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Home My WebLink About1987-01-13-COA-min.pdf COUNCIL ON AGING BOARD MEETING MINUTES - January 13, 1987 Present Dorothy Boggia, Chr , Wendell Benway, Treas ; George Doughty; Jack Gardner; Terry Gent; V Chr ; Ed Grant; Natalie Johnson Absent Dr Ralph Freidin; Gladys Scanlon, Secy Others Present Edith Cheever; Jack Eddison, Selectman Liaison; Frank Stowell; Bill Sen; Dick Eaton; J Feathers Staff Linda Crew Vine, Executive Director Chr Boggia welcomed all and extended greetings for the New Year! In view of the current situation involving Emerson Gardens, agenda items will be discussed at the next meeting to give the necessary time to this issue Motion Minutes of prior meeting accepted as presented Made, seconded, and passed Treasurer's Report Expenses to date through December 1986 pointed out as being $24,938 and normal for this time of year We have a reserve fund including the Selectmen's Gift as shown on the distributed report Motion Treasurer's Report accepted as presented Made, seconded, and passed J Gardner inquired as to whether the Town had increased MMHC funding W Benway mentioned having met with B Hutchison regarding the budget and reports he is supportive and would recommend that our budget, as submitted, be accepted by the Board of Selectmen L. Vine referenced XENERGY'S letter and contract involving the heating situation Lack of heat makes it impossible to utilize the lounge area in particular, and it is anticipated this will be corrected before another winter! The distributed Class Assignment Sheet pointed out the constant use of C O.A space, but does not include some due to lack of available space In-house lectures have been most successful T. Gent brought up the fact that we should consider what should be done when the C O.A space useage is total The Monthly Library Report was distributed and L Vine reported bids were sent out on the printing of the C 0.A Newsletter which resulted in three finalists being considered In first place was Fotobeam of Waltham whose quote would save the C O.A $2223 in printing costs compared to the present printer Doris Barclay will be taking over the managership of the Window Pane Shoppe A CPR Course is planned for the Spring Raytheon donated two microwave ovens to the Center and will give classes in their usage Volunteers are being trained to do the arthritis self help program L. Vine then turned the meeting back to D Boggia and discussion followed regarding the condo- minium conversion of Emerson Gardens 140 Seniors live at Emerson Gardens and most are long- term residents They seek help with their problem, but D Boggia pointed out that the C O.A Board can be an advocacy group only The tenants will have to organize their own group The tenants are presently covered for a period of two years once they have been formally informed by Registered/Certified mail if they are elderly, handicapped, or low/moderate income status Comments were solicited from around the table W Benway - Hopes this compels all Lexingtonians to think seriously about the problem of housing for the elderly in this Town 'I G Doughty - passed L Tropeano - Indicated the shortage of housing is the Town's fault and that of the planning committee The Brookhaven site was turned down by the Town for apartments as originally needed in favor of the Choate-Symmes development. J Gardner - Stressed the need for the C O.A Board to become involved on "advocacy basis" He referenced a 1981 letter sent to Busa including income levels just above those applicable the Town's three villages for housing needs B. Rubin - Questioned whether there might be a building in Town which could be adapted for housing, needs and was informed there is nothing currently available nor planned that could be used Ed Grant - Reported he is on a committee in an advisory capacity regarding housing He is working on recommendations to the Town with legal alternatives which might be considered The focus is on the future and a real overall problem to be addressed He offered to be a part of a committee to represent the C O.A Housing alternatives are a must for the increased numbers of elders T. Gent - Reported he is on the committee for housing and current dilemma will force the issue of the future of housing here in Lexington His thought was that some of the larger homes of multiple bedrooms might be a means of accommodating elders and permit the owner to live there as well as taking into consideration the current zoning and tax structures Such built-in incentives would involve changes legally He recommends a possible change in the zoning laws E. Grant - Indicated zoning changes would have to be coordinated to make conversion apartments within a home - incentives needed J Eddison - The situation is being addressed and he feels the Selectmen can only benefit from the input He referenced state laws which protect the elderly and suggests that planning for the Warrant include something, in this respect, for the town meeting Housing needs are required not only for the elderly but also for the disadvantaged, low/moderate income people as well The Muzzey and Franklin School conversions are examples of this He feels that residents should be a mix of occupants; e g elderly and families Pressure can be put on land developers A change in people's attitudes from single family homes to a mix of people is needed J Gardner - Not against affordable housing, but mentioned that in his area there are apart- ments within single homes and some are forced to sell when they cannot negotiate $-loans D Boggia - Asked if a meeting with Town Management should be set up and it was suggested that the Planning Board should be approached first F Stowell - Affordable housing is based on whether you can get "free Town land" He sees no immediate future for this B. Sen - "The ax has fallen" and we need to be advocates! E Cheever - Is an Emerson Gardens resident who waited 3 years to get in and sold her home years ago when values were far less than today She's enjoyed living at Emerson and does not want to leave Lexington or her Town involvements She hopes no other group will be facing this eviction situation Based on the 12/18/86 notice left at her door, she knew little about the matter until the Lexington Minute-man furnished many details D. Eaton - Reported his Town involvements and being an Emerson resident He further stated the needs of the elders at Emerson, the sale of his home before the inflationary spiral, and stresses the need for using any vacant Town land for housing J Feathers - Emerson resident and a working person who indicated that rent increases could be handled, but buying was out of the question and she seeks help in bargaining with the new management vs eviction E. Grant - Indicated the Town can enact conversion ordinances and tougher laws can possibly be written J Gardner - Questions whether we can restrict condo laws E. Grant - Reported that Lexington does not have rent control laws as in Boston and other cities nor does Lexington have as many renters D Boggia - Has a telephone number for those interested in legal services D. Eaton - Reported Steve Doran attended a meeting of the Emerson people and that an article is to be in the next issue of the Lexington Minute-man this coming Thursday J Eddison - Indicated that a room could be reserved at the Town Hall for a meeting on the issue The meeting was adjourned at 5 05 p.m. Respectfully�� submitted, ry NatalieJ hnson, pto`tem Secretary