Town of Simsbury
Aging & Disability Commission
March 21, 2006
Meeting Minutes
Chairperson, Edward LaMontagne was absent for this meeting. Charlotte Steptoe chaired the meeting in Mr. LaMontagne’s absence. The meeting commenced in the Blue Room at Eno Memorial Hall, 754 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, Connecticut @ 7:13 p.m.
Present: Ricky Bergquist (Staff Consultant), Peg Bergethon, Charlotte Steptoe, Mary Ellen Long, Kathie Fallon, Grace Comeau, Mona Martinik, and Carrie Kramer.
Absent: Edward LaMontagne, John Romano (Board of Selectman Liaison), Lorraine Piurowski, Gloria Knierim, and Lynn Veith.
Public Audience: None.
Previous Meeting Minutes: Motion made and carried (Ms. Bergethon / Ms. Comeau) approving minutes from February 21, 2006.
REPORTS:
Aging:
1. One handout was distributed entitled, “Executive Summary, Older Workers in Direct Care: A Labor Force Expansion Study”, A Better Jobs Better Care Project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies. Findings from this study can be downloaded at the following websites: www.SPECAssociates.org and www.OperationABLE.org.
Legislative:
One handout was distributed from the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits providing summaries of a variety of bills at the legislative session. Of particular note was H.B. No. 5062 which was raised as an act to establish the Department of Developmental Disabilities and to change the name of the Department of Mental Retardation to the Department of Developmental Disabilities.
Housing: No report.
Souper Tuesday:
Ms. Comeau reported that Souper Tuesday went extremely well this month. Children will be attending the next Souper Tuesday sponsored by the Tariffville PTO. In return, Tariffville will follow-up with a tea on the Friday before Memorial Day. It will be approximately 45 minutes long and for seniors. Soup and sandwiches will be provided for everyone. The next Souper Tuesday is scheduled for April 25, 2006.
Ways & Means:
1. Ms. Steptoe reported that Mr. LaMontagne attended the Rotary Club Meeting on March 9, 2006 and they pledged $400.00 for the Aging & Disability Commission, however, they need to clear the expenditure during their next executive meeting before the check is cut.
2. Civitan has pledged $400.00 as well.
3. The Simsbury Womens Club pledged $300.00 which was awarded during their meeting on April 11, 2006.
4. First Church of Christ also pledged $400.00.
A discussion ensued about extending beyond churches for additional pledges and also talking with synagogues, as well as other religious organizations. Additionally, Ms. Martinik recommended that the Commission extend their outreach in this area to local banks and would like to discuss this further at the next meeting. There was also discussion regarding advertising sponsorship for Souper Tuesdays, as well as adding this information into The Communicator.
Senior Center Report:
1. Ms. Bergquist distributed the statistics for the month of February, 2006 for services provided by the Senior Center and number of participants that attended.
2. Ms. Bergquist also distributed the Senior Center survey results for 2005 – 2006. A total of 108 surveys were returned. The survey results were favorable for all aspects of current programming at the Center. There were suggestions for longer hours, expanding the fitness programs, offering a broader selection of travel options and more programs for men.
After Ms. Bergquist’s report, discussion revolved around the increasing challenges of the lack of space at the Senior Center. Ms. Kramer recommended that this be added to the agenda for the next meeting.
Other: No report.
OLD BUSINESS:
1. Simsbury Life, March 2006 Volume 7, Issue 11 was distributed so all members present had an opportunity to review it as there was an article highlighting the work of the Simsbury Aging & Disability Commission in this issue.
2. Ms. Steptoe stated that there were two articles in the Simsbury Post recently addressing tax relief issues in Simsbury and one article in the Hartford Courant. Ms. Martinik reported that a meeting was held on March 6, 2006 at the Simsbury Public Library regarding tax relief. Approximately 50 individuals attended the meeting. Many were opposed to tax relief but not many recommendations were offered for solutions. Ms. Bergquist stated that the next meeting regarding this issue might conflict with the time of the Aging & Disability Commission meeting. Ms. Fallon indicated that she didn’t know of this meeting and hoped that
for future meetings regarding this topic there would be better publicity.
3. Draft # 2 of the Proposed Ordinance Language changes was distributed before voting on. Ms. Kramer indicated that she would oppose it and for the record requested that the minutes reflect her reasons why. She stated that the language is not strong enough and needs to clearly indicate that the Commission should be comprised of several individuals with disabilities as they are the stakeholders in the community and should be recruited to serve on the Commission. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding this topic, as well as the language that the ordinance might need to reflect individuals over the age of 50. Previous drafts were distributed
for review as well. A decision was made to defer voting on this topic and Ms. Kramer was asked to revise the language again and bring a fourth draft to the April meeting.
Other: No report.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Senior Property Tax Relief: John Romano was not present to discuss this issue.
2. Volunteer Celebration 2006 – Ms. Bergquist asked all Commission Members to RSVP to the Volunteer Celebration.
3. Picnic in the Park: The “picnic in the park” event will be held the last Sunday in September, 2006. Members discussed whether or not the Apple Barn was too small to host the picnic this year. A decision was made to relocate the event this year to Eno Memorial Hall. Ms. Bergquist will book two rooms at Eno. As the event draws closer, she will determine based on RSVP’s which room would be best to use. Ms. Bergethon will follow-up with personal phone calls. Parking was discussed. Ms. Kramer suggested that the Commission should work to make the event more “inclusive” for the entire community.
4. Correspondence: Invitations were distributed to each individual committee member for an upcoming fundraiser to benefit a long time Simsbury resident.
5. Other: a.) Ms. Mortinik complimented Ms. Bergquist for the editorial she wrote in today’s Hartford Courant regarding Preston Case.
b.) Ms. Steptoe reported that Mr. Lamontagne plans on attending the Consumer Advisory Council statewide conference sponsored by the University of Connecticut Center on Disabilities in April, 2006.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion made and carried to adjourn meeting (Ms. Fallon / Ms. Comeau) @ 9:00 p.m.
The next meeting of the Simsbury Aging & Disability Commission will be held on Tuesday, April 18, 2006 @ 7:00 p.m. in Eno Memorial Hall.
Respectfully Submitted:
Carrie Kramer, Commission Member, on behalf of Lynn R. Veith, Clerk.
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