Age Friendly South Portland

Age Friendly South Portland - Aug 12 2026 Agenda Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 6:00 PM South Portland Main Library - Community Room Lower Level (482 Broadway, South Portland) Page A. Opening 1. Call to Order B. Review of Minutes 1. Reading of 06/10/2026 Minutes 3 AFSP Minutes 6.10.26 DRAFT.pdf C. Treasurer's Report 1. Treasurer's Report D. Old Business 1. AARP Challenge Grant Discussion regarding the AARP Challenge Grant which was awarded to AFSP to be utilized in collaboration with the South Portland Sustainability Department 2. Senior Resource Fair Discussion regarding the upcoming Senior Resource Fair, which is being held on September 18, 2026 at the South Portland Community Center 3. Winter Programs Discussion regarding the volunteer snow shoveling program and sand bucket program. E. New Business 1. ROMEO Discussion regarding establishing a ROMEO (Retired Older Men Eating Out) group. 2. Caption Tablets 3. Tabling at November Election F. Public Comment Page 1 of 6 G. Adjournment Page 2 of 6 ​Age Friendly South Portland Regular Meeting​ ​Minutes​ ​June 10, 2026 - 6:00 PM​ ​South Portland Main Library - Community Room, Lower Level​ ​Attendees:​ ​●​ ​Members: Lisa Joyce, Maxine Beecher, Karen Taylor, Rachael Coleman,​ ​Nancy Crowell, Jason Adour, Carol Kilroy​ ​●​ ​Other: Chris Pupke (Staff Liaison), Sue McCormick (public), Kathy Adams,​ ​Polly Bennell (public)​ ​●​ ​Excused absences: Carol, Tony, Andy​ ​1. Call to Order​ ​The regular meeting of the Age Friendly South Portland was called to order at 6:00​ ​PM by Maxine.​ ​2. Approval of Minutes​ ​The minutes from the previous meeting held on May 13, 2026 were reviewed. Lisa​ ​moved to accept the minutes. Nancy seconded. Passed unanimously.​ ​3. Old Business​ ​●​ ​Emergency Preparedness Project​ ​○​ ​Report submitted by Nancy. No discussion.​ ​●​ ​AARP Challenge Grant​ ​○​ ​Lisa led the discussion. She reviewed the details of the Challenge​ ​Grant, which was awarded in the amount of $10,000, and will be used​ ​to support the South Portland Sustainability Department’s​ ​Weatherization Project, in cooperation with South Portland Housing​ ​Authority and Habitat of Humanity.​ ​○​ ​Lisa noted that there are other funding sources that Sustainability​ ​received funds from.​ ​○​ ​AFSP will support this project by tabling at events and sharing​ i​nformation about the program with the attendees.​ Page 3 of 6  ​○​ ​Age Friendly will provide kits for people to do small energy efficiency​ ​projects at home. In 2027, there will be a Windows Dressers event.​ ​○​ ​The grant will pay for the materials that go into the kits.​ ​○​ ​The program will also complete home energy audits for about 50​ ​participants and provide guidance on work that can be done.​ ​○​ ​Maxine noted that she had a demonstration done by staff from the​ ​Housing Authority for their home modification program.​ ​●​ ​Resource Fair​ ​○​ I​mpromptu discussion held regarding the upcoming Senior Resource​ ​Fair.​ ​○​ ​Lisa and Kathy noted that Metro will be sending a bus and that​ ​attendees can get a tour and demonstration of how to ride the bus.​ ​○​ ​South Portland Housing Authority will be providing shuttle service for​ ​their residents to attend the fair.​ ​4. New Business​ ​●​ ​Review of Age Friendly Annual Meeting​ ​○​ ​The Annual Statewide Age Friendly meeting was held last week in​ ​Orono. Maxine noted that it was a great event she was proud to be a​ ​part of.​ ​○​ ​5 members of Age Friendly were in attendance: Maxine, Lisa,​ ​Rachael, Nancy (who spoke) and Andy; Kathy was also there and​ ​hosted a panel.​ ​○​ ​Lisa noted that Andy is considering starting a Romeo (Retired Older​ ​Men Eating Out) group. This can be a future agenda item.​ ​○​ ​Rachael noted that she thought one of her take-aways was​ ​encouraging people to try new things and leave their comfort zone,​ ​which is important for making connections in the community.​ ​○​ ​Kathy noted that Daren Smart, who the Committee previously worked​ ​with on the smart home (echo dot) project, presented on smart home​ ​adaptive devices. Nancy was impressed by Daren’s presentation and​ ​how he described each slide in such a way that the vision impaired​ ​would be able to participate.​ ​○​ ​Maxine commented that Age Friendly South Portland made a great​ i​mpression and she is very proud of our group.​ ​○​ ​Nancy discussed how difficult it is to find an organization to install a​ ​ramp. She spoke with some attendees at the annual meeting about​ Page 4 of 6  ​collaborating with local trade schools (such as at SMCC) to meet this​ ​need.​ ​○​ ​Lisa added that the above idea has been well received and she is​ ​hopeful that there will be progress on this issue.​ ​●​ ​Co-Generational Story Sharing Potluck Supper​ ​○​ ​Lisa was contacted by one of the founders of Community Plates,​ ​which hosts potluck suppers to counter loneliness and build​ ​community connections; attendees will sit with other attendees that​ ​they don’t know. There is also a storytelling aspect.​ ​○​ ​The goal of reaching out to South Portland Age Friendly is to host a​ ​multi-generational potluck supper to connect seniors with college​ ​students.​ ​○​ ​The tentative plan is to host this event in March 2027. Lisa will be​ ​meeting with staff from SMCC in the hopes of hosting this event in​ ​conjunction with SMCC’s Hospitality program. If successful, it could​ ​be a model for events throughout the State.​ ​5. Public Comment​ ​●​ ​Members of the public were invited to share comments or concerns related​ ​to the Age Friendly South Portland Committee.​ ​○​ ​Lisa noted that she has been appointed to the AARP Rural Roundtable​ ​Planning Team. They will work on programs that impact rural​ ​communities (all of Maine is considered rural by AARP), including​ l​oneliness and transportation.​ ​○​ ​The Greenbelt Share the Path Event will be held on August 15th from​ ​10:00 AM - 2:00 PM.​ ​○​ ​Nancy suggested that Lisa provide a chronology, or a year-by-year​ l​ist, of the Committee’s accomplishments.​ ​○​ ​Carol noted that she received a message from someone from 211​ ​Maine. 211 is celebrating their 20th anniversary next month and she​ ​was invited to join their celebration. Carol noted that the Committee​ ​has done lots of work in collaboration with 211 Maine over the years.​ ​○​ ​Nancy spoke during the Public Comment section of a recent City​ ​Council meeting and read the proclamation for Older Americans​ ​Month.​ ​6. Adjournment​ Page 5 of 6 ​A motion was made by Lisa to adjourn the meeting at 7:25. The motion was​ ​seconded by Karen and passed unanimously.​ ​Minutes submitted by Chris Pupke, Director of Social Services, Committee Staff​ ​Liaison and interim Secretary.​ Page 6 of 6