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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSenior Advisory Board - Minutes - 07/09/2008CITY OF FORT COLLINS SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES Meeting held July 9, 2008 Fort Collins Senior Center 1200 Raintree Dr. Fort Collins, CO 80526 Chair — Marcia Richards — 970-223-8581 Staff Liaison — Barbara Schoenberger — 970-224-6026 City Council Liaison — Doug Hutchinson, Mayor — 970-221-6506 Attendance: Marcia Richards Anita Basham Cathy Martin Stan Ulrich Peggy McGough Kathy Schuster Excused Absence: Bud Herin Bob Phillips Valerie DiBenedetto Guests: Elaine Boni, Human Relations Committee Jean Helburg, Recreation Director Peggy Bowers, Senior Center Liaison: Douglas Hutchinson, Mayor Staff: Barbara Schoenberger Karen Bryner I. Call Meeting to Order The meeting was called to order by Chairperson, Marcia Richards, at 1:37 p.m. II. Attendance An attendance sheet was passed. III. Presentation - Jean Helburg, Recreation Director: Master Plan - Parks & Recreation As an educational tool, Jean Helburg gave the group a quiz about the recreational facilities in the city. This led to a discussion of the current and planned recreational opportunities for Fort Collins. Jean explained that when a housing development is approved, there is always land set aside for a park/recreation facility. It was noted that south side of the city lacks a recreation facility. IV. Public Participation - none V. Approval of Minutes — June 11, 2008 Stan Ulrich moved to accept the Minutes, as written; Cathy Martin seconded the motion. The motion carried. VI. Correspondence A. Anita Basham received an information pamphlet from Ensight Skills Center. B. Barbara Schoenberger received word that there is an applicant for the SAB board. The appointment will be finalized on July 15a' and the new member may attend the August SAB meeting. VII. Old Business A. Senior Center Expansion Committee report Peggy McGough reported that the 5016 status is now official so all monies collected for the expansion project will qualify as tax deductible. Having achieved this status, the committee is now in a position to apply for grants. Bob Phillips has had experience writing grants, and has volunteered to lead this effort. Marcia Richards asked if the funds from the "All American Picnic" will go towards the expansion project. Barbara Schoenberger explained that those funds are not to be used for the expansion. B. Liaison Reports • Sports Club -Anita Basham — The Sports Club will be honoring those people who participated in the summer games at their July meeting. • Senior Law Day -Cathy Martin — Senior Law Day will be held August 9, 2008 at CSU. Informative workshops in the a.m. and are free of charge. There is an optional $10.00 luncheon. Information and applications for this event, as well as brochures from the Elder Care Network of Larimer County were distributed. 0 Aspen Club - Marcia Richards —The Aspen Club membership continues to expand. • AARP - Stan Ulrich —The conference committee of AARP Chapter 759 has completed the program for the event which is scheduled for Thursday, October 10s. Invitations will be sent to AARP members and to many other seniors throughout the county. AARP Colorado has just completed it's wrap-up of the 2008 session. Each year, the Legislative Committee of AARP Colorado tabulates the voting records of legislators on bills that relate to senior issues. A copy of the published ratings for 2008 legislators was distributed. OOAAC — The Office on Aging Advisory Council elected new officers at the June meeting. Helen Davis (Chair) and Marcy Greenslit (Vice -Chair) will take office at the Thursday, July 10a' meeting. Standing committee assignments will be made at this meeting, as well. Committee Chairpersons will be selected at the committee meetings on Friday, July 18a'. The public Policy and Advocacy Committee chair received a petition from the Savings Account for Education; the petition that is circulating would clear up two of the contradictory articles in the constitution. If enough signatures are collected in time for the initiative to be placed on the ballot, the amendment proposed by SAFE would dedicate a permanent source of funding for K-12 education and it would protect the state schools from cuts during economic downturns. At the same time, the amendment would not increase tax rates and it would preserve the constitutional right to vote on taxes. The proposed amendment has the blessing of house speaker Andrew Romanoff. PRSEA: The Poudre Retired School Employees Association is in recess. TRIAD: The board did not met in June. RSVP — Kathy Schuster — RSVP recently hosted 2 parties honoring their volunteers. The events were a big success: well attended wonderful food, and a good time. Increased