Senior Citizens Commission

CITY OF SHAWANO SENIOR CITIZENS COMMISSION AGENDA WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 2025 9:00 AM SHAWANO CITY HALL, 127 S. SAWYER STREET, SHAWANO 1) CALL TO ORDER 2) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3) ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS 4) APPROVAL OF AGENDA 5) APPROVAL OF PRIOR SENIOR CITIZEN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 6) CORRESPONDENCE 7) PUBLIC COMMENT If anyone is present and wishes to speak during public comment, they shall state their name and address for the record. Public comment participants shall be limited to 3 minutes of time to speak/present. Please note that Committee/Commission members do not typically engage with participants during this portion of the meeting. 8) REPORTS a) Civic Center Report b) Gift Shop Report c) Commission on Aging Report d) Garden Report 9) CONSIDER/APPROVE ACTION ITEMS a) Discussion regarding mobility concerns within Downtown Shawano b) Round Table Discussion 10) FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS At this time, Committee/Commission members may request to have items placed on the next meeting's agenda for discussion and/or action. Page 1 of 8 11) ADJOURNMENT * NEXT MEETING DATE: JULY 16, 2025 @ 9:00 AM DISABLED ACCESSIBLE (Contact City Clerk prior to meeting if require additional services.) It is possible that members of and possibly a quorum of members of other governmental bodies of the municipality may be in attendance at the above-stated meeting to gather information; no action will be taken by any governmental body at the above-stated meeting other than the governmental body specifically referred to above in this notice. OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLIANCE This agenda was posted in 3 public places (City Hall, Premier Community Bank and the Shawano Library) as well as sent to local news media. Therefore, all laws regarding posting of agendas for open meeting law compliance have been met. Page 2 of 8  May 21, 2025 Shawano, Wisconsin CALL TO ORDER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS • Members Present: Mayor Bruce Milavitz, Bonnie Wolf, Lois Flaig, Joan Porter-Priem, Lynnae Zahringer, Roger Olson, Alderperson Jack Young, Dennis Zdiarstek (9:14 AM). • Others Present: Parks and Recreation Director Matt Hendricks, Deputy Clerk Leah Pierquet, and Director of Aging and Long-term Care at ADRC Ericka Kowalkowski. APPROVAL OF AGENDA • Motion by Olson to approve the proposed agenda, seconded by Zahringer. Motion carried by voice vote. APPROVAL OF PRIOR SENIOR CITIZEN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES • Motion by Zahringer to approve the prior meeting minutes, seconded by Wolf. Motion carried by voice vote. CORRESPONDENCE • None. PUBLIC COMMENT • None. ELECTION OF OFFICERS • Porter-Priem nominated Young for Chairperson, Zahringer seconded. Motion carried by unanimous vote. Young nominated Porter-Priem for Vice Chairperson, Zahringer seconded. Motion carried by unanimous vote. CONSIDER/APPROVE ACTION ITEMS • Civic Center Report: Repairs and Maintenance - On May 12, 2025, A-1 Elevator examined the elevator, and everything is in order. On May 13, 2025, Tom Stefl from the Shawano Parks Department visited and turned on the air conditioning (A/C) for the building, also checked the HVAC system to ensure it was functioning correctly; no issues were found. Tom will order and replace filters. On May 14, 2025, there was an expense of $26.80 from Walmart for office supplies. • Gift Shop Report: The Gift Shop performed better in May than it did in April, despite the unfavorable weather. The next event is Rhubarbfest on June 21st. • Commission on Aging Report: Ericka Kowalkowski introduced herself to the commission. She is the Director of Aging and Long-term Care at the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). Ericka is taking over Heidi Russell's position. She is working to recruit more drivers for their meal program and brought along flyers for multiple programs, as well as her business card, for the commission to review. The farmers' market vouchers will be distributed at 12 different locations soon. She also talked about the support groups offered by the ADRC. Ericka is also working on updating the websites for the ADRC and the county's aging department. Page 1 of 6 Page 3 of 8  Hendricks mentioned that it would be beneficial for the commission to visit the ADRC and see where the office is located and what services it offers. There is an opportunity for the expanded use of the Civic Center with ADRC programs. Ericka stated that one of the goals for the aging services is to prevent isolation, and social engagement is essential. Use of the Civic Center for the purpose of social engagement is something she will look into. • Garden Report: The plots at the garden have been tilled and measured, and 22 of the 28 plots have been reserved for the year. Residents reserve a few box gardens, and three of the table gardens have been reserved. The water has been hooked up, thanks to the Parks and Rec Department for helping with that. The water is a bit difficult to get working; it pumps from the river, and an elderly gentleman had an issue with it when he was at his garden plot a few days ago. Hendricks stated that the garden pump was recently replaced. According to the Parks and Recreation Department staff, the pump is being left on for extended periods or overnight, and it is not feasible for staff to check the pump daily. When the garden plots first began, the same people would garden there every year, so they were familiar with using the pump. Education for the people who are gardening there now may help the situation with the pump. The pump costs $600 to replace. Since this is not a growing program at the moment, hooking the garden up to city water is not an option because the funds are not there to sustain the cost. If the commission has suggestions on how to address the issue, please notify Hendricks. Porter-Priem asked if there is a leak in the pipe or faucet, and it can not hold pressure. Hendricks responded that he does not believe it's a lack of pressure. Chairperson Young mentioned that providing gardeners with an instructional sheet on how to use the pump would be helpful. Porter-Priem stated that in the past, there was signage on how to use the pump at the garden. Zahringer stated she would like to see instructions added to the agreement for the gardens so people know how to use the pump. • Discussion/Action on Planting Flowers in Unused Gardens: No action taken. The individuals who wanted to plant the flowers are unable to do so this year. • Discussion regarding mobility concerns within Downtown Shawano: Porter-Priem and Zahringer put together a letter that they would like to send to the BID Board. Mayor Milavitz stated that he had been speaking with businesses and believed the best course of action would be for someone from this commission to attend a BID meeting to discuss this matter. Porter-Priem asked if the letter and the list created and distributed at a previous meeting should also be sent to the BID Board. Zahringer responded, stating that the list would be overwhelming to businesses, so it would be best to highlight some critical points. Mayor Milavitz stated that he believes the conversation should be had. Businesses are aware of the issue. However, they are limited in space. Mayor Milavitz and Porter-Priem are hoping to take this to the BID Board in July. • Round table discussion: Hendricks provided an update on the recreation center, informing the commission that it is now closed. The Parks and Recreation team is working to clean out the recreation center of everything that can be reused. All city buildings have LED lights. The civic center is the last place to get LEDs installed. During the winter months, the Park and Recreation staff will replace the civic center lights with those removed from the recreation center. The exercise equipment was auctioned off but the rec center kept the new step and that piece of equipment will be at the civic center for use for free during the recreation center renovation. Page 2 of 6 Page 4 of 8 FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS • None. ADJOURNMENT • Motion to adjourn at 9:28 AM made by Porter-Priem, seconded by Olson. Motion carried by voice vote. Respectfully submitted, Leah Pierquet, Deputy Clerk NEXT MEETING DATE: JUNE 18, 2025 Page 3 of 6 Page 5 of 8 Page 4 of 6 Page 6 of 8 Page 5 of 6 Page 7 of 8 Page 6 of 6 Page 8 of 8