air council on aging This meeting will be held in person at the location provided on this notice Members of the public are welcome to attend this in-person meeting Please note that while an option for remote attendance and/or
participation via Zoom is being provided as a courtesy to the public the meeting/hering will not be suspended or terminated if technological problems interrupt the virtual broadcast unless
otherwise required by law Members of the public with particular interest in a specific item on this agenda should make plans for in-person versus virtual attendance accordingly
This meeting will be live on Zoom The public may access the proceedings by joining Zoom meeting ID number 375-4146055 or by calling 9292056099 For additional information about remote
participation please contact Carlen Anteneellis assistant town manager atmirair.mmass us or 9787728220 extension 100 prior to the meeting
I will call us to order at 2:06 p.m Um do I have a motion to approve or amend the agenda um I have a make a motion to approve the agenda Has it stands second Okay Um
Cheryl Oh you're on mute Cheryl Sorry about that I agree I um Dennis I Mary I and I say I
um okay the first thing we need to do is we need to recommmit to our board expectations and what do we want to do as a board
Y um I had sent out an amendment to we the board what we have as a board policy does not fit Okay And that was what we had at all and that's the reason why it was sent out
and we voted on that last year And then we have I I think before we get to the policies and procedures because I think that is the logical thing to come from that I just want to take a moment to talk
about to to re reaffirm the the expectations and the purpose of the board Did you we have that right there are things that a board needs to be doing
And if you all look back there's a guide for COA board members that we should be supporting we should be coming up with what we expect each of us to be doing Mhm Um I mean
mine is what I have what I got when I came on was the COA board but it's dated 2020 Right There is a newer version of that Yeah You know the purpose of of a COA board
um COA boards came about many many years ago before there were physical senior centers and before they were staffed by paid employees um to to advocate for and provide advisory and strategic planning
for the older adults of the community The day-to-day operations of the senior center falls under my purview but the COA board um is really designed to advocate for the interests of seniors across the town senior center users or not and to and to
provide strategic planning for me And so I I I would request that the COA board meetings stay focused on advocacy and strategic planning And if there are members of the public or anyone else who
has a concern about the day-to-day operations that are happening those should come to me first Um handle it in a one-on-one way Now if over a period of time someone's not happy with how interactions with the director go like
relative to providing feedback then I think that's a great item for uh that that becomes advocacy of the COA board but that that should be submitted to go on um your agenda rather than coming in blind off of public input where where
possible Um and you guys have done a great job over the last few years trying to try different things to make sure that you guys are accessible uh as a COA board So I don't think that's a hindrance at all One of the things I had said I had
asked when I came on as the chairperson was what could each of us do for the center have a goal have a um I mean this year I brought the
library to the center They come twice a month Wonderful Yeah And I got Senator to Eldidge here Two really great programs Y
but I went out and did that Um but I think it goes beyond just the center You know the center serves roughly 30% maybe of the seniors that are in town So there's 70% out there that aren't coming
to the senior center It is but even the ones that when Senator came the people that came that day necessarily were not users Correct But my point being is there's still other things outside of the realm of the
center itself but that you as board members we still need we still need to go out and to figure out types of things We do So we do Yeah But how can
we and what are we still doing what else can we do i but I worked hard to get those two programs going You did you know
so you know but there are other things that I'm not going to I'm not arguing with you either on it I'm just sort of saying that other people do other things in different ways that support the seniors in the town board members or not And I think that's what we've got to look at and realize that some of it is
outside just the realm of the building So I have a suggestion What if as a structure to the agenda there was advocacy within the center and advocacy within the larger community And so the goal would be the
these are these buckets that we're trying to fill as we go about the advocacy and um and strategic planning And that way it makes it easy for you to go okay what needs to happen these are the five things that we five areas that
we're focused on We've got business under this one We don't have business under that one And then that would help keep it on the forefront of everybody's mind that there's both of these goals because they're not an either or They're both No they are Exactly But I think we need to think
where and what can we be doing down the road I think an important piece of that is is doing the um the evaluation center evaluation I think once we get through and within that that'll shake out
different opportunities for us Y but I think that is key to do and to get through Okay [Music] Um do you have any I'm sorry Do you have any additions well
I think that um as been mentioned you know only a a small percentage of the aging population of the town can actually physically go to the senior center or participates But I think as a senior board of directors we have to
think about the needs of everybody in town that's 60 plus and maybe folks that are shutins and maybe folks that don't have the capacity um to go out and socialize You know how are we you know how are the programs at the center going
to benefit them for example the the home delivered meals the uh the um the outreach services maybe um I don't know what the center did I'm assuming did a lot during COVID with helping people
access vaccines that couldn't physically get there Um working handinhand with other community agencies um you know advocating for hiring of a social worker um that maybe could be a
bridge to um the center those kinds of things Advocating for public funding Um I think people know I've been concerned about you know are we going to get the funding for the senior the new senior center the
