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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSenior Advisory Board - Minutes - 05/09/2001E E CITY OF FORT COLLINS SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES: MEETING OF May 9, 2001 Chairperson — John Roberts, 223-9317 Staff Liaison — Barbara Schoenberger — 224-6026 City Council Liaison — Ray Martinez, Mayor — 221-6506 Chairperson — John Roberts Attendance: Staff: George Kress Eileen Hendee Florence Williams Erik Margolis Kristin Glenn John Roberts Maxine Yankey Darren Gunn Dorothy Miller James Downey Barbara Schoenberger Karen Bryner Guest: Cheryl Smith, Larimer County DHS Citizen Participation: Marjorie McTaggart Absent: June Tucker 1. Call Meeting to Order: John Roberts called the meeting to order at 2p.m. 2. Citizen Participation — Marjorie McTaggart reported that Prime Time, a Coloradoan monthly column, is discontinued. The Senior Advisory Board was very involved in starting regular columns that reported items of interest for and about seniors. Marjorie's remarks were from SALT/TRIAD, an organization that brings safety agencies and seniors together. She reported that in order to provide better safety services that duplicated street names are to be blocked. They are also working on a project to provide porch light "emergency" flashers for seniors. This is a light placed on the front of a house. When an emergency arises, a switch from the inside is flipped and the light on the outside starts flashing. This allows the emergency equipment to find the house quicker. RSVP Handyman is ready to install the lights but need sponsors to help with costs. Senior Advisory Board is asked to spread the word. 3. Presentation by Cheryl Smith, Director of Adult Services, Larimer County: The goal of this agency is to pull various services together and make services more effective. Help for filling out application forms, which is very overwhelming, is offered. 4. Correspondence: A. Human Relations Breakfast: John represented the Senior Advisory Board. Los Ancianos, our nominee for the organization award, won the Human Relations Commissions Award. B. City Council Assignments: Received a letter from City Council. Mayor will remain the Senior Advisory Board liaison. C. Eldercare Network: John and Barbara attended the reception, approximately 80 people attended. It was a very nice function and lots of contacts were made. The Eldercare Network combines the resources of many individuals, organizations, and agencies in the community to provide support and assistance to seniors and their families. D. Air Quality Review: The Senior Advisory Board received an Air Quality Review pamphlet telling of all the changes to Fort Collins and what we should expect. Air Quality is improved in Fort Collins. E. Letter from John Fishback expressing his appreciation for the letter sent from the Senior Advisory Board with budget recommendations for the 2002/03, City budget identifying senior needs. F. Columbine work shops: Columbine Health Services is offering a variety of family education classes held on the 2"d Wednesday of each month from 7p.m. to 8:30p.m. G. Chamber Choral will be doing a benefit concert with all proceeds going to Gateway. The concert will be Sunday evening, May 13 at St. Joseph. H. Columbine Care Center East is hosting a number of Nursing Home Week functions including an event on Thursday, May 16, at which the Soap Tones will be featured. Senior Advisory Board is invited to attend. 4. Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the last meeting were unanimously approved with the following corrections Maxine Yankey's name was not on attendance. It was stated that Four Seasons was enlarging in order to care for a greater number of residents, it should have read the Fort Collins Health Center. 5. New Business A. Attendance Policy review: In the Boards & Commission manual which was distributed to all members this year, it reads that either of the following would cause an automatic termination: 3 consecutive absences or 4 absences in a calendar year. B. Nomination of officers: Executive Board met and nominated officers for the next term which is July 1, 2001 —June 30, 2002. A vote will be held next meeting. Nominees are: Secretary - Eileen Hendee Vice Chair — Maxine Yankey Chair — John Roberts C. Review of Work Plan for 2001. The Work Plan should be the outline for goals for the current year. Does it meet the needs of the senior community? "Prime Time" has been cut. Members are encouraged to write letters to the editor. It was suggested that the Senior Advisory Board does not accomplish as much as they should. Erik suggested that the whole Board needs to get more involved other than just the 2 hrs. a month. Many suggestions are made to the Board but not listened to. Members need to follow up on transportion and leisure service issues and make sure that Council is making good decisions. Anyone that has a strong idea for Work Plan please see John, George or Barbara within the next 2 weeks. We should develop a profile of seniors in Fort Collins indicating income, age, and need. D. Suggested that Steve Budner make a presentation at the June meeting regarding senior leisure activities & future impacts. E. Kay — Transportation plan is on the next agenda of the City Council (May 16). The Senior Advisory Board will submit a letter for consideration, see "A", Old Business. 