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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSenior Advisory Board - Minutes - 08/14/2002Attendance: CITY OF FORT COLLINS SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES: MEETING Of August 14, 2002 Chairperson — Mike Buderus — 223-0907 Staff Liaison — Barbara Schoenberger — 224-6026 City Council Liaison — Ray Martinez, Mayor — 221-6506 Mike Buderus Jim Downey Dianne Heath John Roberts Darren Gunn Florence Williams Don Redabaugh Kristen Glenn C. Dean Miller Eileen Hendee Absent: (notified) Maxine Yankey Liaison: Staff: Guests: Ray Martinez, Mayor Barbara Schoenberger Karen Bryner Robbie Williams — Dial -A -Ride Kristin Chatnani — Commission on Status of Women Lee Winfield — Dial -A -Ride Customer Marjorie McTaggart - TRIAD I. Call Meeting to Order: Meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m. by Chair, Mike Buderus. I. Attendance II. Approval of Minutes: Darren Gunn made a motion to accept the minutes as read; Dianne Heath seconded the motion. Motion was passed. III. Citizen Participation: Mariorie McTaggart reminded the Board that Elder Pet Care was started with the support of SAB in 1994. Elder Pet Care was able to secure a new location at "College Plaza" #5, 619 South College. Marjorie also reported that the Larimer County TRIAD meets the fourth Wednesday of each month. Switches and bulbs for outdoor emergency lighting are still available through RSVP and the Aspen Club. TRIAD is also working on methods to assist seniors in keeping their cars safe and in good repair so that the automobiles meet air quality guidelines. October is car care month. Law enforcement/crime prevention/senior safety members of TRIAD are gathering information about where safety checks are scheduled and on which Saturday during the month. Plans for the car safety events will be finalized during at the August meeting. The service will be free with donations appreciated. Participating businesses will give the senior at least 10% discount if there is a need for repair. TRIAD would like help from the Senior Advisory Board to inform seniors of the event. IV. Presentation by Robbie Williams — Dial -A -Ride: All Transportation funding comes from the City of Fort Collins General Fund. Transfort and Dial -A -Ride are part of the same department. Demand for services is continuing to grow. Year round night service was added last year. Transfort/Dial-A-Ride employs 110 people. Fox -Trot is service provided between Fort Collins and Loveland. Dial -A -Ride averages 20 schedules per day. City Council has tabled fee increase until negotiations with CSU are completed. John asked about service on the east/south side of town. This route was eliminated in favor of routes that have more ridership. The Board expressed concern that there is no transportation to Fort Collins High School or the medical campus on Harmony Road. V. Correspondence: 1. Bridging the Gap Senior Network Luncheon will be held on September 27, 2002 at 10:30 a.m. at McKee Medical Center. All Board members will pay their own fee to attend. Registration deadline is September 3, 2002. 2. An invitation was sent to SAB from the Woodridge Senior Apartment for an open house. 3. Meeting times of all City Boards and Commissions were distributed to those who were interested. 3. Kristen Glenn received a call from Elizabeth Cally with Eldercare asking for support from SAB for Green Party (10 key points). Everyone agreed that she could submit written information. 5. Florence Williams reported on information she has obtained regarding how to dispose of thermometers with mercury. Due to the health risks associated with mercury, she suggests that the Aspen Club provide this information in their newsletter. 4. Friends of the Senior Center Summer Social invitation was received by the Board. The potluck picnic will be held at the Senior Center on Thursday, August 29 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 5. The Office on Aging invited interested Board members to take part in a meeting to provide input on needs and direction the OOA should take in the coming year. The meeting will be held August 15 at the Information Center at Home State Bank. Vl. New Business: ■ John Roberts made a motion to change the start time for the regular meeting from 2:00 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. Darren Gunn second the motion. The motion was carried. Meetings will still be held on the second Wednesday of each month at the Fort Collins Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Drive, and will be approximately 2 '/2 hours in duration. VII. Old Business: A. Review Work Plan: 1. Media — Dianne Heath met with a representative of the Commission on the Status of Women about a pending presentation to the Coloradoan to highlight older women in the community including those who are very engaged and those who are not. A finished outline needs to be completed before the Coloradoan will consider taking on the project. Kristin Chatnani was surprised that Prime Time was eliminated without notification. This was a section written for seniors that provided a variety of useful information. Mike Buderus suggested that the individual Board members write to the Coloradoan encouraging them to reinstate the Prime Time section. 2. Schedule outreach - The Worthington offered lunch to Board members and will facilitate a meeting. Jim Downey will make arrangements. Dianne Heath suggested having a booth at Grandparents Day at the Senior Center on September 8. Dianne will be in charge of the booth. Mike Buderus and Eileen Hendee completed the application for the 9 Health Fair. At this point, all booths are spoken for but letters are sent to participants at the end of January. Eileen will be notified if new booths will be available. The Senior Advisory Board might be able to share a booth with Saint who has a booth. 3. Chili Cook Off - John Roberts reported that the Senior Advisory Board will enter the Chili Cook Off on Sunday, October 13`h. All Board members are expected to participate. Kristen Glenn's recipe will be used. Costumes and themes are being considered and will be announced at the September meeting. Duties will also be assigned at the September meeting. 4. Liaison with Los Ancianos - Mike Buderus met with Mayor Martinez. The Mayor has suggested that the Board consider meeting at the Northside Atzlan Community Center. 5. City Plan — John Roberts reported that City Plan is available for review. 