Senior Affairs Commission

ROSE CITY SENIOR CENTER 8 Mahan Drive, Norwich, Connecticut 06360 (860) 889-5960
fax: (860) 885-1160 SENIOR AFFAIRS COMMISSION Meeting of May 18, 2009 Members in Attendance: Chairperson Gen Bergendahl, Vice Chairperson Olive Buddington, Secretary Margaret Aldrich, Regular Members, Jacquelyn Randall and Alternate Members Antoinette Gwiazdowski and Jan Stewart. Attending staff members were Mike Wolak and Anne Barriere. Absent were Regular Member Michael Lahan, Alternate Member Frank Jacaruso and staff member Beverly Goulet. Chairperson Gen Bergendahl determined that a quorum was present and called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Minutes: Accepted as submitted. Communications: We have received donations from a couple of groups who use the building. One from a Pinochle Club that meets on Wed nights and another from a quilting group who used the building recently for a weekend quilt show. Plus our quilters made $350 for the center on top of that. Another recent donation came from a gentleman to help with membership scholarships. Human Services Report: Mike presented Beverly’s message of thanks for everyone’s support at the recent Human Services presentation to the Council. We are hopeful for some things to be restored here but will have to wait for the final budget to be presented and approved. Five of our City’s unions offered concessions to the City, which were approved, and this will also help to save positions. Senior Center Report: Special meals continue to be well received by our seniors and thanks to everyone who volunteered to help in the kitchen on those days. Dues will go up July 1st by $5 to $25 per person. This increase has been well received by the seniors who were surprised it had not gone up sooner. We will keep the money from the increase, which will go toward keeping programs running and senior costs down for classes with a co-pay. There was much discussion about the different ways that senior centers charge their members to cover expenses for programs. The majority of our programs are free to members with costs being covered by their yearly membership fee except for a supplementary fee paid to the Yoga and Advanced Tai Chi instructors, or for ceramics pieces that cost over $4. Other senior centers that don’t charge a yearly fee generally charge for every class or craft they take. This can add up to much more than a yearly fee for active members. Jan Stewart made a motion to move off the topic until more information on area senior centers and how they charge their members, can be compiled for the next meeting. Seconded and passed.  2 Good feedback continues regarding the Friday breakfast program. For the summer it will trim back to one Friday a month. Chairperson’s Report/Legislative Report: None. Other Business: None Old Business: None New Business: None Next Meeting: Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, at 9:00 a.m., at the Rose City Senior Center. Respectfully submitted, Margaret Aldrich Margaret Aldrich, Secretary MA/acb Regular meetings of the Commission are scheduled for the 3rd Monday of Mar/Apr/May and Sept/Oct/Nov.