HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOA 12/17/2002Mansfield Council On Aging
Board of Directors
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Minutes to meeting
December 17, 2002
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Present: Donna Harrington, Sonia Walgreen, Mary Butler, Ed Sliney, Jr., Eileen Flint,
Norma Smith, guest, ;Debra Surprenant and Gale Farrugia. Ben Boynton and
Frank Nilson are excused.
Call to Order: Sonia opened the meeting at 7:30 PM.
Correspondence: The correspondence file was circulated. Sonia read aloud a letter that
Michael Ahern sent to The Board of Selectmen and John D'Agostino. The letter
was a detailed memo regarding the status of the building's heating and air
conditioning system.
Budgets, Warrants, Minutes and Treasurer's Report: The Board reviewed the budgets,
warrants, and the minutes to the November meeting. Mary issued the Treasurer's
Report. The Gift Account balance is $3,185.67. Donna offered a motion to accept
all as presented. Ed issued a second to the motion, and the vote to accept all was
unanimous.
Director's Report: Coffee Hour—The Council On Aging hosted another coffee hour with
John D'Agostino and State Representatives Betty Poirier, Mike Copolla, and Louis
Kafka, and Senator Joanne Sprague. It was a very well attended session, with 35
seniors present. The speakers; presented information on tax rebate programs
available to seniors, among other concerns. The next coffee hour is to be held on
January 16`h, and the speaker will be Ed O'Neill, the Town Assessor, who will talk
about real estate tax abatement, discount, and deferral programs available to elder
homeowners in Mansfield. Friend's Christmas Party—The Friend's of the Drop In
Center will have the annual Christmas Party on Friday, the 13`h of December. The
High School Chorus will sing. Town Report—The annual Town Report is in the
process of being put together. The submissions from each department are due on
December 20`h. The format this year is different. Upcoming Programs—The Rotary
Luncheon is on January 7`', on the 10`h is an intergenerational craft show, on the
24`h we are trying another men's breakfast in an attempt to attract men to the
programming, and men and women may attend.Newsletter—Gale has a digital
camera and starting with the January newsletter, we are going to try to insert
pictures in the newsletter. We are also starting a new column highlighting a
volunteer of the month.
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Assistant Director's Report: Statistics—The COA recorded 724 people signing in for the
month of November, and logged 475 calls in November.
Alzheimer's Support Group—The Group finished in November. Other—Debi is
finishing up some projects, and getting ready for new program planning after the
` first of the year.
Old Business: Joint Library/COA Board Meeting—The meeting with the Library Board is
scheduled for Saturday, February 1" at 10:00 AM. There was a discussion
regarding the need for library expansion and COA expansion. It is realized that the
actual expansion, if it happens, will not be for several more years, due to the
looming budget crisis.
New Business: 2004 Budget—Gale has attended budget meetings and has submitted the
2004 COA/Social Services request. The projection is a 5% cut.
BESI Report: Mary has attended a meeting. She was assigned to the By-Law Committee.
She has observed that the BESI Board is large. She also reported that the amount
given to BESI from the State may be cut. There are also some legislative issues
involving elder services, the elder abuse law, and protective services.
Adjournment: On a motion issued by Donna, and a second from Ed, the Board voted
unanimously to adjourn at 8:35 PM.
NEXT MEETING: JANUARY 14n` AT 7:30 PM
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