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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSenior Advisory Board - Minutes - 10/11/1995SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD Minutes of the October 11, 1995 Meeting CALL TO ORDER The October meeting of the Senior Advisory Board was called to order by Chair Kay Rios at 2:06 P. M. on Wednesday, October 11, in the Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Drive, Fort Collins. A quorum was present. ATTENDANCE Members Kay Rios, chair Yvonne Myers, vice chair Stan Ulrich, secretary Jane Goodhart Ed Johnson Marjorie McTaggart Wayne Moellenberg Mary Alice Spelts Jill Taylor Fran Ward Blanche Yakmas CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Staff Barbara Schoenberger, SAB Representative Guest Anna Shiver, Jill's intern Members Absent None Liaison Ann Azari (absent) No one wished to speak before the Senior Advisory Board. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Stan stated that he had misspelled proposed on Page 2 in the third paragaph, sixth line. It should read "proposed." Marjorie pointed out that the words "as a private citizen" should be'inserted between writen and to in the first line under the topic Letter to Frank Bruno on Page 3. Wayne then moved that the minutes be approved as amended. Ed seconded the motion and it carried. OLD BUSINESS Housing Authority Response to Letter. Kay stated that she had met with Shelley Stephens, director of the Fort Collins Housing Authority, as a follow—up to the letter that she had written. They discussed the contents of the letter, and Shelley suggested that the SAB members should visit one of the HA's affordable housing projects. The members could then talk with the residents and find out about other projects and future plans of the Housing Authority. Shelley also recommended the SAB members should attend the Zoning Board meeting on October 23, and show support for the annexation of the Summit View site as a mobile home park. If members can't attend, they could write letters in support of the annexation. The vacancy factor for mobile homes is now zero, but there is still a lot of opposition to trailer parks. After some discussion, Marjorie moved that Kay should write a letter in which she would outline the SAB's views on affordable housing for seniors and the SAB's support for the establishment of a mobile home park in the Summit View area. Stan seconded the motion and it passed.. Page 2, SAB Minutes, C ober 11, 1995 Evaluation of Senior Network Luncheon. The luncheon was a huge suc- cess, Kay stated, but some minor changes will be recommended for next year. The violin music, for example, was distracting and inhibited conversation. Yvonne thought the time frame was too long because some left when the dessert was served. Jane suggested that a cutoff date should be established to prevent a shortage of food. She also thought that the menu should be printed ahead of time because some were disappointed that no entree was served. Kay added that 70 more persons attended than had reservations. Yvonne added that she had heard comments that the facilitators at some tables were too quiet, and she suggested that the facilitators should be given topics to discuss at future luncheons_ The final comment about the luncheon was that each member should get a summary of the evaluations. Paint-A-Thon. In response to Stan's letter, Mark Gallegos, chair, Colorado Paint-A-Thon, called Stan and talked about five points: (1) the state Paint-A-Thon does not prohibit mobile homes from being considered for painting because that is strictly a sponsor's prerogative; (2) his committee will collaborate with the First National Bank and inform it that another sponsor will be conducting another Paint-A-Thon to pick up those who had "fallen between the cracks"; (3) he would not interfere with the First National Bank's public relations program, but he would not object to another group conducting a separate public relations program; (4) he would welcome another entity to help identify homes that need painting and (5) if we are willing to sponsor another Paint-A-Thon in Larimer County, his committee would be willing to furnish the paint and the training. In the discussion that followed, Yvonne said that she would contact Norwest Bank to see if it would be willing to sponsor a supplementary Paint-A-Thon. Pathways Column. Kay announced that she had written the first article for Pathways and reminded Jill, Yvonne and Wayne that they will be writing the next three articles. Mall Transportation Update. Fran distributed a rough draft of a letter that she will write to the director of Foothills Fashion Mall and asked for comments. After a short discussion and a few minor suggested revisions, Blanche moved that Fran be authorized to write the letter to the administrator