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TOWN OF GRANBY
COMMISSION ON AGING
SENIOR CENTER/YOUTH SERVICES BUILDING
April 11, 2011
PRESENT: Dr. Peter Barwick, George Bronsord, Helen Decher, Karen Hood, Neil Kraner, Incy Muir, Bruce Sullivan, Jack Vanderbilt; Staff Present: Kerry Kielbasa, Director of Human Services; Sandy Yost, Program Coordinator
Dr. Barwick confirmed a quorum and began the meeting at 1:31 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES 0F 3/14/11:
ON A MOTION BY Bruce Sullivan, seconded by George Bronsord, the Commission voted (8-0-0) to approve the minutes of March 14, 2011 as written.
VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH:
Ms. Yost reported that Heather Baltronis is the volunteer of the month for March for her assistance with the Community Café.
ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE REPORT:
- Sandy Yost, Program Coordinator
- May is Older Americans Month and a dinner will be held on the 18th at 5:00 p.m.
- The Mind Sharpener program will run from May 4th through June 24th and presently, seven people have signed up.
- The Live Well program will begin on May 10th. Sandy dropped off some brochures at Eastern Rehabilitation and Ms. Muir took some for the VNA. Dr. Barwick suggested dropping off brochures at the local doctor’s office and he will also make an announcement at Men’s Breakfast. Ms. Hood suggested ambassadors distribute the information as well.
- Bruce Sullivan, Senior Club Treasurer
- The Senior Club presently has a balance of $4,049.63 and has 31 members.
- A chicken barbeque will be held on August 26th at noon.
- There are 65 cookbooks left which will be available to purchase at the 225th celebration.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT:
- The budget hearing is tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the high school.
- The Board of Finance Three-Board meeting was held a few weeks ago. There are no direct personnel hits but $150,000 was cut from the small capital budget. Ms. Kielbasa is not sure if this will affect the replacement of the rug in the community room.
- The DOT transportation grant for $26,998 was submitted. This money is used toward the van drivers’ salary. A NCAAA grant for $2,250 was submitted. This covers the Grandparent’s Support Group and a new program, Civic Engagement, in which seniors give back to their community in meaningful ways. Helen Decher commended Ms. Kielbasa for all the work she does with grant writing.
TRANSPORTATION REPORT:
- For the third quarter, the vans traveled 5,900 miles and 430 hours. There were 1,541 trips with 367 duplicated riders and 98 unduplicated riders. Of those, nine were under the age of 60 and disabled.
- Reducing the number of drivers has cut down on the maintenance of the vans.
OLD BUSINESS
- While gathering information and preparing a timeline of key events over the past ten years, Mr. Vanderbilt discovered the ten-year anniversary of the new building is next year.
- The strategic plan was reviewed to determine what items could be brought before the Board of Selectmen. There was a discussion regarding updating the computer room and upgrading staff computers. Ms. Kielbasa explained the computer room has passed its’ usefulness. Because the building is wireless, laptops can be used and we may only need two computers. She felt the flooring in the community room should be a priority and in the future, staff computers can be upgraded slowly as money allows. In regard to “provide a welcoming atmosphere”, Karen Hood suggested creating a list of volunteers who would be available as greeters for tours, new programs, functions, etc. The strategic plan also states that the Commission is responsible to survey comparable towns to ensure compensation and benefits are comparable. This is difficult as senior centers and positions vary widely from town to town. Ms. Muir felt the strategic plan provides a lot of good information and it could be condensed
to a couple of pages and distributed to the Board. Dr. Barwick and Bruce Sullivan will coordinate this.
NEW BUSINESS
- Helen Decher stated that Marilyn Schaefer, a professor at the University of Hartford, traveled through Iran and speaks at senior centers about her trip. Dr. Barwick suggested the library and the senior center could do this together and provide the presentation for all ages. Dr. Barwick offered to speak to Duncan Rowles and contact Ms. Schaefer.
ADJOURNMENT
ON A MOTION BY George Bronsord, seconded by Jack Vanderbilt, the Commission voted (7-0-0) to adjourn the meeting at 2:55 p.m. It should be noted that Neil Kraner excused himself from the meeting at 2:40 p.m.
The next meeting will be held on Monday, May 9, 2011 at 1:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Kane
Recording Secretary
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