HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-06-13-COA-min.pdf COUNCIL ON AGING BOARD MEETING MINUTES - June 13, 1989
Present Dorothy Boggia, Terry Gent, Kevin Grimes , Ruth Butler, John Curry, George Doughty,
Harriet Onello, Jack Eddison
Absent Barbara Rubin, Ed Grant, Louis Tropeano, Connie Foster
Staff Present Linda Vine
The meeting was called to order at 4 40 P M by Terry Gent Corrections to the minutes
include Kevin Grimes being absent at the May 9, 1989 C O.A Board Meeting Jack Eddison
changed his comments from the May 9, 1989 C 0 A. Board from.
Eddison said the newspaper reports are not accurate regarding housing There will be two
committees by selectmen One committee for Pine Meadow-Meagherville to plan for this site
with no Federal or State funds The other, an affordable Housing option committee doing
a perspective of the whole town made up of seven existing committees (ie) planning, housing,
etc one representative from the nine precincts, checking accessory apartments , old schools ,
etc Does the COA want a liaison person to attend these meetings? Ed Grant volunteered
to
Eddison said the recent newspaper reports were not entirely accurate regarding Town plans
for affordable housing There will be two committees appointed by the Selectmen One
committee for Pine Meadows-Meagherville to plan for affordable housing on this site with
no federal funds The other, an Affordable Housing Options Committee doing a perspective
of the whole town made up of representatives from each of the seven existing committees
(i e planning, housing, etc ) and one representative from each of the nine precincts Does
the COA want a liaison person to attend these meetings? Ed Grant volunteered
The motion to correct the May 9, 1989 C O.A Board Meeting Minutes was made by John Curry
and seconded by George Doughty
Terry presented his view of the C O.A Board challenges for the coming year His comments
involved personal challenges to the Board as well as larger issues the Board should con-
sider They include
- Concern about state and town funding; decreases in elderly dollars projected
- Need to increase local funds 15-20% for FY1991 to meet the needs of older adults
- Composition of the C 0 A Board
Is the Board too large?
Should the Board meet monthly?
What should be the Board' s relationship to the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen,
and the Human Services Committee?
Should the Executive Committee of the C 0.A Board meet monthly, and the entire Board
quarterly?
What is the appropriate balance on the Board as regards age, skills, etc ?
Terry said he would draft a position paper and circulate it amongst the Board for comments
on the above issues
Terry stated he felt he was not appropriate to be the Board chairperson due to his time
constraints Dorothy Boggia has agreed to be placed on the ballot for the position
John Curry felt that the increases in the number of older adults dictates the need for the
Board to be more involved John sees the problems with the Board's position in how "we"
fit in the Town structure relationship to the Human Services Committee He felt that
the Council on Aging needs to maintain a high payback from other funding sources Also the
Board needs to look at different ways to fund programs like the Meals on Wheels and Social
Day Care Programs
Ruth Butler stressed the need to be creative in finding new approaches to providing care
(i e market Social Day Care to private industry) She indicated her concerns with the
Minuteman Home Care Board of Directors Lexington needs to have representatives to that
MMHC Board Ruth felt that her contribution had been minimal and she was not interested
in serving
Kevin felt that the C O.A Board's challenges had to do with the relationship to other
committees He urged consideration for the C O .A to have a representative on the Human
Services Committee and vice-versa.
Dorothy agreed that a liaison position(s) was needed with the Human Services Committee
She felt that this would alleviate problems around budget time
Jack Eddison stated that he intended to place a goal on the Selectmen' s agenda to address
the needs of an increasing elderly population in Lexington His concerns centered on the
need for stronger advocacy in Town Meeting for the elderly population He stated that a
strong case needs to be made for programs like Social Day Care and the Senior Health
Monitor Program which address needs of the very frail Jack urged the Board to convince
Rick White to go outside the charges and grant larger increases to the Council on Aging
However, the C O.A Board needs to start NOW to prepare a case and make its needs known
Linda distributed a copy of the skills application that would be included in the July/
August Newsletter Copies were distributed of the SPANS Year End Report Other areas
covered in Linda's report were
- F C O.A new officers for FY1990, plus their fundraising strategy
- The C O.A will be getting an intern from Cornell in September
- Progress of the Wellness Program with the Board of Health
- Wage and Classification Study being conducted by the Town
- CPR Certification/Recertification for all staff on 6/23/89
- Cook out for Seniors on 6/19/89
- Letter from Richard Eaton
A report on the progress of the Senior Health Monitor Program was given by Linda in Barbara
Rubin's absence Linda stated that the SHMP Subcommittee will be conducting site visits
to several home health agencies These site visitations are to be completed by July 14th
when the entire subcommittee will meet to discuss the site visits It is the goal of the
subcommittee to present its findings to the Town Manager by the end of July
George Doughty gave the Nominations Committee Report
Chairperson Dorothy Boggia
Vice-Chairperson Kevin Grimes
Secretary Terry Gent
Treasurer John Curry
Harriet Onello moved to accept this report which was seconded by John Curry
Dorothy asked Linda to arrange a meeting with Rick White and the Human Services Committee
as soon as possible
George Doughty stressed the need for the F C O.A to consider a new piano for downstairs, or
to place a request in the paper for a donated piano
Jack Eddison closed the meeting with a tribute to Terry's leadership and Dorothy's assistance
over the past year
The meeting adjourned at 6 20 P.M
Respec fully s bmitted,
'Tif
n a Crew Vine pro tem Secretary