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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSenior Advisory Board - Minutes - 02/13/2008I CITY OF FORT COLLINS SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES Meeting held February 13, 2008 Fort Collins Senior Center 1200 Raintree Dr. Fort Collins, CO 80526 Secretary — Kathy Schuster — 970-223-1859 Staff Liaison — Barbara Schoenberger — 970-224-6026 City Council Liaison — Doug Hutchinson, Mayor — 970-221-6506 Attendance: Bud Herin Kathy Schuster Valerie DiBenedetto Cathy Martin Stan Ulrich Matt Jackson Peggy McGough Bob Phillips Excused Absence: Anita Basham Judy Vasiliauskas Marcia Richards Unexcused Absence: Guests: Marjorie McTaggart, Liaison from Women's Commission Dave Colliton Liaison: Douglas Hutchinson, Mayor Staff. Barbara Schoenberger Karen Bryner I. Call Meeting to Order In the absence of the Chair and Vice -Chair, Kathy Schuster, Secretary, presided at the meeting, calling it to order at 1:40 p.m. Bob Phillips, a new member of the SAB, was introduced and welcomed by the board. Marjorie McTaggart was welcomed as a new liaison to the SAB from the Women's Commission. II. Attendance An attendance sheet was passed. III. Public Participation Dave Colliton, of Fort Net, introduced himself and explained that he was concerned about the number of seniors in the community who might be facing foreclosure on their home, given the current economic downturn. He emphasized that education and early intervention are critical for those facing this problem. It was suggested that the SAB Outreach meetings would provide a good opportunity to disseminate this information. Dave agreed to attend and/or invite representatives from organizations well informed on this subject to attend the March 121" SAB Outreach meeting at the NACC. In response to an inquiry about Fort Net, Dave explained that it is a small Fort Collins based non-profit organization working to enhance local access and use of the web. IV. Approval of Minutes January 9, 2008 Valerie DiBenedetto made corrections to the minutes, pointing out that Meals on Wheels is an independent entity and is not sponsored or associated with VOA. Peggy McGough moved to accept the minutes, as corrected. Valerie DiBenedetto seconded the motion. The motion carried. V. Correspondence A. An invitation was received to attend the Loveland SAB meeting in March or April. It was agreed to accept the invitation for the March 5 b meeting at 10:30 am. Stan Ulrich and Kathy Schuster will attend that meeting, along with other board members available on that date. B. Craig Foreman sent follow-up information on the Parks and Recreation Policy Plan that he presented to the SAB several months ago. He offered to attend a SAB meeting again to review the updated plan. Peggy McGough moved that Craig Foreman be invited to attend the April SAB meeting. Cathy Martin seconded the motion. The motion passed. VI. New Business A. 2008 Action Plan — The 2008 Action Plan was reviewed and accepted. B. City Council meeting attendance- Members of the SAB agreed that it would be instructive and beneficial for board members who have not previously attended a City Council meeting to do so. A sheet was passed for members to indicate the month they plan to attend a Council meeting. C. Communication Committee — The Communication Committee has not yet convened, but will do so before the March SAB meeting. Peggy McGough, a member of that committee, has submitted information about the SAB Outreach meeting at NACC to the "50's Marketplace". VII. Old Business A. Liaison Reports Peggy McGoueh • FRF registration and course offerings have increased. New courses include one on China and one on Peru. Classes are open to members of the FRF. • Fitness Facilities: Peggy attended an Open House at Fort Collins Club and visited the new Columbine Health Systems Fitness Center on Drake Road to preview space, equipment, program, and membership requirements. • Senior Center: The Senior Center Annual Membership meeting was a success, Thanks to SAB members, Cathy Martin, Kathy Schuster, Bob Phillips, and Marcia Richards who attended the meeting. Anita Basham and Peggy McGough were also present —representing both the Senior Center Council and the SAB. • Peggy passed out "Style" magazines to board members; the edition features eco-friendly "green design". Cathy Martin • Eldercare Network: Senior Law Day will be held August 9a' at the CSU Student Center. Registrations will be sent out. A free Continental breakfast will be served; the luncheon will cost $10.00 for 1 & $15.00 for 2. There will be several speakers. Valerie DiBenedetto • Affordable Housing: Heidi Phillips with the City was contacted and advised Valerie that senior issues rarely come up at the board meetings. Valerie will be included on the e-mail list to receive an agenda. Heidi also gave Valerie some other groups/ boards in Fort Collins that address affordable housing issues. Heidi reported that several affordable senior housing units had been built since 2000: Reflections, Sanctuary, and Woodbridge. Valerie contacted all 3 facilities and they each have waiting lists. Valerie was told by a staff person at Oakbrook II that all HUD Housing for seniors have waiting lists right now. Stan Ulrich • AARP: AARP is sponsoring a trip to the Capitol on February 27`h. Bagels and coffee will be served at the Senior Center at 7 a.m.and the bus will depart for the Capitol. The bus will stop at the Northglenn Golden Corral for lunch. The cost of the trip is $10.00. For reservations call Lew Lachman at 495-9743. • Office on Aging: Safety concerns have been expressed about a bus stop on route 4. The bus leaves the