of the mall. Marjorie seconded the motion and it carried. Evaluation of the Vet Pet Program to attend the meeting because she the evaluation of the pet program November agenda. Since Jennifer Klink was unable was working at the People Fair, item will be included on the Outreach Meeting. Kay reported that she had talked with the officials of the trailer park at 1601 North College, and they suggested that the SAB members might want to attend one of the neighborhood potluck dinners instead of a board meeting. The SAB members would be able to meet more residents that way. The next potluck is scheduled on November 18, a Saturday. The concensus of the SAB was that a Satur- day night would not be a very good time to attend an outreach meet- ing, and Kay _then stated that she would pursue the possibility of attending a morning coffee instead. NEW BUSINESS Page 3, SAB Minut* October 11, 1995 • Distribution of Manals. Barbara distributed the latest issue of the city manuals anud asked each one to remove the old one from the notebook and replace it with the new version. Blanche Yakmas's name and address were included to bring the information up to date. Election of Officers. Kay reminded the SAB members that the election of officers will take place in December and that a Nominating Com- mittee will be elected at the next meeting. That committee, in turn, will present a slate of officers to the Board for a vote in December. Ed, Jill and Wayne volunteered to serve on the committee, but the vote to approve the committee will be taken in the November meeting. The newly elected officers in December will take office in January, 1996. Work Plan for 1996. The Executive Committee, composed of Kay, Yvonne, Stan and Barbara, had met on October 10 to compile a work plan for 1996. The committee had discussed six areas of concern: outreach, advocacy, communication, coordination, education and the quality of life. After presenting an overview of the Executive Committee's deliberations, Kay asked the members to comment, revise, add or delete any, or all, of the suggestions. Each one was discussed separately. Outreach: The SAB agreed to participate in four outreach programs during the year: a gerontology class, the Aspen Club, Housing Authority sites and the Park Lane Towers. In addition, they agreed to set up booths at New West Fest, the Healthy Senior Expo and a community booth in the mall in July. Advocacy: The consensus of the Board was to take an active part in the health care access problem and to solicit infor- mation on existing programs, services and activities and to provide evaluation and support as appropriate on an ongoing basis. Communication: After a prolonged discussion, the Board agreed to consider these activities: (1) work with the Fort Collins Coloradoan to revive interest in Prime Time Plus, (2) look for sponsors for Seniors Airborne to cover remote expenses to broadcast from the Senior Center and (3) invite the following speakers to future SAB meetings: a para-transit official in January; Shelley Stephens, Housing Authority, in February; Carol Matheis-Kraft, NOROL (Aging Issues) in March; Carol Plock, executive director, Hospital District Board, in April; and a Paint-A-Thon representative in May. Coordination: the Board agreed to work in three major areas to improve coordination: host the annual "Bridging the Gaps" Network Luncheon, provide participant listings at the luncheon and updates six months later and expand, and create new, liaison positions with key senior agencies and organizations in the city. Education: Although many aspects were discussed, the Board agreed Page 4, SAB Minutes, tober 11, 1995 that it should concentrate on three areas: (1) write articles on age discrimination for the local media, (2) initiate plans for a forum on aging and (3) solicit radio program opportunities for speakers on age discrimination. Quality of Life: The consensus of the Board was to consider five areas as top priorities for 1996: (1) take an active role in providing affordable housing, (2) apply for additional funding for the Vet Pet Program and seek funding to establish a volunteer pet care facility, (3) work with other agencies to establish a volunteer credit program, (4) solicit support from computer - based companies to establish a computer learning program at the Senior Center and (5) maintain close ties with the Senior Employment Service. After the discussion of the work plan, Kay added that it doesn't have to be submitted to the city before November 30.. That means that the Board will be able to review it one more time to make additions or deletions before taking a vote on it. SERVICE REPORTS RSVP. Jill reported that since Care -A -Van will be closing its doors on December 31, RSVP is now looking for a new sponsor. Aspen Club. The Aspen Club is still continuing to