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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSenior Advisory Board - Minutes - 11/08/2000E I. Attendance: CITY OF FORT COLLINS SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES: MEETING OF NOVEMBER 8, 2000 Chairperson: E4ik'Margolis 416-1411 Staff Liaison: Barbara Schoenberger 224-6026 City Council Liaison: Ray Martinez, Mayor 221-6506 Erik Margolis Florence Williams John Roberts June Tucker Dorothy Miller Marjorie McTaggart Kristin Glenn George Kress Excused Absence: Alyce Eckley Absent: Blanche Yakmas Darren Gunn Guest: John Daggett ---Fort Collins Transportation Planning Karen Girard, Director of Funding Partners Eliot Howard Kay Rios Staff: Barbara Schoenberger II. The meeting was called to order by Erik Margolis at 2:10 PM III. Guest Speakers: John Daggett from the Fort Collins Transportation Planning John spoke to the group from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM (prior to the regularly scheduled meeting). John presented the service plan for the future Transfort plan. City Council has asked that they focus on productivity as well as the current testing of the new plans to increase frequency of buses on College Avenue. John also displayed the future Transfort plan, which could be implemented by 2015. Karen Girard, Director of Funding Partners Karen spoke to us regarding The Northern Hotel project. Although the project is intended to to house seniors (age 55 and over) the first floor of the facility will be for retail stores. There will be 47 units for seniors that will range from 400 to 700 square feet, depending on the location of the apartment. Each apartment will have all appliances including dishwasher, disposal, stove, and refrigerator. Each apartment will have 2 phone lines. There will be a coin operated laundry facility and a community room on the 2nd floor. There will be an oversize elevator. The intent at this time is to contract with one of the tenants to act as an onsite "maintenance" person. Names are being taken for the waiting list. There will be a review process of applicants. The demolition has been completed and now the build out can begin. Due to the building being historic and funding restrictions which includes historic tax credits, loans and grants, The Northern Hotel sign will remain, as well as the historic lobby. Financing is complex and has had its challenges. IV. Citizen Participation: None V. Correspondence: Kristen received a list of web sites for pharmaceutical companies offering patient discounts. June received a thank you letter for her participation in the Fort Collins Web Site study. VI. Approval of the Minutes: There were two corrections to be made. The first one was on page one, section II, 3" paragraph. The date should read November 8" instead of November 14". The next correction is on page four, number 9, again the date should read November 8" instead of November 14". After the corrections Marjorie made a motion to approve the minutes and Dorothy seconded the motion. VII. Old Business: A. Transportation: Florence reported that the open houses scheduled for October 251h and November 1" to review the final design for the Mulberry/Lemay roundabout were postponed and will be rescheduled for late November and early December. The reason for the delay is due to the current design being $500,000 over budget. Now the city will have to review the plans again. In addition the roundabout display will be postponed. Construction is now scheduled to begin in February and to be finished by July I'. The September 1" deadline will be met. Again it appears that the proposed truck route for Fort Collins will be discussed as the trucks roll through the city on 287 due to snow closures on I-80. It appears that bicyclists are not the only ones at high risk. The pedestrians are at risk due to bicyclists on the sidewalks. They go entirely too fast. There is a need for public transportation during the off peak times to prevent tragedies due to lack of transportation. Employees are riding their bicycles and walking in the evenings to work. Funding for the planned I-25 corridor study which calls for the widening of CR 5, will have to be determined before displays can be done. Kay reported that the DAR study still has many flaws and she will write a letter from the transportation committee. B. Housing: Kay reported that a letter to Karen Girard listing the concerns that are still issues for The Northern Hotel project was sent with a copy to City Council. C. Outreach: Minutes from the Outreach Meeting are attached to the minutes of October 11, 2000. There were about 35 people in attendance. There were good ideas presented, issues and solutions. Parking seems to be a key issue at the Senior Center. John suggested that a letter be written to Senior Center Council with concerns and suggestions. John will write the Letter for the Board to review. Marjorie suggested that seniors should be involved in planning of the