physical building are any of um the grant funds in jeopardy writing letters making phone calls things like that Is that what you want your Was that for
the board of health though during co uh so I was not here during that first part so I can only speak to what my experience was at my previous employer and my understanding was that they were following the same protocol across all
of the Nshoba boards of health towns Um was that there were uh it was a joint effort because there were slots available and then it was up to the COA directors to choose um who was to be selected for each of those available
spots H I know someone came to my house and gave me the the vaccine I don't know who where they were from Um was a few years ago because I'm homebound but they actually came out and my husband and I both got vaccinated right at home So
that's fantastic Yeah Yeah Okay So the policy the um annual review and updates to board policies and I think we need to look at those again because they do not apply to the
board we now have what in what way yeah In what way um as we have Does everybody have this i don't Okay they're on the website on the town
website And can we put it on the screen and share the screen yeah I'm gonna pull them up Um and just as a reminder that anything that we're discussing in the meeting needs to be um posted with the agenda And I did look when you told me that Thursday
afternoon you there's very few boards that are doing that but I will for now on but I need to be told before I leave town on a Thursday Okay And it's really you
and No I don't think Well we'll see I noticed even the board the planning board tonight is not Um oh yeah Madam Chair could I just address every board um when you have meeting materials the planning board has
everything for tonight They've had it loaded for over a week for the meeting Uh like the select board's agendas they go up the Friday before the meeting but the packet material goes up with the agenda Um that's definitely a component of the open meeting law and we you know
would recommend that if you're you know discussing certain things that it's posted ahead of time so everyone has access to view But I shouldn't be told right at 4:00 on a Friday afternoon on a Thursday afternoon But now that you know that I know it now Yeah Now that you
know that All right Awesome I also found out that the secretary it said should be doing the agenda for the for the meeting I read that someplace Was that something that predated my
becoming i don't know but I read that someplace So would you like to institute that lucy in my screen sharing Yeah Um yeah that's it So these aren't I mean yes it's perfect Thank you These aren't that
old No they're not We just posted them last June That was when we we approved them in May or May 14th 2024 But it says like everybody every board member should be should serve a term of three years
and yet they'd been appointed for a year the last couple of years I believe it's because we were filling terms that were already there Okay Yeah Is that Carly is that correct yep that's correct If uh someone vacated
their term in the middle of the term we don't just reup for three years You fill the current term as it is and then we had to make some alterations to the cadence of the appointments because somewhere it got off track and um like
Bob Gardner was a two-year term just so we could reset the term so not everyone was up at the same time So so just to just to clarify article four here underneath officers states that officers shall serve terms of one year That is
the chair the vice chair and the clerk That is members of the board are appointed by the select board for terms that are designed to last I don't know two or three years But that's that is beyond the purview of these of these
these aren't the bylaws that sound These are the COA board policies as we understand them now and as we instituted a year ago Correct So the Council on Aging rules and regulations go by state law Um there's not an actual bylaw um
off the top of my head um that regulates the COA like in comparison the planning board has the zoning bylaw They are in charge of the zoning bylaw that has all you know building requirements etc for the town Um they write that bylaw they
amend the bylaw We don't have one of those for the council on aging So we go by the state statute The select board is the only authority that can appoint the members Normally it's a three-year term but what happens is what h uh people
either leave their term before you know they quit um unfortunately you know something happens where they can't fulfill a full three-year term So instead of appointing someone new to a new three-year term we
fill out the rest of the of the remaining terms So basically if uh committee member X leaves one and a half years into their term they're going to get appointed for one and a half years to fill that three-year term Then at the end of that initial term they'll be
eligible for a three-year spot on the board Okay I think under article four we should take four completely off Um under article five Okay So we have one one at a time if we
could Yeah All right So you are asking that the chair the vice chair and the clerk cannot serve successive terms right they can serve other office but not the same And and why are you
advocating for that um I think we need a different point of view Well the person still has to be elected but sometimes we have a where other people don't necessarily want like some
more public role as being a chairperson or somebody is just like I can't take minutes So I don't I don't see a issue with successive terms as long as you've got to be voted in by the board So if you've got new members coming in or whatnot
it's it's just sometimes I think it's just going to be there And typically I'll just add that boards that are appointed by the select board which the majority of them are So we do reappointments in the month of June because terms start July 1st So in that
July meeting we see most boards reorganize meaning you know uh the select board they switch their chair vice chair clerk every year that's how they do it but not necessarily the zoning board of appeals has had the same
chair member um for 10 years but you know they do reorganize every year they he just gets voted in as the chair so I don't think it's necessarily um bad if you have successive terms terms but you should at least discuss it
after the reappoint cycle in June at your July meeting So everyone you know if someone wants to serve as chair they have the opportunity to speak up and say "I'd like to be the chair." That's just a a best practice uh for all boards and committees