6. Old Business: A. Strategic Transportation Plan: To be submitted this week to City Council. B. 2002-2003 City Budget. We submitted letter to City Council. Response was received. See 3A C. Eldercare Reception see 4C D. Centenarian Tea is May 18`h at 1:30p.m. Everyone is asked to volunteer to be host/hostesses and needs to be at the Senior Center at 12:30p.m. to assist. E. Senior Network Luncheon - Sept. 28`s Hosts for this event are the Senior Advisory Board. 7. Other Business/Liaison Reports: A. Transportation - Flo Williams - The new fiber optic traffic signal management system will require 3 years for implementation with plans for pulling the cable through the conduct already laid between downtown College & Harmony, in late summer or early fall, according to the City Traffic Operations Director. North Front Range Transportation & Air Quality Planning Council members have decided to ask voters in November 2002 if they would support a Rural Transportation Authority. It would be capable of raising enough money for large transportation projects as well as smaller ones: further details attached. Final draft of I-25 Corridor Study delayed due to concerned Johnstown property owners, an effort to gather more public information, and the addition of newly elected officials say those working on Regional Planning Document I. B. OOA —. The OOA Transportation Committee met with Dial A Ride staff. At this point, there will be no attempt to exclude seniors from the service but Kay cautioned the SAB to keep an eye on any move to require that everyone certify ADA. C. RSVP — The RSVP event "I Remember Mama" will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall, on May 13, 2001; tickets are $10.00. This brunch honors elderly ladies who have no family in the area. • The Foster Grandparent program has a new coordinator, Janet Fisher. • The Income Tax volunteers counseled 1,062 Larimer County senior residents during this past tax season. • The Handyman program will be helping to install the "911 flasher lights" for seniors. (see Marjorie McTaggarts presentation #2) D. Friends of the Senior Center — Cemetery Crawl will be Saturday June 23`d at I Oa.m. and 2p.m. at Grandview Cemetery E. City Line no messages F. Senior Center membership, Barbara invited all eligible Senior Advisory Board mempers to join. G. Aspen Club - "Health Wise for Life" books are being purchased and will be given to Parish Nurses. A lot of people will be reached who wouldn't otherwise. Channel 9 Health Care Fair serviced 1800 people, of which the majority were not seniors. H. Maxine Yankey volunteered to attend the next City Council meeting to address transportation concerns. I. John reported that the recent SOAP show was fantastic. J. Mardi Gras — Darren Gunn reported that the Mardi Gras committee has decided to do a variety of different things for next year's Mardi Gras. K. The next Senior Advisory Board meeting will be June 13, 2001 at 2:30p.m. Upcoming Events: New West Fest — August 18' and 19th Cemetery Crawl — June 23 at I Oa.m. and 2p.m. Bridging the Gap Luncheon — September 28 from 1 Ia.m. — 2p.m. 8. t Adjournment at 3:55p.m. Z/GGU-4C, Karen Bryne�ing Secretary and Recreational Division / Fort Collins Senior City of Fort Collins CITY OF FORT COLLINS SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD DT: May 11, 2001 TO: Fort Collins City Council FR: Mr. Ray Martinez, Mayor and City Council Liaison to the Senior Advisory Board RE: Reaction and Input to the 2001 Transfort Strategic Plan The Senior Advisory Board has specifically discussed the Transfort Strategic Plan at our monthly Board Meetings in March, April, and May 2001. Additionally, we have members of our Board who serve in liaison to the Transportation Board and we receive monthly reports and information on transportation issues. A focus on the provision and maintenance of adequate public transportation for senior residents in the Fort Collins area has been one of the hallmarks of the Senior Advisory Board's annual Work Plan for the past several years. Current services are generally inadequate. Transfort routes have changed periodically, making "regular" usage difficult over periods of time. Dial -a -Ride is expensive and often unavailable to Seniors. SAINT does provide a good alternative, but is not as flexible as it might be (three days pre -booking for rides is requested), is not always available since funding is limited and drivers are "volunteers," and does not operate in the late afternoons or evenings after 4 p.m. In planning for adequate and citizen -serving public transportation and in determining the appropriate mix of current and future coverage and productivity, the City Council should carefully review recent 2001 US Census data for our area. Fort Collins' population (excluding Colorado State University) has now surpassed 118,000 persons. More than 20,000 of these citizens are over the age of 55 years. More than 16% of our city's households are headed by citizens over 65 years of age. These are current and potential prime users of public transportation. Many of our oldest citizens live in old town. Nearly 13% of our Seniors live below the absolute poverty level. Of all senior citizens in Fort Collins, 14% are reported as using some form of public transportation, yet more than 20% of our senior citizens are reported as needing public transportation ... this represents a current 30% unmet need of senior users who must be factored into the Strategic Plan. While costs for funding transportation continue to rise, so do many other costs, notably heating, utilities, fuel, property taxes, etc. Meanwhile, most Seniors subsist on marginal fixed incomes. In determining the productivity/coverage mix, we urge the City Council not to forget senior needs