garage and travels on Jefferson, then north to North Park and on to College stopping in front of the NACC. The seniors have pointed out that this is a dangerous place for pedestrians to cross College. Stan suggested to the scheduler that the bus should go down Willow and stop in front of the NACC. Kathy Schuster • RSVP: The Legacy Project is in need of a volunteer to manage the program. A new congregate meal site was opened this month at Sanctuary. The public is always welcome at these meals. There is a need for increased funding and resources for the handy man program. The requests for wheelchair ramps etc. far exceed the resources available, so that this is becoming a community issue. Marjorie McTaggart — Women's Commission: March is Women's History Month, so 7`s through the 9a' grade students will be writing essays on women that have influenced their lives. The Marcile Woods Award is given in March. The group is also working with Poudre School District on a teen/parent program. TRIAD: Marjorie is no longer on this board but she has noticed that the Crime Prevention Officer still has her office in the Police Station and has the same number although she is a civilian now. TRIAD is in a "lull" now, but did make a presentation to the low vision group at the Worthington last week. TRIAD will meet every quarter now. B. Outreach Meeting at the Northside Aztlan Center: Peggy McGough handed out fliers for board members to distribute. Fliers will be delivered to the NACC. The Mayor is aware of the meeting and may attend. Valerie will publicize the meeting in the Meals on Wheels newsletter. Marcia will give a brief over -view about the purpose of the SAB and will introduce the board members. SAB members are to meet at the NACC at 12:30 p.m. for a tour of the facility, prior to the 1:30 p.m. meeting. C. Senior Center Expansion Committee: Peggy McGough is working with the accountant on the 5016 application. The filing fee is $750. The designation of FCSCBOBEXPCom, hic as a Colorado non-profit has been secured from the Colorado Secretary of State. The filing fee is $50. The Senior Center Council donated $2,170.95 and Bank of Choice donated $1000 to the Expansion committee. A bank account has been opened at Bank of Choice. Stationary, stamps and thank you notes will be needed soon. The committee is in the process of recruiting additional members. The committee meets monthly. A breakfast is will be held at the Senior Center on the February 22°a at 7:30 a.m. D. Social meeting with Mayor & City Council: The meeting will be at the Art Show Reception which is May 1" E. Monthly presentations at SAB meetings: the Board decided to schedule presentations on relevant topics as those topics arise. Craig Foreman from the Parks & Recreation Dept. will be invited to give a presentation at the April SAB meeting. VHL Other Business A. Marcia Richards (Chair) and Anita Basham (Vice -Chair) met with Mayor Doug Hutchinson at Mugs in Fort Collins on January 3151 at 9:30 a.m. Their report of that meeting follows: "We reviewed with him (the Mayor) our 2007 Annual report that outlined all of the activities and events that the Senior Advisory Board had accomplished. He asked questions and was impressed with the amount of contributions and involvement of our members on behalf of the City. He showed particular interest and appreciation of our involvement in the different issues on transportation — i.e., Dial -A -Ride, the Ad Hoc Transit group, and the Harmony Medical Center. Then we reviewed with him the Action Plan for 2008. Again we impressed him with what a great and industrious group we are!! As we reviewed our off -site meeting locations, I told him we were hoping that when we meet at the Aztlan Center we are hoping to interest some of the minority seniors who use that facility to apply for membership on the SAB. He applauded our efforts in including minorities and felt that we are on the "right track" with all of our activities. He again sees transportation as a big issue where the Board can be helpful. If we can arrange for the seniors at Aztlan to attend our March meeting, he would like to be a speaker and talk about some of the current transportation issues that the City Council is addressing. While I expressed concern about transportation to the Medical Center of the Rockies, he feels that the issue of a better off ramp system at the Windsor Exit is a more urgent and present issue (this is also referred to as the CO Hwy 392 project). Generally speaking, it was a very good session. He likes the idea of meeting with him at least twice during the year and reviewing with him the work we are doing and the information we are gathering at our off -site meetings. He is open to being available for us as we need him and says that if we have questions or concerns that we would like to talk to him about, that all we need to do —is call. The meeting ended about 10:30am. (Submitted by, Anita Basham) P.S. In the event that arrangements can be tied down with the Aztlan senior group at your February meeting, I have put a hold for March 12 on the mayor's calendar. I arranged with Sarah Kane (Mayor's secretary), she and I decided it would be easier to cancel than to add. You will need to contact her and give her a confirmed time and date as soon as possible after your meeting." B. Barbara announced the training for all Board and Commission members will be required by the City Council and Mayor. Reservations for the training can be made through the City Clerk's Office. IX. Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 pm. Submitted by: i t✓&� , Karen Bryner, Rec rding Secretary 'POCL". 4 - �E, Marcia Richards, Chair Kathy Schust r, Secretary