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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOA Minutes 2/8/2011Mansfield Council On Aging RECEIVE[) Board of Directors �u'f�';'J Q r- Minutes to Meeting 1Q1j S OFFICE February 8, 2011 NkR 28 II: 01 Present: Sonia Walgreen, Donna Harrington, Mary Butler, Frank Nilson, Dgbza< ' `SF'jg:-t Surprenant and Gale Farrugia. Excused were Norma Smith and Ed $t"' F;;1 j 7'3 Call To Order: The meeting was called to order at 3:40 PM by board chair Sonia Walgreen. Minutes to the Meeting of January 11, 2011: The Board reviewed the minutes to the Board Meeting of January 11, 2011. Frank Nilson offered a motion to accept the minutes to the Board Meeting of January 11, 2011, as presented. With a second from Mary Butler, the motion was passed by a unanimous vote. Warrants from January, Budget Status to Date and the Treasurer's Report: The Warrants from January and the approximate Budget Status to Date were examined. Mary presented the Treasurer's Report. She informed the Board that the balance in the Gift Account was estimated at $3,383.00. Donna Harrington offered a motion to accept the Warrants from January, 2011, the estimated Budget Status to Date and the Treasurer's Report, all as presented. With a second from Frank Nilson, the motion was passed by a unanimous vote. Correspondence File: Gale indicated that there was a copy of a memorandum received about the proposed funding cuts affecting adult day health care. There was a discussion about adult day health services. Director's Report: Matter of Balance —Gale informed the Board that there will be another session of "A Matter of Balance" which started on February 70'. She said that there are 17 participants, and that the difference seems to be that those on the list were personally contacted by the trainer from BESI who discussed the program. Tax Assistance —Gale reported that with a little bit of direct communication with the AARP, they reconsidered their decision to not have tax preparation services at the COA. She informed the Board that the tax preparation services began on Monday, February 70' with two preparers. She said that they will be in on Mondays through tax season. Snow Days--Gale informed the Board that there have been program cancellations due to the weather. She said that participation in programs and services has decreased considerably through the storms and their aftermath. Nutrition Certification Training —Gale reported that she attended the Food Safety training through Bristol Elder. She said that she is now certified, and that Debi attended the Food Allergy training. Spring Board Training —Gale informed the Board that Sharon Council on Aging would be hosting a Board Training on April 28`". She said that the notice and information is in the Correspondence File. COA/LibrarRoof —Gale reported that the roof had been inspected by Mike Ahern and he determined that the roof was at close to its load capacity. He arranged for the snow to be shoveled off the roof, and that about 15 men worked on the roof to remove the snow. She said that Mike informed her that the depth of the snow was about 2 feet deep in places. Assistant Director's Report: Statistics —Debi reported that there were 431 people who signed in for programs in January, that there were 460 incoming telephone calls and 452 volunteer hours logged, and that there were 417 GATRA van rides. Medical Escort Rides —Debi reported that the rides provided were also low, at 5 round trips for the month of January. January Movie Program —Debi informed the Board that the February movie program was cancelled due to low registrations. Nutrition Program—Debi announced that the Nutrition Program has a site visit from Eric Esterling. She said that the most recent problem within the Nutrition Program has been that some of the milk has been out of date. Old Business: Writine Workshop for Seniors -Gale informed the Board about a new program that she would like to offer to seniors. She explained that Julie Cline offers a writing program at the Sharon Council On Aging, and Gale felt that it looked like a good program. She said that she has done the preliminary advertising and has a number of seniors interested in taking the class. There was a discussion about the structure of the program and the expense. Gale told the Board that the fees are $45 per person, with a maximum of 8 people. Donna Harrington offered a motion that the COA pay $27 per person toward the program fee from the Trust Fund. With a second from Mary Butler, the motion was passed by a unanimous vote. New Business: Inquiry for Board Position —Gale announced that there was a