Council on Aging Board

SALEM COUNCIL ON AGING Minutes of Regular Meeting Date and Time: October 16, 2019 at 5:10 P.M. Meeting Location: Board Room, 401 Bridge Street Members Present: Lynda Coffill (LC, Chairperson), John Russell (JR), Julie Carver (JC), Elaine Heredeen (EH), Alice Williams (AW), George Barbuzzi (GB), Donna Clifford (DC) Member Absent: Abigail Butt Also Present: Teresa Arnold, (TA, Director of the COA) Clerk: Kathleen Fitzgerald Meeting Called to Order LC calls the meeting to order at 5:15 P.M. Motion made by DC to approve the September minutes, seconded by EH and passes unanimously. Old Business: Sr. Housing Advocacy: LC asked if we could invite the new SHA person to the next meeting. TA said yes, that she would invite Cathy Hoog and Assistant Director Debra Tucker. LC stated that she attended the Community Development workshop and that after brain- storming, they broke into small groups. The Planning Department came to the meeting. She advised that a staff member was there and stated she was the housing advocate for the City and further advised that she knew nothing about the ADU ordinance that had just passed. LC said that brings up the problem that if she doesn’t know about it, no one knows about it. She said it needs to be advertised and need to push this because it is not happening. TA said she is concerned that City staff is not aware of the passage. JR stated that the same thing is going to happen if there is no advertising of the ordinance. One thing that was brought up at the last Housing meeting of Salem for All Ages is that people are not going to follow through with making ADUs because subject to tax and capital gains. LC stated that it does not have to be claimed as auxiliary unit for family. -1- LC advised that we could advertise in the Salem Gazette and on SATV. TA asked if there was someone else who hosts a show where we could be a guest. LC said it is not a problem to get on SATV. GB said that this is a good idea and JR said he and AB would go on. TA suggested talking with Amanda Chiancola first since she did a lot of advertising regarding the ADU ordinance. LC suggested also putting it in the COA newsletter every month. JR asked if we had an intern who could call other communities to see which ones were taking advantage of ADUs. JR mentioned the idea of revisiting the idea of a housing fair that was previously talked about and when it happened to have the Salem News and SATV present. He said it could be put on at the COA with the housing committee. TA said they would be attending a housing committee meeting tomorrow and would bring it up. Friends Update: JR advised that the first Comedy Night will be this Friday night with Paul DeAngelo as the comedian. Paul will be bringing another comedian. JR advised it should be sold out and looking to raise $5,000.00 with every penny going directly to the seniors. JR advised that Halloween parking brought in $1,500.00 for two weekends. Director’s Report: Transportation – Annie O’Shea started on October 7th and is acclimating herself regarding scheduling, calls and dispatch. TA will continue with reports and various administrative tasks while Annie is familiarizing herself. A lunch or breakfast is planned for the transportation staff in early November. Interviews are ongoing for two drivers and one driver is leaving on October 25th. TA assisted Tom Devine and David Kurcharsky in applying for a shuttle grant for the City. Social Services – Greater Boston Food Bank – 85 participants in the program and food is distributed on the first Monday of each month. Joe Ericksberg makes deliveries on Tuesday to Charter Street. Medicare open enrollment runs from October 15 – December 7 and the social work team books up very quickly. North Shore Community Health Center – The behavioral health counselor will be starting in November for group and individual sessions. -2- A group will be started entitled “Those Were the Days” which may help identify the need for other groups. This will focus on experiences and memories that have enriched our lives and to share stores from the past and present. Internship – A paid internship will be starting in January in honor of Kay Walsh, a retired Nurse Practitioner who volunteered on the Salem for All Ages Task Force, North Shore Elder Services as well as the COA Board. We are working on a job description regarding outreach to help prevent social isolation. MCOA Conference – This will be on October 2nd and 3rd and will be a good opportunity to learn more information and network with peers. Aging 2.0 --TA and Patricia Zaido will be attending a conference on October 25th at the Seaport Hotel. Salem State University – Students from a class entitled “Can You Live to be 100” met with eight seniors to share life experiences. They will return on October 24th to talk with and interview more seniors. Next Board Meeting: November 20, 2019 A motion to adjourn is made by JR. The meeting adjourns at 5:50 P.M. Respectfully Submitted, Kathleen Fitzgerald, Clerk -3-