Senior Services Committee

City of Verona Senior Services Committee Verona Senior Center 108 Paoli Street Verona WI 53593 Phone (608) 845-7471 Fax (608) 848-2784 Meeting minutes Tuesday, December 10th 2019 1. Call to Order: The meeting of the Senior Services Committee was called to order by Katie Kohl at 5:47 p.m. 2. Roll Call: On roll call: Katie Kohl, Charlotte Jerney, and Christine Posey were present. Also present: Rich Bartlett, Vice President of the Friends of the Senior Center, and Stephanie Ehle, Senior Center Director 3. Public Comment: None 4. Approval of the minutes from the October 8, 2019 Senior Services Committee Meeting. This item was tabled until the next meeting. 5. Reports and comments from the Senior Center Director: Coffee with the Director went well, and members seemed pleased. Stephanie will share information from monthly coffees in the Chronicle Newsletter and provide monthly updates. Members like the incorporation of real dishes, and the Death Café (except the name). Staff is looking to add more environmentally friendly options at the Center (lighting, recycle bins etc.) Members would like more music and Wii games. Staff is working to incorporate suggestions. We added a Remembrance Tree for those who have died. Purchase of ornaments ($5) goes to the Friends Board, and members get to take the ornament home after the New Year. A suggestion box has also been put at the front desk. Stephanie also supplied a 2019 events summary showing the number of people who attended programs. Lastly, the Warming and Cooling Centercooling policy will be finalized soon and posted on the Friends website. 6. Reports and comments from the Senior Center Program Manager: Stephanie reported that there are a few programs coming up, and the chili supper went well. 7. Reports and comments from the Senior Center Case Managers: 1. Helping Hand Requests: There were no Helping Hands or caregivers requests this month. 2. Outreach: Outreach takes place monthly at six senior independent living apartments and the library. The outreach process will change in 2020. We will still be going to each apartment building, however we will be checking in on seniors (5-10 minutes or so each) individually. This will be a brief check-in and will allow us to connect with more folks, especially those who haven’t been to our outreach groups previously & those who don’t come to the Senior Center. If additional assistance is needed for the individual outside the 5-10 minute time frame (to ensure we can see as many people as possible) we will schedule a home or office visit at that time. Outreach at the library will stay the same.  3. Vets Group: The Vets group will hold their Christmas party on December 12th. The group will change in 2020 into more of a self-led group, however case management will still be available to assist if needed. 4. Caregivers: The Caregivers Christmas party was held on December 5th. 5. Triad: Triad met on December 6th to plan the 2020 calendar. This coming year we have decided to try three evening programs at 6:00p.m. This will allow our working seniors, and any interested community members, to participate in the TRIAD programs at the Senior Center. The programs include: 1) Active Shooter Training (Dane County Sheriff’s Office); 2) Gang Prevention (Dane County Sheriff’s Office’s gang unit); and 3) Our Community Deputy, with Chris Kauer, (Dane County Sheriff’s Office). Chris is also the head of the DCSO Dive/Recovery Team and has offered to hold one of their evening trainings at Fireman’s Park for anyone to attend. September was preferred for event if approved. Ryan Adkins, Verona Police Department Community Officer, will be going to the high school, and we will be scheduling programs with the new community officer once that person is in place. We will also have an offsite program using the Transit Van to participate in a self-defense class. 6. Other: A group at St. Andrews Church puts together 12 gift bags for us to deliver or hand out to whomever we feel could use one. They are expected to arrive next week. Case Management will take on the role of RSVP Coordinator beginning in January. 7. Affordable housing update: Katie Kohl gave an overview of the Dane County Housing Summit. She will meet with others who attended to compare notes and see what options are realistic for Verona. 8. Other Business: Christine Posey suggested having Alders visit the Senior Center. The Senior Center staff welcome this, and suggested an evening event or coming over a lunch hour. Stephanie will bring this up at the January coffee hour to see if members would like this. 9. Adjourn: 6:28 p.m. POSTED: Verona City Hall Verona Public Library Verona Senior Center City Website @ www.ci.verona.wi.us