Aging and Disability Commission - Minutes
AGING AND DISABILITY COMMISSION – REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
NOVEMBER 19, 2019
SUBJECT TO APPROVAL
The regular meeting of the Aging and Disability Commission was held at 7:00 p.m. on November 19, 2019, in the Youth Room, Eno Memorial Hall, Simsbury.
PRESENT
Jan Beatty, Victor Bible, Shannon Knall, Marvin Koff, Edward LaMontagne, Jean Miles, Mark Orenstein, Kate Robbins, Diana Yeisley, Arlene Zappile, Kathleen Marschall (Senior Center Coordinator), Susan Ray (Library), and Cheryl Cook (Board of Selectmen Liaison)
EXCUSED
Lorraine Doonan, Anne Erickson, Sandee Fleet, Mike Jennings, Susan Krinski
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Edward LaMontagne, Chairman, at 7:01 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge was recited.
PUBLIC AUDIENCE
John Voorvart, 11 Westcott Road, Simsbury
Mr. Voorvart indicated that the price of accessible housing is out of reach for them.Accessibility and affordability is a huge need for them because they need to get out of their two-story house. He noted they are on the list for Eno but have no idea when that will come available.They want to stay in Simsbury and he expressed his concern to the commission about the lack of available housing.
Mr. LaMontagne paid tribute to Cheryl Cook’s long commitment to this commission in her role as Board of Selectmen liaison and announced that she would become a permanent member of the Aging & Disability Commission.
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES - Regular Meeting of October 15, 2019
The minutes were approved without correction.
GUESTS:
Margaret Smith Hale, Executive Director, Nutmeg Senior Rides
Bob Berman, volunteer driver, Nutmeg Senior Rides
Ms. Hale noted that Nutmeg Senior Rides is a non-profit with a Board of Directors that currently serves 10 towns with door-to-door service. Destinations have evolved over time as a result of customer’s needs and they do not currently serve Simsbury. If customers can use Dial-A-Ride, she encourages them to do so, as they are less expensive. If there is a gap in service, they try to fill it. Annual membership is $40 and the price of rides varies by mileage with a $25 cap on each trip. Every day they have a paid part-time staff driver so they rarely run out of the ability to provide a ride. Volunteers, and there are 45, do about 60% of the rides. Mr. Berman is on the Advisory Board, and he noted that expanding to other communities would require the addition of volunteer drivers in other towns. Ms. Hale thought that they would need 5 drivers with no minimum time commitment in order to expand the service to Simsbury. Customers must be over 50 years of age or vision-impaired adults over 18; people with disabilities are not included because of a specific DOT exemption. Ms. Hale noted that they haven’t found that people can’t afford the ride service. They provide 900 rides per month through private cars. Ms. Marschall asked how they might recruit drivers. Mr. Berman said they would be available to have lunch with anyone interested in being a driver. Ms. Hale noted that further information on Nutmeg Senior Rides CT can be found in a program on YouTube.
BOARD OF SELECTMAN LIAISON
Selectwoman Cook noted how excited the Board of Selectmen was to announce the start of the Loan Locker.
SENIOR CENTER REPORT
Senior Center Director Ms. Marschall noted that the annual veterans lunch had 70 attendees last week.The Spinners Twirl team performed last night at the Senior Center.Tomorrow is the annual St. Mary’s Thanksgiving lunch; there will be 200 seniors attending there.Serene Hackel, author of Skipper Goes to War, will be at the library December 10 at 1:30.The special holiday movie this year at the library will be Country Album Christmas, December 20; at 12:30, prior to the movie at 1:00, cookies will be served. The 3rd annual UConn tailgate party will be held Saturday, Feb 22nd at 12:30.
OLD BUSINESS
- Halloween Sensory Friendly Program Review: Ms. Yeisley said it was a big success with 10 new families, all of whom loved the trick-or-treating.
- Christmas Sensory Friendly Program: Ms. Yeisley noted the second annual event will be on December 6, 4-6 pm, free for all.The library will come with sensory activities, and snacks will be available. She asked for 4-6 volunteers. She will send a flyer to SCTV as well as the growing email list.Mr. LaMontagne thanked her for organizing these programs.
- Age Friendly Community Update: Mr. LaMontagne noted that we now have nine community partners and will limit the total to 12 partners. Mr. LaMontagne distributed the 16-page survey that AARP wants community members to complete.He asked commission members to consider which two domains we might choose and we’ll discuss at our meeting in January. Ms. Cook asked what age range survey would be sent to.
- Loan Locker Update: Jean Miles and Alan Needham have been working hard to meet the December 1 opening at the Apple Barn.There is a lot of equipment on hand, a dedicated phone line, email address, and website (https://www.simsbury-ct.gov/loanlocker); there are 8 volunteers currently on hand. Release forms have been created and approved by the town lawyer. In process is a cloud-based database of inventory to share with Unionville and Granby loan locker programs. Mr. LaMontagne noted that it is a program of the Aging and Disability Commission.
- Spring Seminar: Mr. Bible is working on the seminar for the spring.
NEW BUSINESS
- Issues Affecting Seniors Forum: Mr. LaMontagne participated in the forum on November 12 at the library, which attracted about 60 attendees. Among the discussion topics were prescription drug costs, developers not building accessible homes, the AARP Age-friendly community plans, and people with disabilities not getting as much attention as seniors.Ms. Yeisley noted that every year she asks for a special report on acts affecting people with disabilities and nothing is received. Dr. Koff noted that the person who spoke about Medicare was excellent.
- Appointment of Nominating Committee: Mr. LaMontagne asked that Ms Robbins again head the Nominating Committee.
- 2020 Meeting Dates: Mr. LaMontagne distributed a list of dates on third Tuesdays monthly. A motion was made, seconded, and passed to approve the dates.
- Acts Affecting Seniors: Mr. LaMontagne asked If there is any act that a commissioner wants the commission to advocate for, to let him know. Ms. Knall noted a very old statute on the books with language about mental retardation that should be addressed; there will be a public hearing on it.
- Linda Schofield, Chairperson of the Performing Arts Center Board of Directors, phoned Mr. LaMontagne to indicate that the Performing Arts Center would support the commission’s proposed recommendations re: improvements to address better accessibility; first and foremost would be to pave the parking lot.
- Mr. Orenstein noted that he became aware of grant monies available and they will apply for assisted listening devices for two rooms at the library.
- Ms. Yeisley noted that they will be doing some one-act plays at McLeans that will be free and open to the public.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, a request to adjourn the meeting was made. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 7 pm in Youth Room at Eno Memorial Hall.
Submitted by,
Jan Beatty
Secretary