Council on Aging Board

SALEM COUNCIL ON AGING Minutes of Regular Meeting Date and Time: September 15, 2021 at 5:15 P.M. Meeting Location: Via Zoom Members Present: Lynda Coffill (LC, Chair), John Russell (JR, Vice-Chair), George Barbuzzi (GB), Alice Williams (AW), Donna Clifford (DC), Kristin Macek (KM), Patricia Small (PS) and Abigail Butt (AB). Also Present: Teresa Arnold, (TA, Director of the COA) Mickey Northcutt, CEO North Shore CDC Councilman Domingo Dominguez Clerk: Kathleen Fitzgerald Meetin g Called to Order LC called the meeting to order at 5:15 P.M. LC stated that pursuant to Governor Baker’s directive on 3/12/20 which supported certain provisions of Chapter 30A, Section 20, there are strict limitations regarding gatherings, so this meeting is being conducted via Zoom. The public and persons who would like to listen may do so by dialing in. All votes taken shall be by roll call. Roll call was then taken. A motion was made by Patricia Small to approve the June 2021 minutes, seconded by Alice Williams, roll call was taken, and passed unanimously. Old Business: Sr. Housing Advocacy – Kristin Macek gave an update. Salem Housing Authority and Beacon Properties had no update on the site since the end of March. She stated that they had to go back to the drawing board. She advised the Board that she had gone to the session for the Crescent Lot and Courthouse Development. There has to be an active legislation, so it had to be handed over -1- to the Salem Housing Authority because the property is owned by the State. She stated that the Crescent Lot next to the MBTA garage is under water. There is a tiered approach according to income levels for the units, but the median is much higher than our seniors could support. She said it was an interesting proposal but needed to go through a number of steps and a lot of approvals are needed from the State. If the development company didn’t work out, it would be put out to bid again. They are looking to raise Crescent Lot to street level and modifications for the working class, but no elders could afford the units. Councilman Dominguez said Kristin was correct with everything he knew. Kristin said it was in a flood plain and needed approvals and it would be a long process to do that development. She advised that a number of people had been moved out of Lee Ft. Terrace into Charter Street. She advised that this information she heard was second-hand. Lynda Coffill said it was the plan all along to move people out as they could and into senior housing. Kristin reiterated that there were no updates, no information, no questions, and no answers. They were going back to the drawing board because of the loss of the two acres. Lynda Coffill introduced Mickey Northcutt for an update on the St. James School. He advised it was permitted 15 months ago and that they are shovel ready and ready for funding. He stated that January was the next opportunity to apply for money and he was cautiously optimistic. He said that the State will have more money. As soon as they receive funding, they will be starting construction. He then went on to update the Board about a new project. Earlier this year they filed to get a new project permitted where North Shore Bank is, which is the building on the corner of Derby Street. He advised that North Shore Community Health Center was a partner who needed a larger facility and who was worried about the future of Shetland Park. North Shore CDC and North Shore Community Health have been talking for a long time and trying to find the right site as they want to remain in the Point neighborhood. Mr. Northcutt advised that they would be starting the permitting process next month. He further advised that the site would be a good location for senior housing as there is no dedicated senior housing in the Point. He said the bank would remain on the bottom floor and the medical center above. He said it would be a state-of-the art Community Health Center. Mr. Northcutt stated they were hoping to work with the Park & Rec. Department about upgrading the park space on Peabody Street. They are hoping and planning to have equipment to be used interchangeably for kids and seniors. He said he was hoping it would be 100% affordable but that final affordability would -2- be determined by funding. He hoped one-half would be 30% median income and one-half 50% median income. He said they would try to keep rents that were fixed. He stated they were applying to both the State and potentially the Salem Housing Authority to get some project-based money. Lynda Coffill told Mr. Northcutt that his projects are always exciting because as people age, health needs increase and it would be wonderful to have a health center there. Patricia Small said she would agree that 30% and 50% was a good balance. Mr. Northcutt said it was hard for him to give subsidies for people making $90,000.00 a year. He said there was an insurmountable demand for affordable housing. John Russell stated that it was exciting to see a project and also senior housing in the downtown area. Councilman Dominguez agreed that it was a great project and said any help he could provide, please ask. Mr. Northcutt said they were going before the Zoning Board next Wednesday and looking for a special permit for medical use. They will determine if this is an appropriate site for a health care facility. Next Thursday, they are going before the Planning Board and will introduce the project. Mr. Northcutt said he would appreciate if the Board could attend virtually or to please email the Planning Department as hearing from the Board would make a difference. He said if the COA Board could give them some support, it would be greatly appreciated. Kristin Macek asked what Mr. Northcutt felt would be pushbacks. He said not from the Boards per se, but there are always complaints about not enough parking, views being obstructed and any new development. He said they were trying to make it workable for the neighborhood. Lynda Coffill said both of these projects needed support and she was wondering where the Board stood on this and if the Board wanted to support it, how they would do that. Patricia Small