Minutes
Council On Aging · from the Town's website · 3 pages · 68 KB
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MEETING MINUTES WINTHROP COUNCIL ON AGING Date: Thursday, April 11, 2024 Time: 10:30 AM Location: Robert A. DeLeo Senior Center 35 Harvard Street, Winthrop, MA 02152 Present: Matt Rodes, Assistant Director and Outreach Coordinator, Council on Aging Linda Cronin Kathy Driscoll Cynthia Huff Heather Martin Mary Vitale Absent: Alice Haskell, Chair Call to order at 10:30 AM by Matt Rodes, Assistant Director and Outreach Coordinator, Council on Aging I. Approval of Minutes A Motion to approve the Minutes of the March 14, 2024, meeting was made by Cynthia Huff and seconded by Linda Cronin and Heather Martin. Minutes were approved. II. Announcements There were no new announcements presented. III. Director’s Comments A. Matt Rodes reported that van ridership continues to go very well. He indicated that there were 100 rides each month between January and March which is twice as many as last year during that time period. He indicated that Monday continues to be a quieter day than Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. He reported that there has been a change in the van shopping schedule which was initiated in order to more efficiently coordinate the shopping trips. B. Matt Rodes reported that the MBTA Senior Pass Program is going very well. He indicated that we have had 12 participants in the first three sessions This program will be offered twice a month. Linda Cronin mentioned that her Senior MBTA Pass is matched to her new RIDE account; a discussion on the RIDE followed. C. Matt Rodes reported that the Tax Lottery which was scheduled to take place on April 10, 2024 turned out to not be necessary as there were 20 applicants for the 20 jobs on offer. He will now be checking eligibility and will assign people to the available positions. D. Matt Rodes reported that the Mystic Valley Elder Services Emergency Closet donation drive is in progress and going very well. The drive will continue through April. He reported that donors have been very generous, and we have already sent many donations to Mystic Valley Elder Services. E. Matt Rodes reported that the Winthrop Commission on Disabilities will hold another session at the Senior Center on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. There followed a discussion on the subject of disabilities and how people might find and obtain available services they might be eligible for. Matt Rodes indicated that people can always contact the Senior Center, and they can put people in touch with the appropriate people/organizations. There then followed a discussion on the recent excellent informational session conducted by a representative from the home health care organization Home Instead and what services they can provide. F. Matt Rodes reported that the next Health Fair will be held in the spring of 2025 in order to not conflict with the Town’s annual health fair which is held in the fall. A discussion followed regarding the proposed Retirement Fair we are hoping to conduct this fall. Matt Rodes said he would check further into the plans for this. G. Movie Day at the Senior Center has begun once again, with the first movie day being held on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, with the movie “In the Line of Fire”. Kathy Driscoll, who attended, said this had gone very well. The next Movie Day is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14, 2024, with the movie being “The Devil Wears Prada”. Matt Rodes reported that we have a new 65 inch TV on order. The new TV has more connections that will make it easier to use for presentations in addition to playing movies. He also indicated that Alice Haskell has another local event video which we will air outside of the regular Movie Day schedule. H. There was a discussion on the monthly Winthrop Police Community Outreach sessions held at the Senior Center which all attendees agree have been excellent and very informative. The April session is scheduled for Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The topic of that session is not yet known. Matt Rodes indicated that we are hoping that the May session will deal with situations involving an “active shooter”. I. Linda Cronin reported that we are still hoping to schedule a CPR training class. She indicated that the person she had in mind for this might not be available for a while. She suggested it might be good to schedule this at first with a smaller group such as the Senior Center employees and Council on Aging members and see how it goes before offering it to a larger group. Matt Rodes said that he would talk to Kathy Dixon about this. Linda Cronin suggested that perhaps the Police Department could help us find a trainer for this class. IV. Adjournment There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Heather Martin and seconded by Cynthia Huff. The meeting was adjourned at 11:14 AM. Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 9, 2024. Respectfully Submitted Kathy Driscoll, Secretary, Winthrop Council on Aging Adopted by the Board at the meeting of May 9, 2024 ___________________________________ Alice Haskell, Chair Winthrop Council on Aging