I I think number three gets at that you know they're one-year terms and so you have to hold an election Um sometimes people want to carry on sometimes they don't I just think it gets stale after a while
So would you like to make a motion or not no because I think you both are for it and I just think it gets stale Um but under I'm going to move on to
article five Wait Cheryl because we actually have four board members right now Do you have an opinion one way or the other i think I have having had history with other um both municipal boards and nonprofit boards I think the most flexibility that you can um put
into your policies the better it is for the survival of the board in the long run For example if someone becomes ill or there's an emergency it's good to have that that offices may be reelected for the reasons that you identified earlier you know people may want to
continue They may have good expertise Um it may take some time to mentor new board members Um coming on for example I'm brand new I wouldn't certainly want to serve as an officer on this board yet Um until I get a better handle on the
flow of Yeah Damn I got too much to tow the mark But um I just think that from my uh perspective and experience if we could have um that article for number
four remain in the policy that would be helpful Y I'm voting to keep it Yeah that's fine Um under article five number
eight ex members are expected to volunteer for senior center events or functions at least four times per year Yeah I think I made a sent it out as a thing to change that to say that members are expected to
volunteer and assist the director with events functions or other opportunities that benefit aging adults in town It sort of leaves it open to how you know whether it's physically here whether it's doing something in the
background whether it's maybe setup at one of the town things you know there's a lot of different ways people can volunteer right i'm sorry I just want to you know after last month's meeting I ran some of this by town council and I just will say that
the COA board in and of itself cannot make this a mandate Uh you don't appoint yourselves that you're appointed by the select board The select board doesn't have this um number eight you know you're expected
to show up at board meetings and participate but certainly we can't um force anyone to volunteer It would be great if they did but the only you know group that could make this requirement is the select board which is there This
is not their requirement So I just want to throw that out there Yeah Right And and I think that when we um were discussing that this when we formulated the these articles it it was not done as a
requirement to be a member of the board but there was a sense that in order to be of benefit to or in order to assist in the operations of the senior center it would be good if the senior
senator if the board members were to volunteer on some regular schedule Um so I have never I have not interpreted that as being a requirement in order to be able
to serve on the board but rather a I guess maybe expectation is the wrong word What's that could we could we do some um members are urged to volunteer for senior center yeah I I mean I'm fine
with that And also Mary's did you uh Cheryl did you see Mary's suggested edits to article 5.8 what's your view of that i think sort of changed it from the physical
center I liked I liked it Oh absolutely Absolutely agree You can volunteer in a lot of capacities It doesn't have to be physically being present When I applied to be on the board I I made it clear that I have
physical um endurance limitations because of my my physical challenges Um Sure And yeah I mean as a member who hardly voted in favor of your presence
on the board I I did not see that nor do I now see it as an impediment to your service on the board No thank you Thank you And I I agree it sort of opens up that whole a whole different area um your expertise as well as also too is is the fact that you are sort of that
housebound person How do we as a board sort of attract different people in that and how right your situation can we help with it or assist with it so I think I I appreciate the board's patience with that I I understand it's easier if
everybody's sitting in the same room and can be physically active and and and um in physical ways but hopefully what I can contribute is more my intellectual and professional connections with hospitals mental health services um you
know minority agencies Um I'm old and I've been around the block and I have a lot of connections in um Middle Sex and Worcester County and and may know of things that can be um helpful to the to the senior center So that was my
motivation But yeah I'm thinking that members are urged to volunteer for senior center activities Um well did we want to change make a motion make a motion Make a motion All right I'll make a motion that we change that
section five number eight to members are urged to volunteer and assist the director with events functions or other opportunities that benefit aging adults in town in the town I second I'll
um have your vote I I vote yes Dennis I Mary I and I vote I So it's it's it's Mary's suggestion with the word expected deleted and replaced with urged with urge Yeah Okay Members
are urged Okay Um urged or encouraged Yeah Okay So director's report Oh was there anything else on the I
had I had nothing else except you know I had the um compared to the COA board I just that went out to compare it to um sorry did anybody else through it
because I had I had highlighted I was okay with everything else that was Yeah That was my only Those were the only words that when I looked through it I sort of that's jumped out at me And that was the
only one I went through This is this was the the glossery I got hung up on last year because I didn't understand the difference Okay All right But that was the only one I had scratches on Okay
Right Okay Wonderful Um so I just have a couple of I'll send you the written sheet with the statistics on it um probably later today but I just had a couple of things to note Um one uh I think I mentioned this a little bit in the last
uh meeting but Mach is starting to feel a bit of a crunch a budget crunch um for home delivered and congregate meals Um I was asked if there were any reductions that could be made in the
congregate offerings that that we make Um and as you guys know we really only offer mock congregate meals on Mondays and Fridays because we do the restaurant-based catering on Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday Uh we were
offering we were receiving six meals each time Uh we have reduced that to three meals So we have cut our service in half Um it's a very minor thing We are at the end of their delivery route So whenever they have extra meals they
