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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSenior Advisory Board - Minutes - 05/10/1995SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD Minutes of the May 10 1995 Meeting CALL TO ORDER The May meeting of the Senior Advisory Board was called to order by Kay Rios, chair, at 2:10 P. M. in the Senior Center, Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins. Because of circumstances beyond the control of the chair and the SAB, the scheduled Raintree site had to be changed to the old location. A quorum was present. ATTENDANCE Members Kay Rios, chair Yvonne Myers, vice chair Stan Ulrich, secretary Jane Davis Jane Goodhart Ed Johnson Marjorie McTaggart Wayne Moellenberg Mary Alice Spelts Jill Taylor Margaret Watts CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Staff Barbara Schoenberger, SAB Rep Jennifer Klink, RSVP Guests Shelley McGraw, Office on Aging Jerry Pyper Liaison Ann Azari, mayor No one wished to speak before the Board. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Kay asked for additions or corrections to the minutes of the March 8 meeting of the SAB. Mary Alice Spelts pointed out that a mistake was made -under the heading Senior Center Council on Page 8. A period should replace the comma after Council and the words and they will be approved or disapproved at the annual meeting on June 12 should be stricken and replaced with the following words: "A ballot of nominees for the election is included in the May/June issue of Pathways.' The ballot can be returned to the Senior Center by May 20." Jane Goodhart added another correction. She stated that the words "as an interim director" should be added after A woman had been hired on Page 4 under the Homebounders report. She added that the name Linda on Page 4 should be changed to "Sieglinde." Since there were no further corrections or additions, Margaret moved, and Ed seconded, that the minutes be approved as amended. The motion carried. Next, Kay asked for approval of the minutes for the April 12 Outreach Program that was held in Suzy Van Amburg's gerontology class in Gifford Hall, CSU campus. Wayne moved that they be approved as written, and Marjorie seconded the motion. The motion carried. CORRESPONDENCE Stan reported that the SAB had received three letters from the Senior Lobby, but since the Legislature had already adjourned, the contents were not discussed. He added that the Board had received Issue 3 of Transit Page 2, SAB Minutes, Ma 8, 1995 r Development Plan Update, and he passed the issue around for members to read. Carolyn Harmes from Dial -A -Ride had written a letter that Stan also passed around for the members to read. He did not go into detail about the contents of the letter because Dial -A -Ride was on the agenda and the contents would be discussed then. Stan next displayed a "volume" of letters that had been exchanged between Kay and the First National Bank about the Paint -A -Thou, but he did not elaborate on them because every member had received a copy of each one. Another item of correspondence was a renewal form from the Colorado Senior Lobby. After some discussion, the Board decided to let the membership lapse. Mayor Azari had written a letter asking the SAB to consider items for the budget, but since the deadline for requests was May 8, no action was taken. The final item, a letter from Full Living and Wellness Counseling was passed around for the members to read. OLD BUSINESS Since Shelley McGraw, director, Office on Aging, was waiting, Kay asked to move the first item under New Business as the first item under Old Business as a courtesy to the guest speaker. The change was approved. To conserve time, Shelley distributed handouts about the Older Americans Act and presented an overview of the act and how it relates to the Office on Aging. Her purpose, she said, was to discuss the 4-Year Plan that her office had developed and to share updates on what the Office on Aging is now doing. She added that she would leave time at the end for questions. Before discussing the 4-Year Plan, however, Shelley informed the members that May is Older Americans Month and displayed a proclamation by Mayor Ann Azari. The Office on Aging Advisory Council, she continued, was partly responsible for getting the proclamation issued and was also involved, to a lesser degree, with the Older Americans Conference that was held in Loveland at the Chilson Center. She added that she and Steve Budner will appear on Seniors Airborne as guests during the month to tell about the activitiers for the month. Shelley next discussed the Older Americans Act in more detail. It was enacted in 1965 and comes up each year for re -authorization. Since it is an entitlement, its future funding will evoke a lot of discussion in the coming months. She foresees some major changes in funding, and it will be interesting to see how the grants will be distributed and how the funds will trickle down to the counties and the effects the changes will have on Larimer County's Office on Aging. At present, she