grow, Jill stated, and it is getting all of its fall programs back into operation and especially the flu shot program. City Council. Ed stated that City Council has not been considering many items that concern seniors lately. Seniors Airborne. Kay reported that she had hosted the last broad- cast of Seniors Airborne and that Linda Nielson was her guest. She added that Stu Haskell is no longer with the station, but she was assured by the new director of the station that Seniors Airborne will not be cancelled. She added that she is also seeking sponsors to make remote broadcasts from the Senior Center. John Pfeiffen- berger will be hosting the next broadcast. Friends of the Senior Center. Kay reported that the Chili Cook -Off had been held the Saturday before the meeting, and it proved to be a successful fund-raiser. In addition, she had won third prize in the Green Chili category and third in People's Choice. Barbara added that when all receipts are in, the Chili Cook -Off should net about $1,400. She also mentioned that Kay will meet with the com- mittee next week to plan next year's cook -off. The Friends also sponsored another activity, a Chinese auction, Barbara reported. It was held on September 29, and was also very successful. About two hundred items had been auctioned off, and the Friends should net about $1,000 from the event. The people who attended, she added, were pleased and said they would like to attend another one next year. r *.Page 5, SAB Minute *October 11, 1995 • The last announcement for the Friends was that the last Grand Open- ing event of the Senior Center is a Gala Celebration Night on Friday, October 20. Office on Aging. At the last meeting, ten new, or reappointed, members were introduced. Shelley McGraw talked about the energy assistance program and said that if anyone knows someone who needs assistance, he/she should contact Ayleen Burns. She added that the Senior Directory and Services Guide was at the printers and should be ready for the Network Luncheon. The Council also dis- cussed the demise of Care -A -Van and talked about possible solu- tions, but nothing concrete was decided upon at that time. The Nutrution, Transportation, Health and Counseling Committees had all completed their site visitations and filed their reports with Shelley. Ayleen Burns announced that Living Centers of America had opted not to sponsor Senior Living Options in 1996 and that the Office on Aging had devised a temporary list of housing facilities until someone will take over that job permanently. Lyn Thor announced that Linda Ellis had resigned as director of the Chuckwagon Program to assume the directorship of RSVP. Ginny Riley announced that the Local Health and Human Services Restructuring Committee had come to a decision on what should be done and determined what the costs would be, and the results will be available soon. Ginny also announced that the plan to merge the Department of Social Services and the Department of Human Development should be completed by October 1. The last item mentioned was that the Office on Aging will be conducting a joint meeting with the SAB on Thursday, October 12. Dial -A -Ride. Kay had nothing new to report about Dial -A -Ride. Barbara added, however, that the Dial -A -Ride Advisory Council that had been formed just a few months ago is no longer operative. Senior Center Council. Mary Alice Spelts stated that much of the Senior Center Council business had already been discussed and she didn't have more to add. OPEN DISCUSSION Barbara stated that the SAB needs to take a group picture, and that John Pfeiffenberger will come at any time that is convenient for the Board. The majority agreed that it should be taken at the next meeting on Wednesday, November 8, at the beginning of the meeting. Jill introduced her new intern, Judy Gillespie. Marjorie mentioned that the SAB flyers need to be redone. In addi- tion, the two new objectives that had been added in the revised bylaws need to be included. Fran announced that Senior Singles will be meeting in Rooms 2 and 3 in just 48 minutes from now. Wayne Sundberg will be presenting the program and she encouraged the SAB members to stay if they can. She added that she would like to be on the SAB agenda for the next meeting. Page 6, SAB Minutes, sober 11, 1995 Kay reported that Arthur Corey had contacted her to make her aware that four alternative candidates to the coalition slate that is running in the Poudre School District Rl School Board election are also on the ballot. Arthur told Kay that the alternative candidates would be willing to speak before any groups. ADJOURNMENT Since there was no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 4:13 P. M., just 47 minutes before the scheduled Senior Singles meeting, and counting! tan Ulrich, secretary Kay Rios, chair Approve E A