asked if it was better to speak as individuals or as a Board. Lynda Coffill said speaking as a board has some power. Patricia Small said this was a project she could fully support. Location, affordability, and urgent care in the center of town would be wonderful. John Russell agreed with Patricia Small and stated he thought the Board would be missing the boat if they did not back this project. John Russell made a motion that Lynda Coffill write a letter to the Zoning Board and the Planning Department with the Board’s support. Patricia Small seconded and it passed unanimously. -3- John Russell requested the link to both meetings be sent to the Board so they could join. Teresa Arnold said she would get the information to the Board. New Busine ss: Friends Update : John Russell said the cocktail party had a good turn-out even if the weather didn’t cooperate. He thought they raised about $5,000.00 from the event. Jim McAllister did a half hour talk on the history of Winter Island. John said that Councilman Dominguez was responsible for a large number of tickets sold for the event. John said he had spoken with Trish O’Brien about using the COA parking lot for Halloween parking. He said this year parking was only being given to the Friends and Park & Recreation. and they would share the proceeds. He said he was hoping for $5000 for the Friends. Director’s Report: Social Services Last fiscal year, Social Services serviced 1717 seniors 10,078 times (compared to the previous fiscal year of 1329 serviced 7400 times). The pandemic is truly the reason these numbers are so much higher (388 more seniors serviced 2678 more times. The team assisted 159 seniors with vaccine appointments. We serviced another 499 seniors 801 times for covid related questions/issues. We are thrilled Alyssa Flynn accepted the position of Outreach Social Worker and started on August 30th. We also welcomed another student intern, Dalton Fitzgerald, who will be here from September 2- May 2022. She is a senior at Bridgewater State and Salem resident. We also have an intern named Micaela Pessere from Salem State who started today. She is here just 3.5 hours a week to use her Spanish speaking skills and help us with outreach, translation and phone calls to seniors whose first language is Spanish. Programs Classes remain at 20 participants per class. Most classes are full with a wait list. Due to popular demand, we added a second Zumba class and a second Tap Dance Class. We added a second day of Bingo. We welcomed back Meditation Class with Elaine Tavis, Strong Bones with North Shore Physical Therapy, English Class, all the game classes (Backgammon, Mah Jong and Cribbage) are back in full swing. For the most part, seniors are following the mask mandate rule. There are some issues, but we are managing those. The Mayor is coming once a month again for her visit with the seniors. -4- In collaboration with the Salem Board of Health, a flu clinic will be held on September 21st. Nutrition/Congregate Meals The indoor luncheon in the Great Room of the CLC reopened on Monday, June 14 after having been closed due to Covid-19 since March of 2020. Seven of our longtime volunteers returned during the week prior to help clean and sanitize everything in the kitchen. We served 329 meals in July and 485 in August. We are on target to do the same for September. Utilizing the existing equipment, areas in the kitchen were rearranged into workstations for improved efficiency and safety. We have an ongoing effort to engage and retain first time attendees to the CLC by introducing them to the available activities and other participants. Our volunteers particularly enjoy this aspect of their time here. Nutrition Education and Outreach The weekly Free Farmers Market has been quite successful. We have had an amazing team of volunteers that have made things run easily. We receive produce from both the Boston Area Gleaners and the Salem Community Gardens and serve an average of 45 people per week. The raised bed garden is overflowing. With the help of volunteers, we successfully grew Kale, Kohlrabi, carrots, basil, eggplant, tomatoes, beans and marigolds. We are winding things down for the season and will be harvesting the rest of the produce soon and preparing the garden for winter. Next week, we will have Kerry Murphy from the Salem Health Department teaming up with Kelley Annese to offer a nutrition/recipe class and pottery painting. Kelley will lead the group in painting their own bowls that when fired will be usable and microwavable. Kerry will talk about one pot meals and recipes to be eaten right out of their new bowls. Produce grown in the CLC raised beds will be spotlighted. Transportation Transportation requests are growing. In June, we had about 500 one-way rides, July; 700 and in August, we gave 908 one-way rides. Currently, we have five drivers and are advertising for another. We would like to also add a position that combines the skills of driving, scheduling and dispatching. The need for some level of cross training is necessary in the event Annie O’Shea is out. Halloween Parade -5- We plan to register this week with the Chamber of Commerce to participate in the annual parade. We will be stationary and plan to transport participating seniors in a decorated van. Due to COVID, things are a bit different. We are requesting a spot near the Common not far from restrooms for participating seniors and others. We are sponsoring Mamadou who runs our Drumming Circle classes as part of the entertainment. Lynda Coffill said that next month was the Annual Meeting starting at 5:00 P.M. and then we would go right into the regular Meeting. She said elections were needed for Vice- Chair (John Russell now); Secretary (Julie Carver now) and Treasurer (Alice Williams now). John Russell made a motion to adjourn; Donna Clifford seconded and the motion passed. Next Board Meeting: Wednesday, October 20th, 2021 via Zoom at 5:15 P.M. There being no further business: A motion to adjourn was made by JR, DC seconded, roll call was taken and passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 5:49 P.M. Respectfully Submitted, Kathleen Fitzgerald, Clerk -6-