bring them to us Um I'm not terribly concerned um because three will accommodate us about 90% of the time and I do have microwave like the frozen versions Uh they do not taste as good but there are frozen versions I can warm
up for people if there's a real need Um but we do have somewhere between three and six people most Mondays and Fridays It it varies Um but so that is there we've seen a set of people um I was
going to use the word cul but that's probably not the right word There's a set of people who have been removed from home delivered meals as well Um they are scrutinizing who is on the list and whether they qualify as part of trying to get budgets in Were some of those
from air or just their entire veteran area we only deliver to air right but we only deliver to air So when I started yeah when I started there were 25 people or so being delivered to on two days a week and then I opened it up to a third
day a week um just because the hot meals are so much better than the frozen meals So it made more sense to me to deliver warm meals more frequently Uh and since we had the staff to do that um it and the volunteers actually to do that um it
made a lot of sense So now we're down today we had seven Um that number has dwindled over time It's not just a result but I would say it went from probably 15 to like 10 or 10 or so um on
average 10 to 12 now Um so they are going through is going through their lists and trying to remove anyone that anyone that they can Are there any other services that we get through Mach or because of Mach any other kind of
downstream risks that we or is that our only connection so it's the it's the meals on wheels and then the congregate meals and we could certainly just not offer anything on a Monday or a Friday or on typically on Fridays I mean I
don't think the service is going to go away entirely but even if it did um we typically have a meal or two or three left over from the whole week um you know on a Friday So it doesn't help on Mondays but you know between the catered meals we could cover somebody if they
you know really needed a meal on a Friday Um but no other than that um well the farmers market coupons the summer farmers market coupons come through mock as well uh last I heard that that
program was in trouble So uh and I know that's a really Yeah Um popular one um because though um those SNAP recipients have a HIPP benefit um each month I think the HIP benefit is going to be cut for this upcoming
year Last I heard Um although I'll be curious to know what's going back in in the supplemental budget Um so I I think both HIPP and the farmers market programs um I don't quote me on this
Those I think are tied to the USDA the farm the local farming funding line I I will go back and confirm that but there's been huge cuts in that area So I think that's what's um behind it in addition to the regular um
so I will go back and dig into the supplemental budget piece to see what exactly gets saved with that Um but those are the updates as far as the mock Um I've had a couple of people
interested in the second um full-time driver position Nice Uh I have I actually h you guys can continue to meet but I need to step out at like 10 till 4 I think 4:00 interview which is wonderful That's
fabulous Yeah So great to see that Moving along Um let's see Mary Ellen is uh restarting efforts to mail select numbers of newsletters each month She had started that kind of right before
the building committee stuff picked up um we were picking like a street or two at a time and sending it to everybody that was over 60 um regardless of whether they were a user or not to reach that larger population Um but since the
building project has picked up she's picked up a few things for me So she hasn't done it So now we're picking that back up again So you're doing certain streets certain streets Mhm Okay Is that something we could Sorry Dennis I didn't mean to interrupt Is that something we
could help with absolutely Yeah absolutely Stock mailbox Yep The um absolutely I mean that newsletter is excellent I've got to say I was in charge of doing a newsletter for a nonprofit and there were a lot of work
and that newsletter is excellent I don't know who puts it together if it's you Katie or it's a it's a labor of lovehate but yes it is me Is there any way we can put it does it go out over social media
it does Um so it goes out each month It gets um emailed posted to the town website and posted to Facebook Facebook I'll I'll try to find it and share it because it is it is wonderful And I always learn something that I didn't
know when I look at it It's just it's just beautifully formatted It's fun and it doesn't make people feel old because they're looking at the the senior center newsletter It's just really good So kudos to that Thank you Yeah I I do really enjoy putting that together until
I don't but I do very much enjoy putting it together the I mean one thought is that that in addition to targeting different geographies that it's the people who aren't regular attendees here periodic attendees that it's more
important to reach that it's because it costs money to mail it out right sure better to mail it to people who are no shows or just yeah and that's the goal behind it is to reach instead of people who are not getting the newsletter through the other channels that we're
already distributing because yeah and just playing with the database to call it I mean that's a whole other problem but okay no I so um then let's see we have two new volunteers this month which I'm excited about um as is often the
case with volunteers you know there's an eb and flow to their availability their interest their abilities all of those things um so I'm always trying to recruit new volunteers ers um and people who can swing through the different
positions So we just had a new high school volunteer start yesterday which is um fantastic And he's going to be helping out with just a bunch of assorted things And then I have another one hopefully starting next week that we'll swing through and learn the
receptionist the kitchen and the meals on wheels tasks in order to um kind of fill in where needed because we have people in each of those slots But and people have appointments they have lives they have other things going on Your Thursday lunch is wonderful Oh good He
is awesome Oh yes He's one He is wonderful And how many hours a week do you shoot for in terms of those two volunteers like two hours an hour typically it's two or three hours Um people can sign up for as frequently as
they want Right now we have people doing a two or three hour shift each week Okay Um but if someone was interested and they could only do it once a month or every other week then I can certainly put them in like this new volunteer that's going to come in and have um kind
