TOWN OF SIMSBURY
AGING AND DISABILITY COMMISSION
November 17, 2009
Meeting Minutes
Chairperson, Edward LaMontagne called the meeting to order in the Auditorium at Eno Hall, Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT 06070 at 7:05 p.m.
Present: Grace Comeau, Kathy Fallon, Mike Jennings, Carrie Kramer, Marvin Koff, Mary Ellen Long, Ed LaMontagne, Mona Martinik (was requested by Mr. LaMontagne to attend the Simsbury Charette meeting on the behalf of the commission) , Mark Orenstein (voting member at this meeting), Lynn Veith, Kathleen Marschall (Senior Center Coordinator, liaison),
Excused: Charlotte Steptoe, Mona Herman, Ann Walters-Thompson
Absent: Tom Doran, Arlene Zappile, Rich Hogan (BOS liaison)
Public Audience: None
Ex Officio:
Joe Loewy, Simsbury Housing Authority (Excused)
Guests: Carole and Steve Shmurak, West of Hartford @ Home.
There are 22,000 people over the age of 65 in West Hartford, Farmington and Avon. There are no age criteria for the services. Carole and Steve explained the program and will be filing for non-profit status. The hope is to start the program within 1 year. Public meetings on the program will be held December 2nd at 1:30 p.m. at the Congregational Church in Farmington and December 3rd at 1:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel on Farmington Avenue West Hartford.
Minutes, Previous Meeting: The meeting minutes from October 10, 2009 were reviewed and accepted with the following correction: Curbside voting will be available at all polling places.
PROGRAM COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Souper Tuesday - Grace Comeau
Ms. Comeau reported that today’s event went very well. There were 16 people who said they were coming and did not show. The individuals will all be called and Kathleen and her staff will continue to evaluate the issue for patterns. Further discussion as to how to handle no shows will be discussed at future commission meetings. Next Souper Tuesday is February 16, 2010
Aging and Disability Commission
Meeting Minutes
17 November 2009
Page Two
Citizen Service Award - Lynn Veith
Ms. Veith will be preparing the nomination forms for mailing in the spring with the award presentation to be held in May 2010. The 2010 award will be for disability awareness.
SUB COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Housing - Ed LaMontagne
Simsbury Housing Authority Open House
Joe Loewy wanted Mr. LaMontagne to thank everyone who attended the Open House. Commission members who attended expressed pleasure with the beautiful job that was done with the renovations at Virginia Connelly.
Mr. LaMontagne provided an update on a housing proposal on Hopmeadow Street. The group, which is proposing the development of twenty four units of housing, went before the Zoning Commission on November 9th. The Zoning Commission voted down the proposal, which was to include several accessible units.
Public Relations - Carrie Kramer
The Chamber of Commerce Newsletter was distributed to Chamber members and other interested parties today. Ms. Kramer shared the abbreviated version of the article about the Commission, which was included in the newsletter. The full article was also shared with Chamber members.
Senior/Community Center Assessment
Mr. LaMontagne made a request to present the results of the Senior/Community Assessment results to the Board of Selectman on October 26th, but was unable to confirm the date. Hopefully, he will be able to be scheduled for a BOS meeting in January.
Senior Tax Relief - Ed LaMontagne
Mr. LaMontagne met with Deputy First Selectman John Hampton regarding the Elderly Work Tax Credit Program. Mr. Hampton questioned the option of the Commission conducting a community forum regarding this program. They will continue to discuss the validity of this program going forward.
Aging and Disability Commission
Meeting Minutes
17 November 2009
Page Three
SENIOR CENTER REPORT - Kathleen Marschall, Senior Center Coordinator
The St. Mary’s luncheon will take place tomorrow November 18th. Ms. Marshall shared information regarding the library home bound program. There will be a new program at the Senior Center on questions people may have who are considering buying electronics. Hopefully their questions can be answered before they purchase things.
OLD BUSINESS
Polling station accessibility - November 3rd
Ms. Kramer reported on the status at Latimer Lane and Ms. Veith reported on voting at Tootin Hills. Additional handicapper parking spaces were added at polling places as well as the availability of curbside voting. Overall, accessibility was improved over previous elections.
Other Business
None
NEW BUSINESS
Accessibility business in Simsbury - Mike Jennings
Mr. Jennings reported on Autoban Auto Shop in northern Simsbury. The business owner contacted Mr. Jennings when he wanted to make changes to his business last year to be accessibility. He contacted Mr. Jennings after the renovations were completed to try out the renovations.
Accessible business recognition
Ms. Kramer and Mr. LaMontagne had spoken with Charity Folk at the Chamber regarding awarding a Simsbury business for providing accessibility.
Appointment of Nominating Committee
Mr. LaMontagne requested volunteers to serve on the Commission’s Nominating Committee. Mary Ellen Long and Kathy Fallon volunteered to be on the committee. Ms. Fallon will contact another Commission member to serve on the committee.
Announcements
Mr. LaMontagne will send a letter to Brandon Robertson, as he leaves Simsbury, to thank him for his assistance to the Commission.
Aging and Disability Commission
Meeting Minutes
17 November 2009
Page Four
Mr. LaMontagne shared information on the swearing in ceremony for newly elected BOS members. He also sent letters of congratulations to the elected BOS members.
Ms. Veith shared brochures on two programs in December. Contact McLean at 658-3700 for information.
• Dr. Burns will be speaking on the latest in orthopedics on December 10th
• The McLean Hospice Program is sponsoring the First Annual Celebration of Light and Light at Eno Hall on December 3rd.
All future Commission meetings for 2010, through June, will be held at Eno Hall in the Youth Room.
Correspondence
None
Other Business
None
ADJOURNMENT:
Mark Ornstein made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Next meeting: January 19, 2010, Eno Memorial Hall
Respectfully submitted,
Lynn Veith
Lynn R. Veith
Clerk
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