Mansfield Commission on Aging Minutes

   2:30 PM – Senior Center           Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Present: K. Grunwald (staff), M. Thatcher, J. Kenny (staff), Mark Ross (guest). C. Phillips, T. Quinn (Chair), A. Holinko, S. Gordon, B. Gouldsbrough, J. Brubacher, W. Bigl, J. Quarto,  J. Scottron (guest)

Regrets: P. Hope

I. Call to Order: Chair T. Quinn called the meeting to order at 2:35 PM

II. Appointment of Recording Secretary: K. Grunwald agreed to take minutes for the meeting.

III. Acceptance of Minutes of the September 10, 2007 meeting: note that Mary Thatcher was present at the September meeting.

IV. Correspondence – Chair and Staff: none.                 

V. Optional Reports on Services/Needs of Town Aging Populations

A. Health Care Services

Wellness Center and Wellness Program – J. Kenny distributed copies of her report.

        Mansfield Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation – J. Kenny: no report.

B. Social, Recreational and Educational

Senior Center – K. Grunwald distributed copies of Patty Hope’s report for the month of September.      

Senior Center Assoc. – J. Brubacher (for Tom Rogers): no report.  C. Phillips invited members to attend the Association’s Holiday Bazaar this Saturday and to sign up if they are able to volunteer.

C. Housing

Assisted Living Advisory Committee: K. Grunwald reported on the progress of this committee in meeting with developers.

Juniper Hill: B. Gouldsbrough stated that Juniper Hill is focusing on transportation and would like to get a van.  The hills are obstacles to seniors walking.

Jensen’s Park: W. Bigl reports that things are going well. 

Related Town and Regional Organizations such as:

Advisory Committee on the Needs of Persons with Disabilities, Senior Resources of Eastern CT: no reports.

VI. Old Business

- Long Range Plan for 2007- 2010: Action Plan – K. Grunwald reviewed a format for proposed action plans for key issues that were identified in the Long Range Plan.  Members are asked to review the proposed Action Plans and prioritize which of these activities they would be interested in working on for our November meeting. 

VII. New Business

-  Report of the Nominating Committee: C. Phillips welcomed April Holinko as a new member and reported that Mark Ross has been recommended to replace Karen Randolph on the Commission.  Mark is especially interested in the issue of auditory access to meetings.  J. Kenny reported that Mr. Ross has special expertise in the area of hearing loss.  The Commission voted unanimously to approve his nomination as a member of the Commission.

-  Proposed Storrs Downtown: Restroom Facilities: T. Quinn is seeking a motion to empower him to speak to the Downtown Partnership to ensure that restrooms will be fully accessible to seniors and people with disabilities.  K. Grunwald will invite Cynthia VanZelm to attend the November meeting to discuss this and other issues related to the proposed downtown. 

- “Other”: T. Quinn asked members to list all organizations that they belong to to use this as a mailing list for information related to seniors. 

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VIII. Adjournment

Meeting adjourned at 3:10 PM

Next meeting: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 2:30 pm at the Senior Center

Respectfully submitted,

Kevin Grunwald