of swing in when people are absent if they have that flexibility Or if they say I can only do every other Monday afternoon then I would look for someone else that was interested in every other Monday afternoon to sort of balance them into a into a schedule If you are
interested in seeking as a volunteer if you want to own your home and are a part of the um senior tax work off then you need somewhere between two and three hours a week in order to get the maximum um tax work off And thus far the town
has not maxed out the um I'm going to call it the abatement Carly That might not be the right word but the the money that the town sets aside um the town has not the senior tax work off Yeah Is that an is that called an abatement program what
I don't know what the financial term is for it but Yeah So there's two different um some uh elderly or disabled folks through Massachusetts state law qualify for a property tax abatement Um and the assessor's office could give more
information on that Um and then additionally the town sets aside money and we have senior tax work off So basically you can work a certain number of hours and then that what what you work you you know we times it by minimum
wage and that gets taken off of your your tax bill So right now we don't have don't quote me on this but I think it's like $45,000 set aside for the senior tax work off that's what it's intended to be
So we have not maxed out that so there's enough space to bring on more um senior tax workoff folks If at some point that should become maxed out then the town would have decisions to make about how to distribute that money But right now
everybody who is interested is able to sign up and work as many hours as they want to towards the max to receive that max benefit Does that go for a fiscal year or does that work calendar year so January through October and then it is
credited on the first quarter tax bill for the following year Yeah we have uh several volunteers here at town hall um that use use the program It it you know we'd love to see it used more but I mean uh it is very popular
for sure I was just thinking I was just trying to figure out if it was like fiscal year or calendar year Yeah the de the payment uh or the the benefit gets applied January 1 tax bill for what you worked the year before and we um you
know the program stops in October That way we have time to process the amounts etc And then it gets uh put on that bill for the first quarter which is first quarter of the calendar year but third quarter of the
fiscal year which isn't confusing at all The calculation is for 10 months or 12 10 10 10 So you have to in order to achieve maximum you have to do it in 10 months Okay It works out to somewhere
between two and three hours a week Yeah To get maximum in 10 months Okay Um let's see Oh so behind you you will notice a
lovely selection of boxes Uh the senior center received a donation of glassear Um many thanks to um Dave Cyborg and uh
his networking skills Uh he and I were at the Boston Restaurant and Bar Association convention in Boston last Monday uh to look at things like table wear and refrigerators and food vendor
services and all the things that um I didn't know a whole lot about so that I would have time to think about so that by the time this comes around next year we'll be really making decisions about it Um so he got us so th those are empty
on top Dennis So the pl the plain ones underneath Yeah So they are full of glassear Um some of it is the stuff they used for all the samples at the at the convention and then some of it is um one of the larger vendors gave us all of the
you like when you look at these are all the sample patterns So they're not matched Um so my thought is the senior center doesn't have much use for um wine glasses champagne glasses brandy
sniffers those sorts of things yet Yet they should go to town Yeah But what I was thinking is this may be a wonderful project for the friends Uh I did speak with an art instructor
that I've used before if she would be willing to donate her time to do uh like a hand painted uh glass So maybe the friends want to take some of those and use them um to do a fundraiser for the new building I think would be wonderful
Uh there is a fair amount of silverware in there There's a fair amount of drinking glasses things that could be used as drinking glasses So um when the high school volunteer comes back on Friday that's going to be one of his tasks is sorting everything out to
alcoholic and non-alcoholic glassware Um probably going to have to print something out to help him with that but um so that we can differentiate it so that the friends can um so the friends can start using that So I'm excited
about that But like I said there is um a fair amount of silverware a fair amount of drinking glasses and other things in there So um we're just not to that part in the process to know yet whether people feel strongly that in the new senior center it should be a set of 150
that all matches or not or whether there'll be a separate set of 150 and a different set for like 40 for daytoday We're just not to those logistics yet So the donation was really kind It's a little early but I'm not going to say no
to it because I I think we can really use it to fund raise Um so we will see And I can certainly use those items in gift baskets that we raffle off and stuff you know here at the senior center
So that is exciting Um and will the will the new senior center have a a a dishwasher yes it will have a commercial kitchen So we'll be able to use the regular um you know regular silverware and dishwear and everything So yeah Um
and obviously service for 150 is an expensive proposition So any way we're able to um bring that cost down is great So more to come on that Uh and then last but certainly not least uh I have a new date
for the cyber seniors training session Mhm Um that is going to be April 25th Uh that is Friday of April vacation week So I'm hoping that that um you know if I advertise it well enough that I'll be able to get some kids who are
interested And then now we're approaching summertime when the volunteer hours more align with the senior center So for example um you know our volunteer that came yesterday uh he's not available until 3:00 cuz he's in school but the senior center closes
at 3:00 but I'm here until 4:00 working every day if not later But so he's volunteering from 3:00 to 4 on those days Um but that's hard for him to accumulate enough hour service hours Does he have his license how does he get back and
forth or does he walk i then I don't know I don't know that So does he have any friends or does he know anybody ask him on Friday if he has any friends And if the answer is no senior No No I
