates with kitchen staff. 2. New Board Member recruitment: Skills needed include: Experience and interest in: Fundraising, Finance, City Council Member, Design, Building Management, Ability to contribute time and resources. The Board suggested names and will approach those they think would be effective members. We will post a photo of the current Board and staff at the center. 3. Programming Priorities for FY15: Do less? Add more Yoga, and more classes for those that are over-full. One-day events and classes are good. Music appreciation going well! We may do some joint projects with Monteverdi School of Music and hold other off-site classes and activities, perhaps computer classes at the Middle School, or a Board Game event with the Middle School kids and perhaps something with the North Branch Nature Center. There has been some call for more programming for “older” seniors, but the board found this hard to define. Chair yoga is already being offered. 4. In the works: a fund raiser to auction off the antique fireboxes received from the city, and Justin Turcot is working on creating a special media event about our Feast program. March Meeting date: Wednesday, March 19 at 1:30 PM AT City Hall Board Meeting adjourned at 4:05 PM. Respectfully submitted, Sue Stukey, Secretary