COMMISSION ON AGING
Minutes
March 9, 2022
Held at the Heritage Center
Present:
Board Members: Mary Dale Lancaster (Chair), Jean Rexford, Ruth Moran, Sarah Atwood, Hilda Rhodes, Sarah Cummings, Kathy Brandt
Staff: Angelica Fontanez, Margherita Pilato, Michelle Stillman
First Selectperson: Julia Pemberton.
Public: Jay Sackman
1. Meeting called to order: 9:02 am
2. Approval of Minutes: February 9, 2022 – Sarah Atwood, Hilda Rhodes
3. First Selectperson: ARPA: Committee is soliciting proposals for funding. There will be priorities. First: direct need to residents, public safety, social services. $50K to SS fund for immediate mortgage & rental assistance and other Covid needs. That will happen very quickly. Process for approval will be a special town meeting. Voting will be 3/17, the Selectmen meet on 3/21, then there has to be the town meeting approval. ARPA funds are probably not able to be used for tennis courts and pickle ball courts. An engineer has looked at this building and there should be improvements for heating and cooling. Discussion on building maintenance. Technology changes discussed. Digital equity.
4. Director of Social Services: Angelica Fontanez: Food pantry: see report. Working with United Way for rental and mortgage assistance. Also state has approved for 69K for van, van has been selected. Issue in replacement for driver when he is off on vacation or out sick. May want to have a small team of replacement drivers to call on.
5. Senior Program Coordinator: Margherita Pilato: expecting attendance to go up now that mask mandate is over. Meditation has been very popular as a new class. Lunches have been extremely popular. This month was lasagna, with a dessert truck, over 40 people participated. A lot of people stayed over an hour to socialize. Questions about fundraisers.
6. Chair report: MDL introduced Jay Sackman. Jay has a great background in senior services. Book: Longevity Economy – Jay recommends reading it. Village to Village helps communities set up volunteers to help others stay in their homes. Discussion ensued.
7. Committee reports:
Programming: plan for a meeting next Thursday. Discussed having a spring open house, but we need to get the computer room cleaned up. May Open House is under consideration.
Communications committee: Peg & Pat Sovern report to Margherita, who reports for them, as they are absent. Discussed flyer for Park & Rec, maybe it could include Heritage Center info. Discussion ensued.
Architecture: Committee includes Ruth Moran, Sarah Atwood, Garner Lester, Angelica Fontanez. The committee obtained an estimate for a de minimus plan to enhance usage and add space without adding on to the building. An architectural study of entire building may be in the works. Discussion ensued. Interim plans were discussed.
New Member: Jay Sackman may be new member. Great skill set. Discussion delayed. 2 alternate seats available
8. Old Business – None
9. New Business – None
Meeting closed 10:32.
Minutes taken by Kathleen Brandt.