Commitment To Progress r_ sees sees LARIMER COUNTY COLORADC October 5, 1995 Kay Rios 160 Circle Dr. Ft. Collins, CO 80524 Dear Kay, Department of Human Development Ginny Riley, Executive Director 1525 Blue Spruce Drive Fort Collins, Colorado 80524 (970) 498.6800 Enclosed is an Evaluation Summary of the `Bridging the Gap" Network Luncheon. Overall, I believe it was a great success and providers felt it was well worth their time. There were several people who indicated that they would be happy to help next year. There were suggestions that we hold the luncheon perhaps in Loveland. What do you think? We only have about 300 senior guides left! There was a huge demand and I wish we could have printed more. We are looking for a corporate sponsor so we can print more copies. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. It was a pleasure to work with you on the Luncheon, Kay. I look forward to working with you and the Senior Advisory Board in 1996. Hope the job is getting better and your finding time to RELAX.. Best Regards, Shelley 61 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS John Clarke Janet Duvall Jim Disney District I District 11 District III K' SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD Suggestions to Improve the Senior Network Luncheon 1. Eliminate the violin music and pipe in some background music instead. The music inhibited conversation at the tables. 2. Cut down on the length of the luncheon. Many people cannot be absent from their businesses from 11:00 A. M. until 2:00 P. M. 3. The menu should be published before the luncheon to prevent surprises. Some of those who attended were disappointed that no entree was served. 4. A cutoff date for reservations should be set and honored to prevent a shortage of food when many unexpected guests show up. 5. Facilitators should be provided with topics to discuss to ensure an exchange of ideas at every table. A training session for the facilitators would be better yet. 6. A summary of the evaluations should be made available to members of the SAB. BRIDGING THE GAP SENIOR NETWORK LUNCHEON :. . Evaluations Summary September 27, 1995 53 evaluations returned Question MI Location. All responses were positive, except for two in which they said the acoustics were very bad. One of these respondents suggested a reserved area nearing the meeting convener for the hearing impaired. One person made it her responsibility to come earlier next year "to avoid the parking crunch." Three respondents suggested rotating locations. And suggested Loveland--Chilson Senior Center. (one person). Questions ##2 Success of the event, whether or not it was worth their time, and networking opportunities. All but two responses were positive in answer to the questions about the success of the event and worth their time. One of the negative responses said it started a half hour late, the other said the table did not fill up, difficult to talk when in lunch line and many at the table left early. Two of the positive responses thought the event was too long. All responses about nerworking opportunities were positive. Four people said they had "some" opportunities --one said, but not enough; one suggested less entertainment to allow more time for networking. Among the more positive responses, one said it was a good idea to change tables; another said it was useful to have materials from the various agencies. Question 43 Suggestions for neat year: The most frequent responses were: l) about the food --food served wasn't substantial enough. (9 responses) 2) about the organization of serving the lunch --these respondents felt it was disorganized and confusing way to serve a large group. They provided various suggestions about how to overcome this the next time, including having it served to the tables; staggered serving times; two serving lines. (7 responses) 3) about the background music during lunch —these respondents thought the violin music made it difficult to hear people's conversations a their table. (4 responses) 4) various suggestions about how to allow more networking, such as: --change more; more time before lunch to network; drawing table numbers a good idea; network first before lunch and program; limit seating to max. of 6 at table. FORT COLLINS SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD 1996 WORK PLAN OUT REACH ■ Hold four special meetings in the community for the express purpose of introducing the board to seniors and hearing their concerns and needs. 