Council on Aging Board

CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS JEAN A. LEVESQUE COMMUNITY LIFE CENTER 401 Bridge Street, Salem MA 01970 Tel. (978) 744-0180/(978) 744-0924 Dominick Pangallo Fax (978) 219-1665 MAYOR PObrien@salem.com Tricia O’Brien SUPERINTENDENT SALEM COUNCIL ON AGING REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES Date and Time: November 15, 2023 at 5:15 p.m. Meeting Location: VIA ZOOM Members Present: Lynda Coffill (LC, Chair), John Russell (JR, Vice-Chair), George Barbuzzi (GB), Abigail Butt (AB, Treasurer), Eliud Alcala (EA), Michelle Bettencourt (MB), Michele McHugh (MM) and Patricia Small (PS) Also Present: Councillor Alice Merkl Absent: Kristin Macek, Teresa Arnold, Director Clerk: Joanne M. Roomey I. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER LC called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF THE OCTOBER 18, 2023 ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES A motion was made by PS to approve the October 18, 2023 Annual Meeting Minutes. Seconded by JR. A roll call vote was taken, and the motion was carried unanimously. III. APPROVAL OF THE OCTOBER 18, 2023 REGULAR MEETING MINUTES A motion was made by JR to approve the October 18, 2023 Regular Meeting Minutes. Seconded by AB. A roll call vote was taken, and the motion was carried unanimously. 1 IV. OLD BUSINESS: a. Senior Day Update The Board discussed having the Senior Day Celebration on Saturday, June 1, 2024, instead of May 18, 2024 at Forest River Park. The board agreed this is a great venue, especially if it rains. There is plenty of room inside for accommodation. The committee is open to suggestions and will discuss them further at the next Senior Day 2024 meeting on December 7th. b. Kitchen Update from JR JR said there has been some movement from September 20th to November 7th. As far back as September, Anthoney Delaney, the city’s Procurement Officer, sent a letter to cut ties with Russo Bar. They are no longer involved with the process. There were three architectural firms that were contacted for the project: Winter Street, Walter Jacobs, and DMS. Only two responded. DMS were involved with prior construction which is good because they are familiar with the facility. This is the firm that the City Purchasing Agent Anthony Delaney and CLC Facilities Manager Joe Candelaria chose. Everything is moving forward and hopefully by the winter, we should see some progress. We could start ordering now to get the process moving. c. Letter to Mayor Pangallo The Board Chair has crafted a letter with Board input to Mayor Pangallo regarding separation of the COA from Park, Recreation and Community Services. LC said she has been working on this letter for four months and asked for suggestions on content. Basically, the mayor is only looking for two things: (1) benefits to the community and (2) benefits to the CLC. d. Further Response from Salem Housing Authority LC emailed Cathy Hoog, Executive Director of the Salem Housing Authority with no response regarding the units being used for other than senior housing. JR suggested reaching out again. LC said she will follow up with Ms. Hoog. e. Approval of 2023-24 Workplan JR made a motion to approve the language for the 2023-2024 Workplan that was discussed at the previous meeting. Seconded by AB. A roll call vote was taken, and the motion was carried unanimously. V. NEW BUSINESS: a. Friends of the COA Report JR said that the Halloween parking lot fundraiser was a little bit of a disappointment. The Friends of the COA split $12,200 with the Park and Recreation Department. The Friends were on WBZ this morning talking about the Thanksgiving meals and the Friends were figuring on 250 meals, but it is more like 275 meals to be given to 2  homebound seniors. They will spend all the $5,000. Next year, the Friends want to let Meals on Wheels know what they do so they can get folks on the list for the Thanksgiving meal packages. The Friends will maintain their status as a 501 C-3 non-profit organization to have their taxes done with a professional. There was supposed to be a Thanksgiving dinner at Salem High School, but the high school scheduled it the same time as their MCAS. To still offer something to the seniors, Rosanna Donahue and TA requested that the Friends purchase pizza for the seniors who signed up for this event at the high school as this was a last-minute change. The Friends graciously obliged. The Friends have also approved $900 towards the Holiday Party on December 14th. JR will get an estimate for blackout blinds for the back door of the Great Room to keep the room dark when movies are shown. b. Salem for All Ages The Board wants to invite Norene Gachignard and Lisa Peterson to their December meeting. They are the new co-chairs for Salem for all Ages. LC said there has been money granted to the city to improve some of the sidewalks. c. Advocates for Positive Aging The Positive Aging group meets monthly at the CLC. LC will be attending the next meeting. d. Annual Holiday Party LC asked the Board if they wanted to have a Holiday Social after a quick meeting on December 20th. Everyone was in favor. They will make a list of who will bring what. VI. OTHER BUSINESS: None VII. NEXT BOARD MEETING: Wednesday, December 20, 2023 VIII. VOTE TO ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the Council on Aging Board this evening, JR moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by AB. A roll call vote was taken, and the motion was carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Joanne M. Roomey Board Clerk Know Your Rights under the Open Meeting Law M.G.L. Chapter 30A ss. 18-25 and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033. 3