said, there is a lot of fear and anxiety about the funding process, but she added a note of optimism by saying that powerful lobbies are fight- ing to preserve the act. Basically, anyone over 60 years of age is eligible for Older Americans Act title money. Her office does, however, try to target the funds for the low income families, the frail, the rural and the minorities because the dollars are limited. The Office on Aging, Shelley continued, has an advisory council, one similar to the SAB. It is limited to 24 members, but many vacancies exist at the present time, and the Office on Aging is conducting a recruitment campaign now. The Council is guided by its mission state- ment that covers four broad areas: advocacy, planning programs, coordina- ting programs with other agencies and developing delivery services for Page 3, SAB Minutese`lay 8, 1995 • the programs. One of the key functions of her office, Shelley stated, was to plan programs and to make long-range plans. During the past year, her office has been in a four-year plan, and one of the first steps was to assess the needs of the community. She had contracted with a UNC graduate student to conduct the study. In addition, the OOA conducted public hearings in Estes Park, Fort Collins and Wellington. Her office also developed a demographic profile of older adults in Larimer County. Finally, when all the data were collected, she met with the OOA Advisory Council to determine priorities for 1995: information and referral, transportation, nutritional services, in -home care, respite care, advo- cacy, program development, housing counseling, legal assistance and minor home repairs. Requests for proposals are determined by these priorities, she added, and then called the attention of the SAB members to the allocation table in the back of the packet that she had distri- buted. Everything has to be documented, she added, and the area plan is quite lengthy, so she prepared an executive summary for their use. She added that if any member wanted to see the complete area plan, he/ she would be welcome to look at it in her office. The summary, she continued, contains good information about demographics, profiles of older adults^.in Earimet Count and updates on OOA activities. If any. member of the SAB wanted to see the -complete area plan, he/she would be welcome to look it over in her office. Many changes have taken place in the OOA and the Human Development Department, Shelley continued. The department has a new executive director, Ginny Riley, former director of Crossroads, and she has sub- mitted some goals that are very exciting. The OOA has hired a part-time program developer, Ayleen Burns, but her position will become full time by July. The public is not aware of the OOA's programs, and part of Ayleen's job will be public education, developing brochures and putting together media newsletters. She will also be working very closely with other agencies and businesses in the private sector to coordinate and collaborate on senior issues. She will also provide assistance to the grantees that OOA is already funding. The OOA is also committed on working with senior options, or Home - bounders, because that service was left vacant with the demise of Choice. The I & R Consortium is continually updating its information and is an on -going project. The OOA has contributed some dollars to the consortium and is concerned about the senior piece of I & R. Pro- posals were submitted last month and include (1) training of volunteers, especially sensitivity training, (2) a marketing plan because many seniors consider Helpline a crisis service only and (3) developing a data base that would be easily accessible. The biggest concern of the OOA, Shelley said, was coordinating and col- laborating with other agences, and that is the reason her office gets involved with the issues that she had already mentioned. She is now seeking cooperation with the Foundation on Aging on how to better coordinate funds and activities and is working with the SAB on the Aging Network Luncheon. She is looking for funds to compile a directory of aging networks, too. As an update on transportation, Shelley reported that the OOA is partially funding Dial -A -Ride for medical trips only. The OOA is also funding a Pilot volunteer program transportation project in Estes Park because at Page 4, SAB Minutes, Ma 8, 1995 the present time there is no senior transportation system in the town. OOA has also contracted with Care -A -Van for diaylsis service to rural areas, and the OOA is also funding transportation in Berthoud. Another project undertaken by the OOA is a dental program operated by the Women's Center. The Needs Assessment pointed out that low income seniors have been having problems with dental work, and since dental hygiene is tied in with nutrition, the OOA recognized that many seniors have dental problems that put them in nutritional risk. Feedback from the program has proved to be very positive. Next, Shelley gave an update on the local restructuring of the human services delivery system. She stated that