know So I will I will definitely use the personal connection to help for the cyber senior thing I was thinking that might be a perfect opportunity into sort of that Yeah And if the answer is no he will get more in full All right we'll
stay on Let's stay on let's stay on top Yep All right so that's all I have for the What time are you doing the training uh I have not picked the time yet Uh it's a three-hour training So I'm going to guess it it will be um like a 11 to 2
or something like that with pizza or you know some kind of you have your volunteer lunch that day Oh so it will be at 11 then it will be um it'll be like 1 to 4 then 1 to 4 Okay No just see what I can do to film some of the
seniors So um Okay Well but I don't I don't want older adults there Okay What do you want so the cyber seniors training program is designed it's a program that's designed to train high school seniors high school students I should say high school
students um on how to in an age appropriate way to train older adults on tech skills So that day will be a three-hour training for for high school kids okay on how to become tech skills
trainers Okay Y and then the result of that Yeah So the result of that training and it's kind of like a turnkey kit So the result of that training is that we get a whole um database full of powerpoints and tools
to that form the basis of the lessons that we offered So rather than doing um one-on-one tech health we would be offering a class how to set up a Gmail account So you have trainers to come Yes
So the high school kids are getting intergenerational exposure They don't have to reinvent the wheel These training sessions these educational modules are already available for them Yeah Um and the fee we're paying for the
training gives us access to all of those So I had tried to offer it one other time and I just I had two board members show up but I didn't have any kids show up I think it's great Yeah So I think it's going to be a a wonderful opportunity
once it really gets some traction Obviously the seniors need and want the tech training I think they're going to need it going forward right you have to do a lot of different things and especially now that there are new guidelines for verifying
identity So the Social Security Administration just recently announced that you can no longer verify your identity over the phone right if you need certain services you either have to go through the online portal or you have to go in person Um and I had um I had a
a brief but brief but impactful um exchange with the executive office of aging and independence um the senior center uh director for for them with Adam Frank I actual title is
um about we have continually battled when you call the social security administration they tell their clients that your social security office is in low It's in low right and right and the issue is is that we can't get there from
here right so we don't service it for non-driving clients and um you know most older adults who are driving aren't driving that distance or with that level of traffic into unknown areas right so
um it went up and down and back and forth the chain in a period of about 36 hours and I received an email um from this shine and social security administration assuring them that our seniors could go to the Fitsburg office So
I wasn't that wasn't the outcome I was expecting or the swiftness that I was expecting it but I was really pleased So that's awesome So now I have an email that I can print for any senior who is wary of I heard that the Fitchburg social security
office was closing that that federal building is on the list of Trump's closure Well that certainly adds a wrinkle Cheryl you're taking place Um I heard it and I can't remember cold water there But that being
said also too is you can go to any social security office So you can actually go to Newampshire You can go to Wor But again the issue is that the COA van doesn't proximity access and proximity Of course somebody has to go It might be easier to
go to Nash than it is to go to except because I was shocked That's a big that social security office in Pitchburg does a huge amount of business I was shocked that that was on the list but I one of my contacts told me that I
To be honest with you I was wondering about that myself if it was going to if that building was on the list Okay So well maybe that's why they were so happy to tell me we can go back This I just recently learned that it
appears that the so the entire federal government but social in this case the social security administration are going to no longer allow use paper checks for any purpose And that I mean it has sort of they've
always encouraged people yet to always I heard that as well I heard that but there are somewhere in the nation 450,000 people to still rely on paper So my question is do we know if there are any folks in air who are still receiving
paper checks yes there are And is there a way for us to help them learn how to do direct depart I mean for not only is it far less expensive for the government to do it electronically but it's also far more
secure and and uh far more reliable to do it electronically I think that would be a really wonderful area to look into I will say just anecdotally in my experience the people I know who are still receiving a paper check are
receiving a paper check not because they don't understand how direct deposit works but because they don't physically have a bank account Exactly Exactly And they go to the bank cash it dole it out you know So okay Well I just Googled
whether or not the social security office in Fitchburg are closing says no Recent reports claiming SSA is permanent closing local field offices including the one in Fitsburg are false So this is as of currently
Good rumors Yeah that's good All right But I know I can't physically go there They won't Um Okay Um are we done with it yep Great um upcoming training and the advocacy
opportunities We know we have the May 14th at 6:00 p.m open meeting law Everybody's put it on their calendar And Carly will there be a Zoom component for that as well it said right on Oh did
it okay Yeah it it's via Zoom Oh it's all via Zoom Yeah it's it's all via Zoom because there's so many people and we'll Yeah we'll be recording it as well that you know and in case someone can't make it they can just request the um
recording from our office and we'll we'll be able to send it out but all board and committee members are welcome Charlie is that the same one that that the law office gave for the MMA last week or two weeks ago is that the same presentation