in creating a "user-friendly" transportation plan. Composition of routes under any of the four "scenarios" should consider where Seniors live and to maximize and optimize their usage and service delivery. An expansion of public funding and services through SAINT (Senior Alternatives in Transportation) should also be proposed, either as an option to senior use of Transfort or as a viable complement. We should continue the present policy to make paratransit services available to our elderly. Thanks for seeking our input into the continuing development and future implementation of the Transfort Strategic Plan. Our interest and concerns are resolute and up -front. We would be pleased to provide additional and continuing ideas and guidance as the City proceeds. Sincerely, John E. Roberts, Chairman Senior Advisory Board CC: John Fischback, City Manager Fort Collins Transportation Board RECREATION -it's for life! 1200 Raintree Drive • Fort Collins, CO 80526 • (970) 221-6644 �ZZ ' ZS ZL Z Z2 ZZ ZL •O_ _ - -AN _ _ _As � °a ca o Cf C� o ov; Cv Gd - � ♦ � A o J e o J e a a c c v J o Oa J J o J J e a w O 9 i Z 6 .y y y m 0 0 o J c o o a vo Oq a C � :22 Z2 -zz -i 5 _ _Z _Z 'f J a .r a Saf z. - In p K n -I n 3 O • �� : � F p Vl Z 2: x � O ^ s _ _ Ay ^ ' l] y P T P O J c t 7 .. � OR °1 A b J J J o e O d O a 3 m p as 7 • y S A v y y y W W W J J J O C o OG 6 C y U U U e p c O O O c c c II N N N c O c Commentary Sunday, March 25, 2001 Editorial page editor. Kathleen Duff, 224-7733 • Fort Collins Coloradoan PAGE B5 E-mail: FortOpinion@aol.com Community must address mental health issues for elderly The Poudre Health Services District has published an excel- lent review of mental healthand substance abuse services in Lorimer County. The report ought to be read by every county resident who claims to take citizenship serious- ly.It is available on the Internet at www.healthdistriccorg/mental health Let me register one concern about this report. There is virtu- ally no consideration of the mental health needs ofthe elder- ly. This may seem a rather spe- cialized concern, but I would ar- gue otherwise. First, all of. who do not suf- fer the alternative will eventual- ly become old. Second, the pro- portion of the elderly among the Latimer County population is increasing —partly because of a national demographic trend and partly because we are a well- known "retirement destination." Third, the mental health needs of seniors tend to be ignored or dismissed by even a large part of the professional community. Did you know, for instance, that in Lorimer County (which has a higher suicide rate than the country at large), nearly 20 per- cent of the suicides last year were by men older than 69 That, nationally, the risk of sui- cide among that population co - hurt is greater than the risk for teen-agers or of any other demo- graphic cohort? The psychiatric needs of sen- iors are sometimes assumed to be subsumed under the heading of Alzheimees disease — what we used to call "wrility." But oldc:people suffer a: ariety of psychiatric disorders depression af- ter surgery; depression af- ter multiple /C. losses; condi- tions never recognized in Al earlier years and so st1B no - Heath treated, such Soapbox as manic-de- pressive disor- der; chronic conditions such as schizophre- nia; conditions growing ever more dysfunctional with age, such as obsessive -compulsive disorder. The list emends to the complete spectrum of psychi- atric disorders. More fortunately than mmt of us know, our community v blessed with resources —yet these resources seem almost in- visible. The health district m- port. in its genuine attempt to review the range of local servic- es, makes no significant men- tion of mental health or psychi- atric services for the elderly. One of two brief references even in the ballpark merely re- peats current prejudice: "elder- ly/demenda." The community should know the name of Ruth Burns Bransecmb, the nurse at Moun- tain Crest Hospital, who is one of a very small handful of people who spearheaded psychiatric services for seniors some 10 years ago in this community. The community should know the name of Dr. Cliff Zeller, who I believe is the one physician in —imer County certified in geropsychiatry. The community should know the name of Dr. Kathleen Lauren — a neuropsychologist who as- sembled testing protocols spe- cific for the geriatric population — now an expert in providing evaluations pertinent to the de- termination of competency. The community should know the name of John Tracy, a social worker at Lorimer Center for Mental Health, who for two years has been doggedly at- tempting to knit a senior service community together in a'Senior Mental Health Consortium." The community should know the names of Bonnie Shetler, a counseling psychologist, and Nancy MCCambridge Driscoll of Consultants for Aging Families, and of their colleagues in the EI- derCare Network, who have counseled not only many older people but also their "sandwich generation" children —so often the grown daughters entering the complex emotional territory of becoming parents to their parents. The community should know, the name ofCandace Salk Coop- er, a dynamic administrator bringing new order and new en- ergy to the geropsychiatric pro- gram at Fort Collins Health Care. I am approaching — indeed imploring — the Poudre Health Services District to recognize the extent and 'importance of these and other providers of es- sential mental health services. The needs of our oldest gen- eration should be neither neg- lected nor ignored. Al Heath lives in Fort Collins.