BELMONT COUNCIL ON AGING
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
February 3, 2003
Present: B. Miranda, N. Iv-Vogel, M. L. Ahearn, J. Brusch, V. Falvey, E. Finnegan, E. Hamann, J. Kantor, H. Kazarian, T. Moribito, P. Solomon
Absent: J. Horner
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 p.m. by Barbara Miranda, Chair. The
minutes of the January 6th meeting were corrected as follows: Under New Business,
the section about the preboard meeting materials was moved to the By-Law Committee Report section. The minutes were then approved.
Springwell (formally WSES) report of December 12, 2002 Board Meeting by E.
Hamann:
Sue Temper reported that she had met with the new Secretary of Elder Affairs, Jennifer Carey. She was the Director of the Office of Consumer affairs and Business Regulation before taking on this job. The status of Elder Affairs is up in the air and therefore what will happen with the ASAPs is still unknown.
The Homecare program started a waiting list as of Jan. 22. Springwell has been able to meet the necessary reductions in the other programs over this past year so far.
Springwell is exploring the possible role of Board members in outreach to the community. The question is what needs to be done by staff and what can Board members do?
AAA/Nutrition: The discussion continues on how to best collect donations to help with the costs of transportation not covered by Title III grants. Collecting donations directly on the van every time it is used brings in more revenue than asking only at the end of the month.
A $39,000 grant has been received for Nextel 2-way radios for the meals on wheels program. This will now give Brookline drivers the means to call in any problems immediately and also to call a meals recipient who doesn't answer their door. Belmont is probably not eligible for these 2-way radios, as the calls go through Springwell who supplies the meals. Belmont does its meals program independently. It was felt that there are lots of free cell phones through various companies if Belmont explored the possibilities.
Finance Committee: Sue reported Springwell is proceeding cautiously. There have been 3 layoffs as of now. (Director of Marketing - 20 hrs, a data entry person, and one nursing staff position). The Homecare position is on hold. They are anticipating further cuts, will know next week. The budget is based on cutting the pension contribution to 2 1/2% from 3%.
A possible restructuring of elder services may occur based on the Baker Report (a white paper done by Charlie Baker/Harvard Vanguard).
Directors Report by Nava Niv-Vogel.: Refer to January Director's report on the
Website.
A discussion followed the Budget Update portion of the Director's Report with regard to a further reduction in staff hours. A resolution was unanimously passed by the Board stating that programs and transportation are the most important components of the COA and adequate staffing for these two areas should be maintained
Old Business:
No new information regarding the future Senior Center site search was reported.
It was decided that the final copy of the BCOA Bylaws will be presented to the Board for a vote at the March 3rd Board meeting.
Other:
Phyl Solomon reported on a new intergenerational project at the Chenery Middle School. (HIP…Habitat Intergenerational Program) This will involve the creation of the a courtyard garden. It is hoped that there will be a strong senior involvement in this project.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM.
Respectively submitted,
Phyl Solomon
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