new Arts Center, which is a partnership between Fort Collins & CSU and will be housed in the old Fort Collins High School. There is no money yet for the center itself, like the Senior Center's five-year process, the dollars must be there before being allocated. Marjorie moved that a letter from SAB be sent to Mike Powers (Cultural Director) with a copy to City Council requesting that seniors be involved in the planning process. Marjorie will write the letter for the Board to approve. D. Paint-A-Thon: June will continue to try and get in touch with Rusty Collins. No new activities E. Discounted Medications: We will leave the petition for signatures at the desk at the Senior Center. We will send the list to party leadership after January 1, 2001. F. Chili Cookoff: John will consider being the "head chef' next year. G. Liaison Reports: • Marjorie reports: SOAP: Marjorie brought the flyer for the upcoming SOAP Troupe Annual Christmas Show. It will be held Senior Center. There are two show dates and several show times. Tickets are 54.00. This year the show is called "Holiday Showcase" and features the SOAP Troupe Ensemble, The SOAP Tones and The SOAP Toes. Part of the proceeds benefit The Friends of the Senior Center. Marjorie also brought in the edition of Style magazine, which had a feature story on the SOAP Troupe. • Media Update: Marjorie reported the recent "Prime Time" (in the Coloradoan) was almost scuttled. Space was, and is, at a premium, but with the exception of October's Senior column (which was printed November 8'") they will keep the column to 2nd Mondays. The editorial staff promises to keep working on placement and space for "Prime Time" features and photos. They say that they're looking at the front page of the "Life" section, below the fold, which will "almost guarantee" photos, in color. Both the column and feature were started at the SAB's request. The column started in the mid- 80's, the PT in 1992. The over 60 population comprises 12.8% of the community (1998 data) and is growing. Marjorie suggested that a letter be written to the publisher and a copy to the Executive Director thanking her for the continued senior on coverage. June made a motion that Marjorie writes the letter, and John seconded. • Commission Status of Women: Marjorie wrote a letter to the Cbmmission with copies to Ray Martinez, Karen Weikenaut. The letter was in response to the "Economic Realities Facing Women" survey. A copy of the letter is attached. Apparently there are four areas of concern for women: 1) child care 2) domestic violence 3) education 4) employment However none were related to older women, yet older women are raising children, older women suffer from elder abuse; education is not as easy to access for older women and employment offers low paying jobs for senior women. A professional who works with the low-income elderly states: "Biggest segment of under poverty level population is older women". The consensus of the SAB is that the Commission on the Status of Women does not consider the needs of older women. June will call Karen Weikenaut and try to schedule lunch to see if they would consider devoting more time in their meetings to the older women and their needs. Attached is a column from the Coloradoan, "Two —thirds of poor over age 55 are women". • Spring Creek Child Care Child Care for the staff of Spring Creek is being offered at one half of the standard fee. This allows the employees of Spring Creek to have their children nearby. They also offer flexible hours from 5:30 AM to 11:00 PM. H. Celebration of Freedom — Veterans Day At 9 am on Saturday, November 11, 2000 there will be a ceremony at the Senior Center followed by breakfast for veterans and their families. At I I am there will be a balloon release. I. City of Fort Collins Website Study June attended this meeting on September 21, 2000 from 7-9 PM at 405 Canyon. There were about 25-30 people there. We were split in two groups. Questions were asked about using the Internet. Some of the questions asked were: • How many hours per week do you use the Internet? • What do you look for when surfing the Internet? • Have you ever purchased items on-line? • Would you purchase items again on-line? • Have you ever paid bills on line? They also discussed what we would like to see on the Internet regarding Fort Collins. They passed out the questionnaire for everyone to fill out. I did receive a thank you letter for participating. VIII. New Business A. Work Plan & Annual Report The 2001 Work Plan was reviewed and with just 2 revisions the 2001 Work Plan was approved by the SAB. John moved that the Work Plan be approved and Dorothy seconded. B. Christmas -Meeting Party The Christmas Party will be held on December 13, 2000 at 12 Noon at the Senior Center. There will be a potluck lunch. Having no other business before us, June moved to close the meeting. Marjorie seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 4:05 PM. Respectfully submitted by June M. Tucker