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 April 18, 2011 Members in Attendance: Chairperson Gen Bergendahl, Vice Chairperson Olive Buddington, Secretary Margaret Aldrich, Regular Member Jacquelyn Randall, and Alternate Members Antoinette Gwiazdowski and Jan Stewart. Attending staff members were Beverly Goulet, Mike Wolak and Anne Barriere. Absent were Regular Member Michael Lahan, and Alternate Member Frank Jacaruso. Chairperson Gen Bergendahl welcomed Councilman H. Tucker Braddock to the meeting, determined that a quorum was present and called the meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Minutes: Accepted. Communications: None. Human Services Report: One more budget hearing is scheduled on May 9 th at 7:30 and all are urged to attend. So far the budget looks good for the Senior Center. Senior Center Report: The good news is that we will be getting a new bus, a natural gas vehicle; the bad news is we won’t get it until January 2012. The delay is the timeline for approval of the grant that will pay for the conversion which isn’t until October. Then after ordering it, the vehicle should arrive in 90-120 days. Our only concern is the original issue of our old bus not making it to January. The reality is that we may have to create a backup plan if it can’t be kept going. Our usual summer programs that need transportation will be limited or cancelled due to lack of air conditioning in the old bus. If the bus cannot be kept going, even daily transportation may have to be canceled. Councilman Braddock agreed it was necessary to order and wait for a natural gas vehicle especially after a clean air report the City is onboard with to avoid purchasing any more gas-powered vehicles. Mike has talked to people from the town of Glastonbury which has gas-powered vehicles. They are very happy with them and are in the process of ordering another. This means a lot of hear this feedback from people who are actually using these vehicles. We will have be having a Thrift Shop & Plant Sale this Wednesday, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Last time we made over $600. The Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon is May 4th. Also, next Monday we are having a Cleaning Day here at the Center. We have lots of volunteers and are planning to attack room by room and spruce this place up. Chairperson’s Report/Legislative Report: Lunch room going well though there are still occasional complaints on the food. Val has retired and her position has been filled by Donna. Other Business: Councilman Braddock expressed his thanks to Jan Stewart for all her help in finding volunteers to help with the Docent Program at City Hall.  2 Old Business: None. New Business: A conflict was noticed in the By Laws regarding the date of appointment and the date the new officers are voted in. Basically, Members are appointed for 2 years and their terms begin in September. Officers are not chosen until the first meeting of the calendar year. This means there are three meetings before the voting takes place. Councilman Braddock said he would take it to the City’s Corporation Counsel and get an opinion. Next Meeting: Monday, May 16, 2011, at 9:00 a.m., at the Rose City Senior Center. Respectfully submitted, Margaret Aldrich Margaret Aldrich, Secretary MA/acb REGULAR MEETINGS OF T HE 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