6. Affordable Housing - Mike Buderus attended the August 1, 2002 meeting. Discussion centered on housing and parking at the downtown senior housing (Northern Hotel). Parking is not adequate and only 50% of the units are leased. Some leases may be expiring soon and there are concerns that not all leases will be renewed. B. Vote on By -Laws The committee met to review concerns expressed at the last meeting but did not believe fiuther revision to be necessary. Therefore, the proposed changes stand as presented the previous month. Dianne Heath made a motion to accept the by-law revision as proposed. Darren Gunn second the motion. The motion approved with nine (9) in favor and one (1) opposed. C. Vehicle Repair Scholarship — Kristen Glenn reported on the research she has done to date regarding car maintenance/emissions assistance for seniors. She contacted Nancy York with the Air Quality Board and Lucinda Smith with the City of Fort Collins Natural Resources. There used to be a pilot program funded by both federal and local monies that gave lower income individuals up to $400 toward car maintenance. This program has run out of funds. Now options include: A. Involvement in Project Self -Sufficiency. Client must be very committed to the program. Can receive free labor, client pays for parts. B. Emission waivers for anyone who fails emissions test. They can receive a waiver for the next emission cycle after $200 worth of valid repair on the car. There are low-income waivers with no repairs costs required. This waiver is good for one emissions cycle. C. Some garages will offer discounts on car maintenance. This is done on a case by case basis. D. CSU has been applying for grant money but has had no luck yet. E. For the past four years the City has sponsored a car care event usually in the fall at the mall. Local mechanics complete a free 30-point vehicle inspection. Mainly seniors have attended this event. Kristen noted that this event may be sponsored by Triad in the fall. Natural Resource Board members Kelly Olson and Bonnie Pierce were contacted. Both reports that their Board is not currently involved in any reduced priced car repair programs. Larimer County Manpower agency reports that they do not offer any reduced prices for car repairs, emissions, etc. Kristen attempted to contact Front Range Community College. Although several messages were left with the auto department, there was no reply. VIII. Liaison Reports: ■ Larimer County Senior Network — Mike Buderus reported that attorney Doug Dumler spoke at the July meeting on long term care planning and what it takes to qualify for Medicaid. August 0 meeting topic was Caregiving/Elder Care Network. • Commission on Status of Women —Dianne Heath introduced guest from the Commission on the Status of Women, Kristin Chatnani. The Commission will be cooperating with the Senior Advisory Board on projects pertaining to the needs of the older woman. The first project will be to work together on a "Lucy" booth at Grandparents Day at the Senior Center. They will be asking women what issues and concerns that are pertinent to them now, and what issues should the groups be passing on to Council. Each respondent will be paid for their "2 cents" worth. They also discussed how to develop a series to present to the Coloradoan on older women in the community. ■ Transportation — Florence Williams reported on August 27, 2002 the City Council will discuss whether to list the tax proposals as one ballot item or as separate items —'/ % sales & use tax and 1 % construction excise tax. Current target date for creating rural transportation authority is November 2003. Project is going slowly in order to take a well thought out program to the public. Johnstown planning commission has unanimously rejected Interstate 25-corridor plan. The plan will continue with or without Johnstown. • Senior Center — Staff continues to monitor budget very carefully due to sales tax and use tax collections not meeting expectation. Recreation contingency is being used primarily to repair City Park pool. Senior Center Council paid for MU2 and MU3 floor refinishing with bake sale proceeds from the past two years. The Senior Center will be sponsoring Grandparents Day again this year. The event will be held Sunday, September 8. Cemetery Crawl will be held on Saturday, September 21 at Grandview Cemetery with performances at 10:00 A.M. and 1:30 P.M. Tickets are $6.00 each. Bridal Show will be held at the Senior Center on Sunday, September 15. AARP — Jim Downey reported that the next meeting of the local AARP will be Thursday, September 19, 2002 at 9:15 a.m. at the Fort Collins Senior Center. The topic will be grandparents. Meetings are at no cost and open to the public. Planning continues for the annual AARP conference in October. This year the conference will be held on October 17, all day, free breakfast and lunch, entitled "Brighten Your Golden Years". The keynote speaker is Sonny Lubick, CSU's head football coach. ASPEN CLUB — Eileen Hendee reported that Aspen Club has received a small grant from the Office on Aging to offer medication management programs. They will be holding brown bag reviews with pharmacists, educational sessions, medication management aides such as pillboxes, etc. will be available. Programs will be held in Loveland, Estes Park and Fort Collins. LCOOA — Jim Downey reported that the Eldercare Network website was discussed. "Embrace Aging" conferences have been temporarily shelved due to low levels of participation (20 to 30 attendees). Loveland's "Celebrate Life" programs at the Chilson Center have been well attended. "First Call" is working with eight (8) counties in the Norther Region in developing the 211 information line which will be ready by early winter. Katy Mason is still taking some calls pertaining to caregiving. "First Call" started August 1. Call volume is very low and they are experiencing some difficulty in transferring calls. Marketing the service is underway. At a recent City Council meeting the Fort Collins Senior Advisory Board was not represented when transportation was being discussed. Someone present said in effect, "Get seniors off of Dial -A -Ride." The "Services Guide for Older Adults" is being updated. Stacy Duenwaid is taking Kay Mason's place as head of the "Caregiver Initiative." OOA is developing packets for caregivers. Needs are increasing but state funding is decreasing. PBS special, October 9, channel 6, on "Care Giving". People are spending their money to stay in their houses. Houses need some modifications to facilitate people staying in their homes. Job fair tentatively scheduled October 30, 2002 at the Chilson Center. LCOOA is developing a speaker's bureau. Advocates for Senior Attainable Housing need to become involved early in the review process. Efforts are underway to find 2 builders who would design and build senior affordable houses which incorporate universal design suggestions as well as other changes. Some building code changes may be required. TRIAD — As reported above. The Executive meeting will be held August 26 h at 4:00 P.M. Next meeting will be Wednesday, September 11`h at 1:30 P.M. Meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m. Karen BrynerjRecording Secretary