um um I'm not sure they do so many presentations relating Oh go ahead A couple of weeks ago This is being done by town council for air Right Right It's our general uh Mark Rich is our general
counsel and he'll be doing it and again all committee board and committee members are uh encouraged to attend Yep Okay [Music] Um okay Then
Chenner has a April 15th at 8:30 uh regional coordinate transportation council Um Chelsea does a really good job of this If you don't know
Chenna I recommend you Google Chenn They have a newsletter weekly What what is China is that an acronym chenna is um community health needs assessment right
and they are a wonderful group Um yeah it's their their regional transportation efforts who will be funding the first round of a second van driver
you know and then the town will pick it up after that So they are they are a great a great group They're a nonprofit Um I can't I I just You just want
I I think if you read their newsletter she does a lot for every group out there Do we want an appointment i think we need to
have somebody attend this meeting by Zoom or you can go in person Is it being done both yep You sure yep It's um I believe it's Great L Great
Wolf Lodge I don't I don't I don't have it with me but I personally can't do it Um Mary what do you think me or you no No Or Cheryl if
Yeah Cheryl is Spice Doom It's um You've been interested in um transportation What What time of day and what day of the week 8:30 a.m Yeah I can't do it at 8:30 Sorry 15th Yeah Sorry What day is the 15th what day
is it um is it Tuesday tuesday I I'm sorry I have clients that morning I can't do it Yeah it's April 15th the Tuesday And it will it's not just a one-time meeting It's going to lead on to other I
just have personal connections I've been I've been joining the last couple of meetings Um this particular one I just cannot I I have a but I have personal I'll do it So it's April I'll make a motion that
Dennis be the board the COA board representative to Chennai And what does the nine say i think it's the communities I'm not sure Oh there are nine communities within the Ketan area No So the state if
I may Madam Chair the state it stands for critical health needs assessment Yeah And the state is broken up into several regions I don't know how many total but nine is the region And this is kind of like an assessment cycle they go
through um every few years Um when I work for the senator's office out of Lemonster and Fitchburg um we we were in the same group number nine So it's I think it's more central massish Um but it's something that gets
you know re-evaluated every couple years Yeah No I know I've been more Framingham for the last 45 years So I have but I know it's Gardner and Worcester and
um you know Haywood Hospital and I've just I've read so much about what she her work is and I followed the um today was the la the latest newslet
It's wonderful I definitely say Google newsletter I will before the meeting It is It comes out every Tuesday Okay Yeah The lack of public transportation especially in the gu I'm familiar with
gardener because I worked at the hospital for 15 years It's it's a big black hole in the state There's you know the transportation is very limited you get out to you know Royalston Baldwinville Winshin those places
there's very little um access and what is available is very limited in terms of time So that it wouldn't surprise me if they were pursuing transportation issues It's chronic Oh that actually is a good segue Um Mart
will be starting May 1st They had um they got a grant for a microransit program So um it will start May 1st and it you can go from the town It's basically a grant for taxis Think of it
that way It's a taxi grant to support that mode of transportation So beginning May 1st you can call the number and schedule Um it runs I believe 5 days a week Um 5:30 a.m to 1000 p.m Wow And
it's limited to a 20 mile radius but it will work just like a taxi Pick you up from your home take you to your destination anywhere within 20 miles And depending on whether it's like 1 to five miles I think it's $4 each way for five
and $7 So if you're going to like Nasha I think you could get to Nasha in 20 miles Like if you're going to the mall um then it would be $7 there and $7 back So what is the center of the of the circle the radius starts from center Wow
So we give people in a wheelchair a ride to actually town to the train So they I don't believe so this is a microtransit grant designed to not taxis So it's not going to be a marked van It will be uh
taxi vehicle I don't think it will be handicap access Can you use Uber or uh I mean I mean I I know Uber and Lift exist here but it's not part of the grant No So you call and schedule and has contracted with taxis with taxi
services They they may be Ubers they may be list they may be destination express They may be whoever but they have contracted for this lower fee And is this specific to air or the the grant
also applied to the other towns the 20 shirley and Lancaster Okay Yeah And so they had done one last year in Bolton and Boxboro Um and then that one
is over my I I believe that one is over now So this is a one like a one-year grant period Wow That's great How are we getting the word out or how So they just dropped off the flyers today I will be
reorganizing that newsletter um so that May 1st or before May 1st when it comes out it'll be um it'll be in our newsletter and we'll whatever Mark posts we'll share on Facebook and I'm sure the town will have it up to she was you know dropping off flyers today to all the
that's great Yeah So that really is a wonderful expansion especially since it starts so much earlier than we start and ends you know into the evening I mean 20 miles is Yeah Yeah Yeah I mean it doesn't get you really to western It doesn't get you to Boston obviously but
it gets you a lot of places Um I mean you could do it from medical appointments all to Walthare I was down to Mar but it could get you to the mall
and would um wait a minute I was making the motion for Dennis to be the representative to a nine Yeah for the COA board I second the motion
Okay Um Cheryl your vote I say I say I Absolutely Dennis I Mary I And I say I Dennis you are the representative Um the Mass Councils on Agent
Advocacy Katie I understood that that is when we should all be reaching out to our legislators Yep And that's what we need to be doing So you can reach out to the legislature You can um you can even forward this email
to everybody to everybody Um I've seen some other COA directors no need to reinvent the wheel They can say you know we received this notice We you know encourage you to support this supplemental budget
um to fully fund the home care program Okay Did that get that get sent to every COA yes So Elizabeth Connell Mass with the Massachusetts Council on Aging they're our state agency And so this
