Minutes
Council On Aging · from the Town's website · 4 pages · 32 KB
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MEETING MINUTES WINTHROP COUNCIL ON AGING Date: Thursday, June 12, 2025 Time: 10:30 AM Location: Robert A. DeLeo Senior Center 35 Harvard Street, Winthrop, MA 02152 Present: Matt Rodes, Director, Council on Aging Linda Cronin Kathy Driscoll Cynthia Huff Heather Martin Mary Vitale Absent: Nicole Rizzotto, Assistant Director/Outreach Coordinator, Council on Aging Alice Haskell, Chair, Council on Aging I. Call to Order The Meeting was called to order by Matt Rodes, Director, Council on Aging, at 10:35 AM. II. Approval of Minutes A Motion was made by Cynthia Huff and seconded by Linda Cronin to approve the Minutes of the April 10, 2025, and May 8, 2025, Council on Aging Meeting Minutes. The Minutes of both meetings were approved. III. Programs Report A. Matt Rodes distributed Rose Kaye ’ s updated schedule of upcoming Senior Center events. He indicated Rose has been trying to include a mix of educational events as well as entertainment. He reported that there will be an informational session on Lifeline products on August 19. On September 30 there will be an informational session with a representative from Blue Cross/Blue Shield. On October 21 there will be an informational session with a representative from Life Care Center with the topic being “ Age Fearlessly ” . Our “ Fall Fling ” luncheon will be on September 24. The food will be from Spinelli ’ s, and the entertainment will be Howie Connolly. B. Matt Rodes reported that the recent Game Show event was a huge success, and we are planning to bring this back again in January of 2026. C. Matt Rodes reported that there is still space available for the Celebration of Animation event on July 1. D. Matt Rodes reported that we currently have 46 people signed up for the Forensic Science Roadshow on June 24. We have a 50-person sign-up limit but plan to open up more seats if there is additional interest. E. Matt Rodes reported that the Police and Fire Department BBQ will be held on August 12, and tickets will go on sale on July 1. Tickets must be purchased by July 12. F. Matt Rodes reported that the Mystic Valley Elder Services BBQ has still not been scheduled as we are waiting to hear back from them as to whether we could do something different this year, i.e. paninis, etc. G. Matt Rodes reported that we will be having a Halloween Party on October 29. This party will feature ice cream and a presentation by Ronny LeBlanc on “ Big Foot/Paranormal Activities ” . H. Matt Rodes reported that the Volunteer Luncheon will be held on July 29, with the menu being Chinese food. Invitations to this event will be going out soon. IV. Outreach Report There were no updates to report or discuss. V. Director ’ s Report A. Matt Rodes reported that the parklet is now gone from our parking lot. B. Matt Rodes reported that a side window in our van was discovered to be broken two weeks ago. We are waiting for the replacement window to be ordered/delivered. He reported that our insurance provider said that we should pay for the repair work and then be reimbursed by them. Robert Rich Auto Repair in Winthrop Center indicated that they would put in a new window for us if we ordered the window. C. Matt Rodes reported that we have two people from the Tax Work-Off program working at the Senior Center. One is our regular volunteer Jean Forbes, and the other is Holly Bartlett who will be working on Monday and Tuesday. They will be working on sending out letters to the approximately 500 active Senior Center members requesting that they update their emergency contact information for our records. D. Matt Rodes reported that more Reiki appointments will be added to the schedule through the rest of this year. E. Matt Rodes reported that Mystic Valley Elder Services is planning to end the Grab and Go lunch program in the near future. This program had been set up during COVID, but now Winthrop and Malden are the only towns/cities still utilizing this program. Matt reported that we have provided 4,000 meals through this program. He indicated that Mystic Valley Elder Services will look into something else for the people who are utilizing this program and perhaps switch them to Meals on Wheels. Matt also indicated that we may be able to provide in-house dining on Mondays in addition to Thursdays. He reported that Mondays are very busy during the lunch hour time at the Senior Center, with 35 people taking part in Game Day. There are 17 regular Mah Jong players. He also reported that there are now 4-5 new people taking part in the Cribbage game as well. He reported that there is no time frame yet for ending the Grab and Go lunch program. F. Matt Rodes reported that he is hoping to have the Senior Center open until 4PM from Monday to Thursday. There is no time frame yet as to when this will start. He also indicated that down the road he would like to have the Senior Center open until 6PM on one night a week. He indicated that the Friends of the Winthrop Council on Aging are interested in hosting dinners, and we may be able to have some additional monthly events if we are open till 6PM one night a week. G. Matt Rodes reported that we are still looking into having a monthly Yoga Ball drumming class. H. Matt Rodes reported that regarding donations to the Senior Center, we are only able to take Rollators right now. I. Matt Rodes reported that he is looking to construct a larger closet in the middle room to use as storage. J. Matt Rodes reported that WCAT will be at the Senior Center at some point to look into installing a new microphone system. We will have to cancel any activities on the day/days when this work is being done. K. Linda Cronin asked if there might be a way to tape AARP informational podcasts that would be of interest to us, such as fraud and fraud prevention. Matt will ask Rose to check with AARP to see if they have any such programs we might be able to use. If AARP is having any webinar sessions, we would be able to join in with something like that. L. Matt Rodes reported that he will be on vacation the week of June 16, and Nicole Rizzotto will be in the office to address any issues that might come up during that week. VI. Old Business There was no old business to report or discuss. VII. New Business Matt Rodes reported that there is an open seat on the Council on Aging, and he would like to approach a member of the Friends of the Winthrop Council on Aging about joining the Council on Aging and serving as a liaison between the two Councils. He also indicated he would like to appoint a Vice Chair to the Council on Aging. This will be addressed at our next meeting on July 10, 2025. VIII. Adjournment There being no further business, a Motion was made by Linda Cronin and seconded by Cynthia Huff to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 11:18 AM. Our next meeting will be on Thursday, July 10, 2025. Respectfully Submitted Kathy Driscoll, Secretary, Winthrop Council on Aging Adopted by the Board at the meeting of July 10, 2025 ___________________________________ Alice Haskell, Chair Winthrop Council on Aging