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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-10-05-COA-min Town of Lexington Council on Aging Board Meeting Minutes Wednesday, October 5, 2016 2:30-4:00 Lexington Community Center, Room 237 Present: Betty Borghesani (co-chair), Julie Ann Shapiro (co-chair), Nancy Adler, Camille Goodwin, Sophia Ho, Gerry Howell, Marion Kilson (secretary), Harry Mackay, Rich McDonough Staff Present: Kelly Axtell, Sheila Butts, Barbara Collins, Hemali Patel, Charlotte Rodgers Introduction of Dietician: Kelly Axtell introduced Barbara Collins, the new Human Services’ dietician. Barbara described the scope of her activities: four hours on Fridays to meet with individuals, as well as monthly nutrition talks. She has started a Diabetes support group and provides recipes and nutrition tips at the Community Center. She hopes to give a nutrition talk at Greeley Village; given the sizable Chinese community there, Sophia Ho volunteered to act as translator for the event. Public Comments: Betty Borghesani as chair of the day invited public comments. There were none. Review of September Minutes: Minutes accepted as presented. Staff Reports and Program Updates: Kelly Axtell reported on three fall/winter projects: (1) Sand for Senior co-sponsored with Rotary Club and funded in part by Dana Home Foundation grant—seniors who meet the financial or physical requirements for the program apply through Kelly and Rotary Club delivers a bucket of sand to them on December 15; (2) Holiday Dinner Program provided by various town organizations at Thanksgiving and Project Ezra at “Christmas” serves approximately 150 clients; and (3) Fuel Assistance Program begins November 1. Hemali Patel announced three upcoming October programs: fire safety program with the Lexington Fire Department, Tea Tasting Program, and Craft Beer Tasting Program. She reported that the “Indian Seniors of Lexington Group” has been formally established with 17 members and is currently meeting weekly on Tuesdays (10:30-11:30) while it recruits new members. With Gerry Howell’s urging she reported on the successful dance with Evans Joseph as instructor and dj. Charlotte Rodgers reported that on October 26 staff members will report on the process of creating the Lexington Community Center at the MCOA annual conference in Falmouth. She also noted that the department is in the process of creating a level-funded budget for the next fiscal year which will be submitted to the Selectmen during the first week in December—no major changes are anticipated though a new Lexpress Bus contract will be part of the budget. (There was a brief discussion of the continuing availability of The Ride and the issues associated with considering Uber as an alternative.) Senior Programming: Hemali Patel reported that the first meeting of the voluntary group of seven will be on October 18 at 10:30. FCOA Mini-Grants Discussion: Jane Trudeau, President of the FCOA, presented the FCOA proposal for a mini-grant program to pilot innovative ideas for senior programs which would be funded by Lexington businesses (written proposal attached). After some discussion the COA expressed its support of the proposal and Harry Mackay volunteered to participate as the COA representative on the proposed review committee. Liaison Reports: Betty Borghesani invited Nancy Adler to report on the Community Center Program Advisory Committee of which she is a member. Nancy described that the charge of the committee relates to building use and collaboration among CC departments. The seven members on the committee represent seven areas of community interest: council on aging, school committee, youth services council, recreation department, library, two community members (Indian community and CAL). The Committee has met once. One of the issues is how representatives get input from their respective constituencies. Sheila Butts noted that the staff plan to charge fees for use of the building is under discussion before being resubmitted to the Board of Selectmen. The Committee plans to meet on the rd 3 Thursday of the month at 7pm. Nancy Adler will provide monthly liaison reports on the work of the Committee to the COA. Lexington Housing Authority: Housing Panel planned for November 7. New Business and Announcements Betty Borghesani reported that Michelle Ciccolo continues to be the liaison from the Selectmen to the COA. Although Michelle will not be able to attend all monthly meetings, she will be coming to the November meeting. Holiday Lunches: Kelly Axtell asked that COA members check their calendars to see which of the Holiday Lunches they would be able to attend at noon on November 17 and/or December 13. COA Meet and Greet will be scheduled for March. Next Meeting: November 2, 2016 Respectfully submitted, Marion Kilson, Secretary Attachment: FCOA Mini-grants application/proposal PROPOSAL TO FUND A MINI-GRANT PROGRAM BY THE FCOA Objective To encourage innovation in Senior programming, to enrich and enhance programming for Seniors at the Community Center by giving voice to our Seniors, providing opportunities outside of budget to Senior Services staff and incentives to new providers. The Friends of the COA have always been proud of the excellent current programming provided by the COA and our outstanding Human Services staff. As part of its mission, however, the FCOA hopes to broaden awareness and support in the whole community for the efforts of the COA with this new grant program. By offering these grants, we hope to encourage ALL members of the Lexington community to consider new ways of providing stimulating, enriching activities for Lexington seniors. And increased awareness and support in the community should lead to more successful fund-raising opportunities in the future. Proposed 1.A five person working committee made up of a staff member, COA representative and members of the FCOA board to implement the program, review grant proposals, and recommend suitable grantees to the COA for approval. 