1) Parklane Towers (1st quarter) 2) CSU gerontology class at the Senior Center (2nd quarter) 3) Housing Authority Sites (3rd quarter) 4) Aspen Supper Club (4th Quarter) ■ Be visible in the community through the use of information booths at events: 1) Healthy Senior Expo in May 2) Community Booth at the Mall in July 3) New West Fest in August ADVOCACY ■ Take an active role in helping to provide affordable low-income housing by working with the Fort Collins Housing Authority and lobbying appropriate entities for support. ■ On an ongoing basis, solicit information on existing programs, service and activities, provide evaluation and support as appropriate. ■ Monitor para-transit program possibilities and continue to serve on any ad - hoc committee created for this purpose. ■ Take an active role in seeking solutions to healthcare access problems. COMMUNICATION ■ Work with the Fort Collins Coloradoan to revive interest in Prime Time Plus. ■ Look for sponsors for Seniors Airborne to cover remote expenses so that programs can be aired at the Senior Center. ■ Invite a variety of speakers to present at SAB meetings to keep members current on emerging issues including: 1) Para -transit representative (January) 2) Shelly Stephens — Housing Authority (February) 3) Carol Matheis-Kraft — NOROL on Aging Issues (March) 4) Carol Plock — PVH District Board Executive Director (April) COORDINATION ■ Host the annual 'Bridging the Gaps" Network luncheon, drawing together both public and private entities which serve or are made up of seniors in the area. ■ Provide participant listings at Network Luncheon and follow up in six months with an updated, expanded version (SAGENET). ■ Maintain existing and create new liaison position with key senior agencies/organizations. EDUCATION ■ Write articles to dispell myths on aging for local media. ■ Initiate plans for a forum on aging. ■ Solicit radio program opportunities for speakers on age discrimination. OUALIW OF LIFE ■ Apply for additional funding for the VetPet well -care program. ■ Seek funding for sick pet care and establish program. w Work with other agencies to establish a volunteer credit program. ■ Solicit support from computer based companies to establish a computer learning program at the Fort Collins Senior Center. Mayor October 16, 1995 Dear Board or Commission Member: We need your help! You are probably aware of the community visioning process called City Dialogue. Through this process the community has helped us build the agenda that will set the course for our future. City Dialogue is about begin it's second round of community forums, November 1 - 4. The key to the success of these forums is the help we receive from the many citizen facilitators. For these forums, we are looking to use 20 to 30 citizen facilitators who will facilitate small groups of five to eight people. I would like you to consider being one of those facilitators. You have already demonstrated a commitment to the community; now I would like you to participate in one of the more important community dialogue processes Fort Collins has had. Out of City Dialogue will come a blueprint on the future of Fort Collins — from service improvements to policy changes to major capital projects. Your contribution to this process is critical to make it a reality. The investment of your time is small: a couple of hours for orientation and one or two three hour forums. The forums are simple ... and fun! I think you will find them very informative. If you can help us, please contact Brenda McCoy-Manfredo at 221-6528 or Steve VanderMeer at 221-6884. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Ann Azari Mayor P.S. If possible, please let us know by October 20 whether you can be a citizen facilitator. 300 LaPorte Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6505 • FAX (970) 224-6107 DATE: TO: FROM: RE: City Manager 'x October 17, 1995 Boards & Commissions Staff Support Steve VanderMeern City Dialogue Attached is a copy of a letter that went out yesterday to Boards and Commission members asking them to be a facilitator for City Dialogue. The next round of community forums is scheduled for November 1-4. The forums will work on solutions to the issues that emerged during the first round of forums last January. Distribution List Ken Waido, Advance Planning Brian Woodruff, Natural Resources Ellen Martin, Lincoln Center Mark Breimhorst, Lincoln Center Felix Lee, Building & Zoning Liz Stroh, ICS Pete Dallow, Admin. Services Blair Leist, Admin. Services Jackie Davis, Advance Planning Dave Siever, Lincoln Center Joy Poole, Museum Don Botteron, Light & Power Jerry P. Brown, CLRS Rochelle Stephens, Housing Auth. Gabe Serenyi, Human Resources Joe Frank, Advance Planning Linda Saferite, Library Sandy Gibson, Police Tom Shoemaker, Natural Resources Jackie Rael, CLRS Jaime Mares, Human Resources Bob Blanchard, Current Planning Barbara Schoenberger, Sr. Center Bob Smith, Stormwater Tom Frazier, Transportation Mike Smith, Water/Wastewater Molly Nortier, Water/Wastewater Peggy Bowers, Recreation Scott Gammon, Police Peter Barnes, Building & Zoning . 300 LaPorte Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6505 • FAX (970) 2-14-6107