the change was mandated by law and each county was instructed to determine the adequacy, efficiency and general operation of the service delivery system. The restructuring committee is represented by all county entities: schools, police depart- ments, county government, the OOA and others. The purpose of the com- mittee is to look at all forms of delivery and to determine whether or not they can be improved with emphasis on the consumer. In closing, Shelley mentioned that she would gladly come back if the SAB had a particular issue that she should address. She wanted to make sure that the SAB members are informed, and she added that she will be working on a newsletter that will help to disseminate information. Senior Center Update Ed Johnson reported that the senior center is not finished and added that he thought the contractor was waiting until Yvonne was old enough to become a member before he,was going to complete it. That would have been the end of Ed's report, but several members pumped him for more information, and he took up his usual amount of time. About three percent of the work is still not finished, Ed related, and that is mostly finish work, but some of it is repairing work that had already failed. For example, the curtains in the multi- purpose room had been installed on the wrong tracks and the pads above the swimming pool have been falling down. On the plus side, Ed reported that all the carpet had been installed and the furniture in the administration area has been delivered, the fireplace works and the kitchen equipment will be installed next week. Arbitration on the fine levied against the contractor is scheduled for May 22 and 23, but the contractor wants it postponed until June. Even though the building is nearly completed, the city cannot sign a certificate of occupancy because the building is technically owned by the contractor. On any given day, about six people are at work on the project because the sub -contractors have other jobs and can- not keep too many workers on the site. Even though the city may not have ownership by then, the cornerstone ceremony will take place on June 2. Very little is negotiable under arbitration, Ed continued, but the contractor will be asking for extensions to the contract every time a change had been made in the plans, and quite a few had been made. The weather has also held up the completion of the landscaping and some sidewalks, and the con- tractor wants an extension for those completions. A long discussion followed Ed's report, and the SAB members decided that Kay should contact Mayor Azari and then follow up with a letter urging the city to make all possible efforts to resolve the difficul- Page 5, SAB Minutes 0lay 8, 1995 • ties that are hindering completion of the senior center. Many were concerned about the city losing credibility. Marjorie moved that Kay should write a letter to City Council and urge a quick resolution to the problems that are obstructing com— pletion of the senior center. SAB members, as representatives of the senior population of the community, are getting impressions that seniors are deeply concerned about the situation and that morale is suffering among the seniors. Ed seconded the motion and it carried. Paint—A—Thon Kay called attention to the letters that had been exchanged between her an the First National Bank, the sponsor of Paint—A—Thon, and stated that the SAB will no longer be taking part in the project. The letters were self—explanatory, she added. Network Luncheon Kay reported that she and Shelley McGraw had been meeting to plan the luncheon and they have come up with some positive ideas. They had approached the Foundation on Aging for funding, but nothing has resulted from the talks as yet. The entertainment will cost $450, and unless some organization will be able to underwrite the cost, the performance by the Rainbow Bridge, an intergenerational group, will have to be scrapped and background music will have to be played instead. The OOA will furnish money to print a booklet of the events and the participants, and it will be distributed to all the people in senior networking entities. The luncheon is scheduled for September 20 from 11:30 A. M. until 2:00 P. M., pos— sibly in the new senior center.if it will be completed by that time. Dial —A —Ride Kay reported that she had nothing new to report on Dial —A —Ride, but she will be meeting with John on Monday. She added that several changes in personnel have taken place in the transportation area. Senior Advisory Board Bylaws Proposed amendments to the bylaws had been distributed to members and a discussion followed. Since some revisions had been suggested, Kay turned them over to the committee and asked it to review all suggestions and to report back to the SAB at the next meeting. If any members had any other suggestions for changes, they were told to write down all proposed revisions and have them in the chair's hands, Marjorie's, by the end of the day on June 5. Homebounders Jane Goodhart reported that the name Homebounders had been changed to Senior Living Options. She