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 Sept. 21, 2015 Members in Attendance: Chairperson Olive Buddington, Vice Chairperson Gen Bergendahl, Secretary Margaret Aldrich, Regular Members Michael Lahan and Jacquelyn Randall, Alternate Members Frank Jacaruso and Jan Stewart. Attending staff member were Lee-Ann Gomes, Mike Wolak and Anne Barriere. Chairperson Olive Buddington determined there was a quorum and called the meeting to order. Two guests, Ann Carignan and Nancy Caplet were welcomed to the meeting. Minutes: The minutes from 05-19-15 were approved as submitted. Communications: Several thank-you notes were received by the Senior Center but due to renovations, all of Mike’s papers are still in boxes in his office. Human Services Report: Work on several projects were put on hold due to the renovations but will resume in October. The City’s search committee continues work on finding a permanent City Manager. The department heads have had an opportunity to meet with the consultant as to what they would like to see in a new that person’s background and strengths. We need someone who knows and understands the demographics of the area, someone who values Human Services and knows that we add to the community, and someone who understands that the senior population is the biggest group of people to increase specifically in Connecticut. It is reported that by 2030 the senior population will represent 30% of the population in Connecticut. This will have a great impact on the economy as these people leave the workforce. Last year we mentioned fall clean-up and winter snow removal program and if you know anyone who needs these services, now is the time to get those lists together so we can start pairing them with volunteers. LeeAnn emphasized that she comes to these meetings to hear from the Commission about what are the concerns of seniors in this community are. Their role is to her and Mike what issues, problems, anything that they can be working on to help the members get the job done. The Community Center Committee presented their idea to the City Council at their last meeting and it seemed to be well received. The full report is on the City’s web site. (Go to NorwichCT.org and in the search box type ‘Community Center Report’. Links to all the stored documents will appear with the most recent on top.) The proposal is to develop an aquatic center that houses a teen center, someplace in the area of Mahan Drive. Their request to the Council was to approve ~$30,000 so they could hire the architect firm to do the specs. Also they asked to keep the Committee together so they could continue to work on the project as it continues through the process and to help with applying for grants, etc. to help pay for the future running of the Center. The hope is that they will present a resolution soon to be voted on. Senior Center Report: Renovations are well underway. Mostly things are staying on schedule. They are currently working in the main office areas with new paint and carpet, and finishing the floor repair in the greenhouse. Most of new HVAC units are on the building and hooked up. The kitchen unit which is different in design should arrive by the end of the month. The seals on the outside windows were replaced. The outside surface of the building was power-washed with minor repairs being done as well. The roof will get finished in the next couple of weeks now that the HVAC units are installed. For such a large project the disruptions to regular programs and services has been very minimal. The contractors have been great to work with. Renovations are being paid by State bonded money in the amount of $690,000. Much of that went for the new roof and HVAC units. The rest is going for repairs, paint and carpeting. Also, the old ceramics room is being split so that the hairdresser will have her own entrance, workspace and exhaust system. The rest of the room will become a multipurpose room. As both rooms can now be used at the same time, more programs can take place in the new room. Most of the work should be done by the first couple of weeks in October. It was asked if the Senior Center was planning a Flu Clinic this year with so many locations in the City offering shots on a daily basis. Mike said he hadn’t been contacted Backus Home Health who had done them in past years. Usually we schedule them for the end of October and if we set a date it will be announced in the newsletter. (Secretary’s Afternote: A Health Fair, with Flu Shots offered will take place at the Senior Center on Thursday, Nov 12th from 11 AM until 1 PM. Senator Osten will be in attendance as well.) A group of nine local senior centers have been working on a regional web site which hopes to go live some time after the New Year. It will be filled with information much like our own local senior center page but with information from each center. A senior who might be looking, for instance, for trips to the Big E or the Christmas Show in New York and could see the schedule for all the local senior centers and know what trips are being offered within their driving range instead of just their local center. Chairperson’s Report/Legislative Report: None. Old Business: Bound copies of the newly compiled history and origins of the Senior Center were handed out. We will put one in our library as well as a copy on our web page as soon as Anne gets the originals to scan. Thanks to Jan and Ray Stewart, and Gen Bergendahl for their hard work in compiling and copying this wonderful document. LeeAnn also reminded the Commission members that they still have a vacancy and should put forth energy to fill it. New Business: A question was asked regarding the state-approved signage for the Senior Center on the intersections leading to Mahan Drive. Apparently the state only allows only one sign per state pole every so far apart which limited us to only one on Harland Road and none further along on Ox Hill. Next Meeting: Monday, Oct., 19, 2015 at 9:00 a.m., at the Rose City Senior Center. Respectfully submitted, Margaret Aldrich / acb Margaret Aldrich, Secretary MA/acb Regular meetings of the Commission are scheduled on the 3rd Monday of Mar/Apr/May and Sept/Oct/Nov