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 September 20, 2010 Members in Attendance: Chairperson Gen Bergendahl, Vice Chairperson Olive Buddington, Secretary Margaret Aldrich, Regular Members Michael Lahan, and Alternate Members Antoinette Gwiazdowski, Frank Jacaruso and Jan Stewart. Attending staff members were Beverly Goulet, Mike Wolak and Anne Barriere. Absent was Regular Member Jacquelyn Randall. Chairperson Gen Bergendahl determined that a quorum was present and called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Gen welcomed Councilman H. Tucker Braddock to the meeting. Minutes: Accepted. Communications: Mike shared a note received from Mildred Bode, a senior who uses the out- of-town MED RIDE II program, thanking us for the help we provided her. She included a $25 donation and a note saying “You do so much to brighten the world for the rest of us, you are considerate and understanding.” Another senior who wishes to remain anonymous gave a $200 donation to help seniors who could not afford the membership dues at the Center. We received a $600 check from Uncas Health District to help with paying for Yoga class instructors. It was leftover money from a program they do. Last year they sent a check for $400. The Otis library sent us a check for $103.61 which is from their staff who participate in a dress-down Friday program. Each quarter they donate the total received to a local group and last July they chose the Senior Center. Thank you to everyone for your generous donations. Human Services Report: We are actively looking for a new vehicle to replace the bus that Paul drives. It is a 16-year-old vehicle, which had a recommended life span of 10 years. Our fleet Maintenance department has been able to keep it on the road but last year said that it would have to come off soon. This year the bus failed inspection and Maintenance got it back on the road only after extensive body work. They said this is the last year they can keep it going. A new bus would run about $50,000-$60,000. We have put it into our budget for two years in a row, but it has been denied. Mike is looking into the DOT grant but it can take up to two years to come through if approved. Mike has looked at a used 1997 bus but the underside was all rusted and not usable. Bev is concerned about safety for our passengers so a replacement vehicle must be found. Bev wants to be sure the City Council is aware of the problem and to remind them Norwich has one of the largest senior populations in Connecticut and it is growing. It is important that they have transportation available to get them to medical appointments, grocery shopping as well as to the Senior Center for education, socializing and a regular noon meal. We realize that the design and quality of busses has improved since ours was built and safety for the seniors as well as the driver must be a priority. As a point, when it is hot out, the temperature where the driver sits is over 100 F degrees.  2 Senior Center Report: An update on Program Coordinator, Dana Thayer who is due in November with twins. She has turned in her resignation effective Sept 30th. We did receive approval to refill the position. Commissions members offered to help where they could in her absence and Mike mentioned that several regular seniors are also helping; Jan Stewart with the Senior/Student Program and Cora Landry is helping on trips. Feedback was forwarded by seniors who are so pleased with the trips and couldn’t say enough nice things about them or the job that Dana did while she was here. With no money in the part-time account due to budget cuts, we have no backup drivers to fill in. Currently, when a driver is out Mike has been driving the old car to help prevent cancellation of rides. Nancy Caplet recently organized a Thrift Shop at the Center and raised over $600.00 for the Center. She will hold another one on Thursday, Oct. 28th which is also the day of our Flu Clinic. Only clean-in good condition items will be accepted. We will be holding our annual Flu Clinic for seniors only, on Thursday, Oct. 28th from 9:00- 1:00, which will be sponsored by the Backus Nurse Education. We will have a limited supply, only 175 available so it will be first come-first served. It will be the H1N1+Seasonal Combined Vaccine. No pneumonia shot will be offered. The vaccination is covered by Medicare or $25 if no insurance. If any Commission Members that are available that day, help will be needed to process the paperwork and would be greatly appreciated. There does not seem to be a shortage this year of places where people can go for a shot so we should have enough for our seniors who want one. Mike updated everyone that the wind turbine project has gone to bid and is back on track. They hope to break ground sometime in October. Chairperson’s Report/Legislative Report: None. Other Business: None. Old Business: Feedback is that the TVCCA meals continue to improve. Jen and Frank help serve meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays and notice the attendance is consistent. New Business: Councilman Braddock brought up the idea that the interoffice mail booth at City Hall could be turned into an Informational Center, manned by seniors volunteer. Their job would be to give City Hall visitors directions within the building as well as general information about the City and its events. It would also raise the awareness of seniors in our community which would be helpful when senior needs or activities are brought up to City Hall. Each senior would not have to man the booth more than an hour or two each day or each week, depending on their interest, and hopefully a full schedule of volunteers could be organized. If each Commission Member could manage to be on that roster, that would be an excellent opportunity to serve the Senior Center and all the seniors of our City. Originally, it was seniors who manned the City’s Tourism booth and that worked out very well. They were reliable, informative, well presented and every one benefited from their experience and knowledge. Parking would have to be arranged to accommodate limited walk requirements, but there are several ways that could be arranged and should not be a problem. Councilman Braddock offered to be a contact for organizing the program. The idea would need to be advertised throughout the City as well as at  3 the Center and in the Newsletter. It would be ideal if the program were run by someone at City Hall. Due to the extended length of time between some meetings, Jan requested that the minutes be included with the Meeting Notices which would be sent out approximately one week before each scheduled meeting. It was also agreed that anyone with an email account would receive theirs that way instead of through snail-mail. Those who will receive their Meeting Notices, Agendas, and Minutes by email are: Jan Stewart, Michael Lahan, Frank Jacaruso, Bev Goulet and Mike Wolak. Councilman H. Tucker Braddock has also requested to be on that list. Those who will receive theirs by regular mail are: Margaret Aldrich, Genevieve Bergendahl, Olive Buddington, Jacquelyn Randall and Antoinette Gwiazdowski. Should any of this second group acquire an email address and wish to be moved to that list, please let Anne know via the Senior Center’s email: r o s e s e n r @ c i t y o f n o r w i c h . o r g . Next Meeting: Monday, October 18, 2010, 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 RD 3 M O N D A Y O F M A R / A P R / M A Y A N D S E P T /O C T / N O V