added that the steering committee had written a letter in which it outlined what the committee had been doing. The letter also stated that Living Centers would fund Senior Living Options until the end of September, the end of their fiscal year. After that, its support would be unknown. Page 6, SAB Minutes, Ma-- 8, 1995 There is quite a bit of confusion with Senior Living Options, Jane continued, because the administrator of the program has resigned, and it has been dumped into someone else's lap. She also feels that some entities on the Steering Committee have different agendas and would like to see the program taken over by a different organization. Some members had suggested that the Senior Living Options program should be incorporated with the I & R Consortium if it will be operating by next fall. Wayne moved that the SAB should encourage our representative to the Steering Committee to support the notion that Senior Living Options should become more of an interagency cooperative that represents a wider part of the community and that the program should become a part of the I & R Consortium. Ed seconded the motion, and it passed after a lengthy discussion. A statement during the discussion, how— ever, should be repeated: Jane said that aging in this community is a political act and when people get caught up in it, the seniors lose. Outreach Meeting — Los Ancianos Kay reminded the members of the SAB that they are scheduled to have lunch with the Los Ancianos on June 13, at 11:30 A. M. Human Relations Committee Awards The breakfast honoring the Human Relations Committee's nominees had been held on Friday, May 5, and our nominee, Judy Curby, had attended. NEW BUSINESS Single Entry Point No one reported on Single Entry Point, but some discussion followed after the topic was introduced. The Board indicated that it wanted to learn more about the topic, so Kay agreed to invite Ruth Coberly to the July meeting to explain it. New West Fest Kay reported that she had sent in the application for a booth at the New West Fest, but she emphasized that she did not order erasers! She asked for suggestions on what the SAB could do to create interest and to attract attention. The event will be held on August 18, 19 and 20, 1995. Coloradoan Article from Bob Getz Marjorie stated that she had talked with Bob Getz after he wrote an article about a lack of policies for the new senior center and asked him what his point was. He answered that he was concerned that the new senior center had no policy for its use. He became concerned, he told Marjorie, after a caller brought his attention to an article that appeared in The Economist Magazine, published in London with worldwide circulation. The article had mentioned that the use of the building had not been clearly established. Bob stated that he had called Jean Helberg and was told that the staff will wait about six months after the center opens to see how it is used before any P-ge 7, SAB Meeting fay 8, 1995 • Policies will be developed. Marjorie then read a draft of a letter that she thought should be sent to city staff members. In it, she expressed concern about the lack of policy on use of the center. Barbara suggested that she should contact Jean again before the SAB approves to find out exactly what policies already exist. Barbara felt that policies on the use of all Parks and Recreation facilities are in place, and the senior center would fall under the general policies. Kay asked Marjorie to follow through with Barbara's sug— gestion, and if policies already do exist, they should be mailed with the next agenda. At that time, the topic will be discussed again, and then a response will be sent to Bob Getz. Housing Authority Letter Marjorie mentioned that she had talked with a modular home manufact— urer, and he told her that he had a 'customer that qualified for pur— chase of a home, but the customer couldn't find space in a moblie home park for it. She wondered if this is common, and if so, what can the SAB do about it. Others told of similar situations, and Jane added that more and more seniors are becoming homeless because they can't afford the sharp increases in lot rental fees. Kay asked Jane to get some statistics about the problem and to report at the June meeting. Memorial/Kay Jones Kay announced that Kay Jones, a strong advocate of the senior center, had died and she reported that she had made a pledge on her own to have a plaque placed on the Recognition Wall of the new senior center. She urged every member of the SAB to participate in the memorial. Contributions can be made by check to Friends of the Senior Center, and donors should specify that it should be used for the Kay Jones Memorial. Deadline for the contribution is June 7. SERVICE REPORTS RSVP. Jennifer Klink reported that the VITA income tax service had served over 260 persons and that the RSVP office had moved to 405 Canyon Avenue. RSVP also has a new director, Pat Sherwood, and the RSVP Recognition Day will be held on May 18, in the Lincoln Center. Jennifer concluded by saying that she would ask the