Minutes
Council On Aging · from the Town's website · 4 pages · 34 KB
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MEETING MINUTES WINTHROP COUNCIL ON AGING Date: Thursday, April 10, 2025 Time: 10:30 AM Location: Robert A. DeLeo Senior Center 35 Harvard Street, Winthrop, MA 02152 Present: Matt Rodes, Director, Council on Aging Nicole Rizzotto, Assistant Director and Outreach Coordinator, Council on Aging Linda Cronin Kathy Driscoll Cynthia Huff Heather Martin Mary Vitale Absent: Alice Haskell, Chair, Council on Aging I. Call to Order The Meeting was called to order by Matt Rodes, Director, Council on Aging, at 10:31 AM. II. Approval of Minutes A Motion to approve the Minutes of the March 13, 2025, Meeting was made by Cynthia Huff and seconded by Linda Cronin. The Minutes were approved. III. Programs Report A. Matt Rodes provided the Council members with a recent updated printout, compiled by Rose Kaye, of all the special events planned for the Senior Center for this year. B. Matt Rodes reported that there are still 24 or 25 tickets left for the May 6 Ice Cream Social. C. Matt Rodes reported that the Suffolk County DA ’ s Office will conduct a Fraud Prevention and Senior ID session at the Senior Center on May 20. D. Matt Rodes reported that we will be scheduling an event featuring a Celebration of Classic Animation for some time in July. E. Matt Rodes reported that a member of the PACE Program will be conducting an Arts and Crafts session featuring coaster painting at a date to be announced. F. Matt Rodes reported that the Police and Fire Departments BBQ has been scheduled for August 12. The entertainment for this event will be The Three of Us. G. Matt Rodes reported that an event featuring “ Music Through the Decades ” presented by David Polanski will be scheduled for some time in November. H. Matt Rodes reported that the date for the Thanksgiving Luncheon has not yet been decided. I. Matt Rodes reported that he has spoken with Mystic Valley Elder Services regarding a date for the annual barbecue and also to see if they might be able to do something other than a barbecue, such as perhaps a panini event, as there had been some issues with the food over the past few years. He is waiting to hear back from them. If they are not able to do something other than a barbecue, he indicated we may cancel this event for this year. J. Matt Rodes reported that preparations are well underway for our Health Fair to be held on April 17. Matt indicated that we have 20-25 organizations signed up for this event. Malayna Knox, together with another person, will play background music in the Computer Room during the event. Rose Kaye has put together a slide show presentation of various events held at the Senior Center over the years which will also be playing throughout the day. There will be four different presentations throughout the day in the Arts and Crafts Room. There will be a yoga demonstration by our chair yoga instructor Trish Vann at 11 AM; a presentation by the Better Business Bureau regarding scams and avoiding fraud at 12 PM and a presentation on health, wellness and community at 1 PM. The 2PM slot was unfilled at the time of this meeting, but after the meeting we were informed that the 2PM slot would be a Reiki demonstration by our Reiki instructor, Stacey Zellen. Matt indicated that we are looking for volunteers to help with the set-up of the Health Fair and to help with any other things that might be necessary during the event. K. Matt Rodes reported that the iPad training course is going very well. Cynthia Huff indicated she thought the instructors were excellent and had provided many useful tips. Linda Cronin indicated that one of the instructors is working on a presentation regarding fraud on the internet, and all agreed this would be an excellent session to hold at a future date. L. Matt Rodes reported that the Spanish class with Pete Solomon has started up again and that there are 12 people in the class. M. Matt Rodes reported that the Tax Work-Off Program deadline is April 18 at noon. He indicated there were 23 applicants for 20 positions, so there will be a lottery held at the Senior Center on April 22 at 10 AM to choose 20 applicants. N. Matt Rodes reported that our Shine Counselor is having surgery and will be out for a while. She is hoping to be back in May. O. Matt Rodes reported on the April meeting of the CLEAR Team at the Senior Center. That meeting was very informative and provided information on various resources. The CLEAR Team is a connecting point for these resources. Their May meeting at the Senior Center will focus on Peer Recovery, and the June meeting will be a session on the Team ’ s Social Workers. P. Matt Rodes reported that the Police Outreach Program will be ending as Lieutenant Mary Crisafi will be retiring. Q. There was a discussion on the Senior Center ’ s MBTA Pass Program. Matt Rodes reported that this program is going very well. Cynthia Huff reported that a neighbor had asked her about this program and had made an appointment with Rose Kaye and was very pleased at how it all worked. Cynthia asked if the passes could be used on the Winthrop Ferry; Matt indicated he would check into that. R. Matt Rodes reported that Nicole Rizzotto had found someone who conducted “ cardio drumming ” sessions, which is drumming on a yoga ball. Linda Cronin reported that there had been a cardio drumming program when she worked at Brooksby Village and that it was very successful. It was agreed that this could be a great new program to add to the Senior Center. S. Linda Cronin reported that she had attended the recent session on Staying in Your Home and thought it was very informative. The presenter had brought another person with her, a visually impaired person, who spoke as to how she was successfully living independently. Linda indicated that much of the session centered around Mass Health and provided information on how people could get onto Mass Health and provided resource telephone numbers. This session was presented by the Winthrop Commission on Disabilities and was taped by a member of WCAT. Linda indicated that she felt a repeat session could be very helpful. IV. Outreach Report There were no updates to report. V. Director ’ s Report A. Matt Rodes reported that we are accepting donations for Mystic Valley Elder Services ’ Emergency Closet through May. B. Matt Rodes reported that we have new tables on order for the Arts and Crafts room that should arrive soon. The new tables are on wheels, which will make it easier to move them to accommodate different set-ups. C. Matt Rodes reported that the brake work on the van has been completed. We have not yet received a bill for this work. There are still a few more things that need to be addressed. The van inspection sticker is due for renewal in June, and we are planning to do an oil change at that time too. Matt reported that the van is now almost paid for, and Nicole Rizzotto is currently working on getting the title in our name for the van. VI. Old Business There was no old business to report or discuss. VII. New Business There was no new business to report or discuss. VIII. Adjournment There being no further business, a Motion to adjourn was made by Heather Martin and seconded by Linda Cronin. The meeting was adjourned at 11:12 AM. Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Respectfully Submitted Kathy Driscoll, Secretary, Winthrop Council on Aging Adopted by the Board at the meeting of May 8, 2025 ___________________________________ Alice Haskell, Chair Winthrop Council on Aging