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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-12-17-COA-min (Age Friendly Subcommittee)Age Friendly Meeting Lexington Council on Aging Date: December 12, 2025 Location: Online Time: 3:00 PM COA: John Zhao (co-chair), Julie -Ann Shapiro (co-chair), Ellen Cameron (vice chair), Bonnie Teitleman-Levin, Sudhir Jain, Sandra Hackman Staff: Senior services director Michelle Kelleher; senior services coordinator Kelsey Rollins; social services director Dana Bickelman; intern Fran Servello John called the meeting to order at 3.05 PM and took attendance. Bonnie moved the minutes from the November Age Friendly meeting, and Sandra seconded. The roll -call vote was unanimous. There was no new business. Moving from a Working Group to a Subcommittee Michelle reported that the town manager has approved changing the working group to a subcommittee. The town clerk's office has requested a formal charge. Julie agreed to draft two sentences for the next COA meeting. Age Friendly Action Plan The group acknowledged the need to develop an action plan as part of the town's commitment to being an age -friendly community. Lexington officially joined that AARP program in September 2019. Julie noted that the COA provided an action plan when the town applied for age -friendly designation, and that that could serve as a starting point. Michelle said she would circulate that plan. Sudhir proposed that the subcommittee develop an action plan based on the eight domains developed by WHO and adopted by AARP. John suggested consolidating those into four buckets, including housing, transportation, community connections, and health services. He also suggests that any updated plan consider the senior needs assessment and town resources. John suggested that each member help develop goals for one area. Sandra will focus on housing, Sudhir on transportation, and Julie -Ann on community connections, including social inclusion and participation. John agreed to collaborate with Sandra on setting housing priorities. These could include creating a home -share program, wherein younger adults live with seniors in exchange for rent, chores, and companionship, as well as expanding the number of ADUs. No silver bullet can solve all seniors' housing needs. Bonnie questioned the demand for a home -share program. Michelle noted that Home Suite HomeShare recently went out of business owing to a lack of older participants. However, John recounted his positive experience participating in a home -share while he was a Brandeis student. Such programs generally see strong interest from people seeking a home to share. To gauge potential interest, Ellen suggested a survey of older Lexington residents, and Sandra proposed a forum at the Community Center. Michelle suggested applying for an AARP grant to fund a pilot program. Re transportation, Sudhir emphasizing the importance of expanding the current LexConnect taxi service, which requires 24-hour notice, to include subsidized on -demand Uber and Lyft for urgent needs. John would like to better understand the demand for and cost of such services, as well as the experiences of neighboring towns regarding participants' age, income, and physical abilities. Sudhir, John, and other interested members will investigate those questions and provide recommendations to the subcommittee and the COA. Re community outreach and communications, the group endorsed holding a "COA on the road" meet -and -greet event in the spring. A recent such event at Brookhaven proved valuable for town staff, COA members, and town residents alike. Michelle and Dana noted that the town's public health services are strong, particularly regarding senior programs overall and vaccines in particular. Dana reported that the town provided vaccines to 844 seniors this fall. Senior services staff also collaborate with the Health Department on home visits. According to Michelle, hoarding remains a challenge. The Fire Department sometimes observes hoarding when called to residents' homes. Staff members may conduct follow-up visits with employees from Minuteman Senior Services, the Health Department, and the Police Department. However, the town needs to do more to address this problem, such as through programs such as Declutter Together, a support group. Ellen offered to work with Michelle on that challenge. The group agreed to meet again on January 28 at 3 PM. Ellen moved to adjourn the meeting, and Sandra seconded. The meeting ended at 4:10 on a unanimous roll call vote.