directon:to:come to one of the future meetings of the SAB. Aspen Club. Jill announced that the Ready or Not Players will be performing at the Vineyard on May 11, at 2:00 P. M. and invited all to attend. Skin cancer screenings will be conducted on the weekend of May 13 and 14, at the Family Medicine Center. The director of the Poudre Valley Hospital District Board will be the featured speaker at the Lunch Bunch on May 16, and she will speak about youth violence and health care access. Jill also reported that Linda Nielson, Health Care Access Coalition director, had appeared at a recent C3 meeting and she will attend a SAB meeting in September. Linda is currently active in getting an adult clinic started. Jill ended her report with the announcement that the HFI Health Fair will be held on May 31, at the Elks Lodge from 7:00 to 11:00 A. M. City Council. Ed stated that Council had been working on the Pioneer Page 8, Sab Minutes, Ma 8, 1995 Mobile Home relocation, but because of the zoning change that leaves that issue on the "back burner" for a while. Seniors Airborne. Kay said there was nothing new to report on Seniors Airborne because Bill Weddel will be attending the meeting in June. Concerned Seniors. Since Marjorie had to leave early for an appoint— ment, no report was given for Concerned Seniors. Stan reported, however, that the SAB's Human Relations Award candidate, Judy Curby, had attended the breakfast on Friday, May 5. Senior Center Council. Mary Alice Spelts reported that May 15-20 has been designated as Senior Center Week with many activities scheduled. One of them will be a tour of the new senior center on Thursday of that week. On June 12, the Council will hold its annual meeting at which time the new members will be installed and enter— tainment and refreshments will be provided. Friends of the Senior Center. The Friends held their spring social and started their membership drive in March. At this point, the committee is putting most of its efforts into the recognition issue and all the committees are hard at work. A luncheon will be held in June in honor of the new committee members, who will take office in July. Office on Aging. Stan had nothing to report because Shelley McGraw, director of the Office on Aging, had just addressed the SAB and "stole his thunder." He added, however, that AARP will be holding its biennial conference in Denver at the Marriott Hotel on May 19 and 20, 1995. Etc. Since no one "fessed up" that he/she was the liaison to Etc., no report was given. OTHER BUSINESS Yvonne. The A. L. I. S. E. Program is "up and running," Yvonne reported. For the unitiated, Yvonne mentioned that the acronymn stood for Living in a Safe Environment and that it is jointly sponsored by RSVP, the Fire Authority and "us." The "us" will remain nameless until the next meeting because the secretary has no clue about "us." Stan. Stan reported that the Affordable Housing Task Force of Larimer County will be sponsoring a Parade of Affordable Housing Homes on Tuesday, May 30. The public is invited to participate. The tour will start at The Mission and then a bus will transport the participants from one affordable home site to another. CARE Housing, the Fort Collins Housing Authority, TRAC, Neighbor to Neighbor and other hous— ing organizations will also take part. The Interfaith Council will be one of the co—sponsors. Stan added that the Coloradoan was inter— ested in the project and coverage would follow. Kay added that she would also try to have the story featured in Inside Fort Collins, too. Jane Goodhart. Jane reported that the Larimer County Health Depart— ment is looking for volunteers to do safe home audits, an Office on Page 9, SAB Minutes, May 8, 1995 Aging grant. Interested persons should contact RSVP or Ann Watson at the Larimer County Health Department. Jerry Pyper. Jerry Pyper, a guest, was asked if he wanted to make a comment, and he thought the epitaph on the tombstone of Maggie Kuhns, the founder of the Gray Panthers who had died recently, was quite appropriate for the ocassion. It reads, "This is the only stone that Maggie left unturned." He then thanked the SAB for letting him attend. Mary Alice Spelts. Mary Alice passed. Ed Johnson. Ed remarked that he couldn't pass an opportunity to have the floor and expressed a concern about the Senior Job Match. He said he tries to call Jeff Bridges and others, but they don't return his calls. He added that as liaison to the Seniors Job Match, he feels responsible to keep abreast of their activities, but he has no idea what they are doing. Kay suggested that he call Bill Lamperes, principal of Centennial School, and tell him about the difficulty he has been having in reaching those involved in Job Match. Kay. Kay announced that the Executive Committee will meet at New Mercer on June b, at 10:00 A. M. to work on the agenda. Barbara. Barbara passed. Wayne. Wayne bid a fond adieu to the old Senior Center on Mountain Avenue. ADJOURNMENT Since there was no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 4:25 P. M. Stan Ulrich, secretary Approved Kay Rios, chair