2.We hope the grant proposals will be to fund new innovative programs or enhancements to existing programs, purchase of equipment to benefit Seniors at the Community Center, and salaries for a limited time. This can include operational expenses, such as extra time for a Volunteer Coordinator, equipment such as computers for Senior use, or researching new technologies for delivery of programs such as OWLL courses to home-bound Seniors. 3.Grant proposals can be made by anyone, including Lexington Senior Services and Community Center staff. 4.A possible cycle for the first round of grants would be: a.Early March,2017: Advertise program; b.End of April 2017:Deadline for submission of applications; c.End of June 2017: Grant awards determined and applicants notified; d.Grants requiring use of Community Center resources will be scheduled by staff for FY2018 (7/1/17 through 6/30/18). 5.Grant projects will be monitored by the working committee, to ensure that they are being carried out according to the grant proposal description and budget. 6.Evaluation of the grant projects will be carried out immediately after the end of the project by the working committee and results reported back to the COA and Friends of the COA. Example Grant Projects The following are examples of the type of grant proposals that the FCOA hopes to receive:  Putting on a chamber music concert in the Library area of the Community Center. The objective of this grant would be to provide a free cultural activity that would be easy for Seniors to attend.  Paying part of the costs of hiring a Volunteer Coordinator, for a limited time, in order to assist the Senior Services staff to demonstrate the need for and value of such a position. The objective of this grant would be to prove the value of such a position so that permanent funding would be provided by the Town.  Assisting the “Lexington Remembers” committee to create and widely disseminate information about the content output of their group and how to obtain their videos. The objective of this grant would be to increase awareness of and use of the videos. Pending Issues The Fund-Raising subcommittee of the FCOA proposes a maximum grant amount of $3000. The subcommittee plans to solicit supporting contributions from the Lexington business community for specific grant projects. Solicitations will be targeted to businesses who might see value in being associated with specific projects. Contributions from businesses will be made to the FCOA, and their support will be acknowledged appropriately in advertising of the projects. For example, advertising may say “XYZ program is made possible by a grant from the Friends of the COA, with support from ABC company.” Friends of the Lexington Council on Aging Mini-Grants Program Purpose and Scope The Friends of the Council on Aging (FCOA) provide financial and operational support for the Senior programming offered by the Lexington Council on Aging. The Mini-Grants Program of the FCOA is intended to encourage innovative proposals for new programs for Seniors, enhancements to existing programs for Seniors, or new technologies to serve Lexington Seniors. The maximum amount of money available per mini-grant will be under $3000. Who May Apply Proposals can be made by anyone, including current Human Services Department and Community Center staff. Eligibility of Projects Projects eligible for mini-grants will be focused on providing new programs for Seniors, or enhancing existing programs, or implementing new technologies, such as delivering OWLL programs to home- bound Lexington Seniors. Preparing a Proposal The application form for proposals is available at ___TBD___. Provide narrative information and an estimated budget, if possible. Also include any supporting material relevant to your proposal. Review Process Proposals will be reviewed by a committee consisting of three members of the Friends of the Council on Aging, one member of the Council on Aging, and one Human Services Department staff member. Projects will be reviewed for their appropriateness for Seniors, their feasibility of implementation, and their space and time requirements, if use of Community Center facilities is proposed. Award Notification and Access to Funds TBD Monitoring and Evaluation Projects will be monitored by the review committee to ensure that they are adhering to the proposal description. Evaluation of the results of the projects will be made by the review committee and reported back to the COA and FCOA. Friends of the Lexington Council on Aging Mini-Grants Application Form Project Title: _________________________________________________________________________ Brief Summary of your project’s purpose, primary activities, and timeline: ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Location for project: ___________________________________________________________________ Project Proposer’s Name: _______________________________________________________________ Work Phone: (___)_____________ Other Phone: (___)_______________ Email: ___________________ Mailing Address: ______________________________________________________________________ Estimated Budget: ____________________________________________________________________ Goals and Objectives of the project: ______________________________________________________