person who was interested in the open position on the Board. She said that he met with her to discuss the position and the duties associated with serving as a Board member. Gale informed the Board that she gave him all the information about the COA, state ethics laws, and programming, and he said that he would submit the application to the Board of Selectmen for approval. Gale said that she will check with Karen for the next Board appointment dates and keep everyone informed. Salvation Army Funds —Gale led a discussion about the history of the Salvation Army Unit in Mansfield, its function and members and funds associated with the organization. She said that funds would no longer be available through the present Mansfield Salvation Army Unit because of the way Mansfield Bank is handling all checking accounts with additional fees. She informed the Board that the account will be closed with the funds tamed back to the main office of Salvation Army of Massachusetts. Shingles Vaccine for Seniors --Gale informed the Board that The Wellness Center in Rhode Island had offered a shingles vaccine program for seniors through an application process. She said that the program was not as successful as she had hoped, since only about three people received vaccines. She reported that she had discussed the situation with the Mansfield Public Health Nurse from CVNA, Maureen Carderelli. She said that Maureen has offered to distribute the vaccine to Mansfield seniors when it is available, but the cost would be a factor. Gale reported that Maureen said that she could get the doses for a reduced fee of $160 per dose, about 50% of the total cost. There was a discussion about the likelihood of the COA using a recent donation of $1000 to underwrite some of the cost of the vaccines for the seniors. After a discussion, the Board felt that this type of program was outside the scope of what the Council On Aging should offer. BESI Report: Sonia reported that BESI Director Nancy Munson gave her annual report to the BESI Board. She said that Nancy was very f rrn about attendance at Board meetings, and reiterated that a Board member is required to attend meetings. Sonia informed the Board that BESI has instituted a conference call into meetings for those who are unable to attend, but are able to attended through a conference call. Sonia said that it is very interesting to see the level of participation at meetings during conference calls —she said that people have had questions and are very "present" at the meetings. She also said that there was a lengthy report about the nutrition program and all of the issues with Lindley. She spoke about the meeting between BESI Nutrition and Lindley on January 4a` over several issues, and planned follow -up for issues resolution. She reported that BESI conducted a seniors' needs assessment survey, and the results were presented at the meeting. She said that most of the needs were transportation, health and dental and caregiver relief related. She informed the Board that there are no seniors from Mansfield on the waiting list for services, but a new waiting list would be published starting on February I". She said that the meeting ended with a discussion about the agency and state budget. Questions and Answers: None. Adjournment: With all business being completed, Donna Harrington offered a motion to adjourn the meeting. With a second from Mary Butler, the meeting was adjourned at 4:40 PM by a unanimous vote. VOTE SUMMARY 2011 -23 A vote to accept the minutes to the Board Meeting of January 11, 2011, as presented. Motion —Frank Nilson; Second — Mary Butler; Vote -4 affirmative, 0 negative. Voting affirmative were Sonia Walgreen, Donna Harrington, Mary Butler and Frank Nilson. 2011 -24 A vote to accept the Warrants from January, 2011, the estimated Budget Status to Date and the Treasurer's Report, all as presented. Motion —Donna Harrington; Second — Frank Nilson; Vote-4 affirmative and 0 negative. Voting affirmative were Sonia Walgreen, Donna Harrington, Mary Butler and Frank Nilson. 2011 -25 A vote directing the COA to pay $27 per person towards the $45 per person fee for the new writing workshop for seniors for up to 8 people using money from the Trust Fund. - Motion —Donna Harrington; Second —Mary Butler; Vot" affirmative and 0 negative. Voting affirmative were Sonia Walgreen, Donna Harrington, Mary Butler and Frank Nilson. 2011 -26 With all business being complete, a vote to adjourn the meeting at 4:40 PM. Motion —Donna Harrington; Second —Mary Butler; Vote -4 affirmative and 0 negative. Voting affirmative were Sonia Walgreen, Donna Harrington, Mary Butler and Frank Nilson.