gas prices have triggered concern about a loss of volunteers in those programs which depend on drivers. RSVP is making an effort to monitor the routes so that the driving distance is minimized. To date, the number of volunteer drivers has not decreased because of the increased costs. July ls` is the beginning of a new fiscal year. RSVP's goal is to maintain the present level of services. Increased monies from the Office on Aging will help offset increased expenses for frozen meal delivery, congregate meals and caring companions programs. The Caring Companion program (respite care) has had a successful 1st year of operation. It has expanded with a pilot program in a single nursing home. The nursing home program is known as "Friendly Visitors". RSVP is presently looking for individuals to serve on an RSVP Advisory Council. This would involve a quarterly meeting, as well as possible committee work. Persons of all ages will be considered. If you know of anyone who might be interested, contact the RSVP office. UniverCity — A public hearing is scheduled for July 9 h at the Sr. Center on "An Environmental Assessment of Mason Corridor". Real estate developers, brokers & investors were given a bus tour of the Mason Economic Corridor (extending from Harmony to Cherry) on June 26th The River task force produced a new map of the Urban Cache La Poudre River. It is available at Chamber of Commerce, DDA, Beet Street Offices, Downtown Convention, and Visitor Bureau. The map includes history trails, wildlife, recreation and fishing information. Front Range Forum — PeRPv McGoueh —FRF will begin meeting next week. Fall programs have been planned and registration will be in August. The offerings include a program on Peru. Cemetery Stroll — This year will be a celebration of the 100`s year of the Cache La Poudre Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Music Festival/Chili Cook -Off — The event is scheduled for Sept. 21, 2008 Senior Center Web -Site — The web -site is being updated. United Way meeting at The Ranch — Peggy McGough attended the luncheon, having been nominated to receive the "Senior Volunteer" Award. C. Communication Report Stan Ulrich reported that the committee's plan to submit monthly articles to the media is meeting with success. In July, Marcia Richards, submitted an introductory article about SAB which was published in the "50+ Marketplace". Bud Herin, of the Expansion Committee, has suggested that Gretchen Gaede, of A - Train, (the marketing firm selected to spearhead the fund-raising campaign) be asked to write the article about the Senior Center Expansion for the August edition of "50+ Marketplace". D. Bridging the Gap Report There was no committee meeting in June. The event is September 26 h. E. SAB member attendance at City Council meeting report There were no SAB members who attended the Council meeting this month. F. Presentation for August SAB meeting — Suzanne Jarboe -Simpson, on behalf of the Women's Commission, has requested to attend the Aug. SAB meeting. The discussion will focus on issues of senior women. G. Picnic Following the conclusion of the regularly scheduled SAB meeting in August, the Board members and their guests are invited to a backyard picnic at the home of Anita Basham. The picnic is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The Executive Committee will provide hamburgers, buns, condiments, and soft drinks. Others are requested to bring a dish or dessert to share. Anita Basham will mail directions. RSVPs should be directed to Anita Basham. H. Evaluation of Outreach Meeting — The tour of the facility (LeMay Rehab) was very informative. Three evaluation forms were completed and the comments were positive. Public attendance was disappointing. VII. New Business Explore education about medical assistance program Board members agreed that the Medicare regulations and options are complex and difficult to understand. There are resources in the community that do Medicare counseling: i.e. the Office on Aging, the Aspen Club etc. Barbara Schoenberger pointed out that individuals do not take advantage of the resources until they find themselves in a crisis, and then it is very difficult and people may make mistakes or not be aware of those things that may be helpful. Her suggestion is to identify the major problems and issues, and then use the communication committee to publicize the critical need for education in this area. Peggy McGough suggested setting up a counseling program at the Senior Center. VIII. Other Business Follow-up on applications for SAB (see correspondence) X. Adjourn — Anita Basham made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Kathy Schuster seconded the motion, and the motion carried. Submitted by Karen Bryner, Recordinj Secretary Marcia Richards, Chair � iV Kathy Schuster, Secretary