went out to every council on aging um in the state Okay This email that I forwarded to you So I am watching some people reply all um but forwarding right you said out of frustration
um forwarding these to the places they need to to go So I think that's in its simplest and easiest format You guys could forward the email I sent to you You could further forward it to our representatives to the governor um to
anyone that you would want to Y just to educate me on exactly what is the home care program So that's um that's everything in the in the ASAP So that is aging services of North Central
Mass that is mock the um I mean actually it's not mock it's aging services of north central mass for all purposes um the two work together on so many things um to form together but it is services so that's like visiting nurses or home
healthare a it's not homemakers they do homemakers protective services they have a grant that I'm working on for mental health outreach anybody 60 and over that meets their um eligibility requirements can have
something in China today too about that Okay Yeah On the home care So anytime I need to do a protective order anytime I have um Yep a senior who I feel like could use a little extra help around
their home in terms of home care or companion services uh that doesn't have the means to fund that privately um they get referred to to aging services They do financial sorry financial
management skills Um all of the it's if you've taken care of a parent at home you know what you Yeah They also do the elder protective services program Yeah You need to file for elder abuse or
neglect or financial which is big Yeah You hear about that a lot Um that's what I had that um approving the outstanding minutes So I don't have March um which was last meeting but I
did forward you February's Mhm which is the one that we and I know that Marge had a correction Y if you want to take a look at that I was buying if you Yeah I didn't get a copy of the corrected I
didn't email that to you but here you go I didn't um Dennis my question on the minutes have been um when you have posted September was not posted yeah I don't I think we may have acted an error
regarding September okay I don't think they approved September because I don't think I think they weren't done you think I don't think they I don't think they did them But we did vote to approve them They didn't in subsequent meetings we did
vote to approve them I wonder if that I wonder if the minutes were correct Either way they need to be done right so yeah September 2024 still standard Okay
Um yeah so these this is February Um if you want to take a look Marsh And Cheryl during your email um I just sent that out the corrected version and the specific issue was I
think Marge in.9 B So could be I don't think actually Dennis the me the um your bot attachment I don't think had the minutes on it you lost me there wasn't an attachment to your minutes
that was I knew we were coming in so it didn't all right sorry about that never mind sharer I I neglected to attach the uh Yeah please I'll take a look when you send it out No worries
And then I think going forward if it's possible to get when you do the draft minutes if the chair can give that would be included in the things March that you'd want to post if we have them
Yes What I'm saying is whenever they come in they can be forwarded to um to Max and it I was going to say it's like I can't post the directors or their minutes on there if we don't have them
Oh no wrong meeting And they should be I always had to turn them in with the [Music] Yeah I'm sorry Yeah it's not on there So if you want to distribute those via
email then we can we can table that or I mean I guess February is not even on there So at the next meeting maybe the next meeting we can uh approve September
February March and maybe even April We are being optimistic aren't we yeah What am I doing here i didn't mean to What's that i didn't mean to right
yes you did That's exactly what you So do you want to wait to table those um I guess you guys you two at least I just don't want them to see where was it section 9 So B section
I had volunteered you for something Yeah Oh yeah it's just out of there Y So I deleted the last sentence Yep I just don't want to be called on it for later Mhm Okay
Sam Okay I just I'm waiting for somebody to wait to pick up Oh is that what you're staring out that window yeah I've got I was wondering what was going on I've got somebody who's going to stop by and pick something up So I got a Are you a good man i am good Okay we can
make I'll make a motion to approve February minutes Second Um Cheryl I think she's Yes
Okay Mary Dennis Hi Mary Hi And Okay I So one of the things I did notice in the minutes was that I had a question that had come up with regards to
um accepting state funding for the smart bus and whether we could I said I would check the Massachusetts general laws I checked that and I checked the regional transit authority and I didn't see anything specific to that They might have danced
around it right didn't say specifically So and I did put something out on the mass council on aging on the like fear discussion board to say um you know I was operating with this in mind is that you know the consensus of
others and I didn't actually get any responses So I really revisit that This uh I think the Wi-Fi has slowed down significantly here You said it does occur in Texas right
occasionally The phone's over here He's he doesn't have it with him He's probably in the restroom I know's already out there I hear the phone ringing I hear it ringing Wow Okay So
okay All right Quick question Who's going to make this change are you going to make it Dennis do you have the originals or I do have the original All right Should be an easy change Should be Madam Chair I'm going to again request that public input be put at the end of a
meeting rather than the middle of a meeting I was hoping we could then let her go and I I know but the evaluation is the business of meeting Okay So um I really think public input should either go at
the beginning or the end and not the not the middle I'll put it at the beginning next time because where we're doing the review I think it's wrong to sit So I just sent out those uh I think corrected copy of
the and that in order to that by putting at the end the person has to listen to the business before they can comment on it because likely their question will be answered as a course of listening to the meeting but I think it's okay to put it
on either direction you can go on one end of the other okay publican Barbara I'm here to apologize for the outburst that I had last week I didn't mean it It just came out My feelings came out and
I'm ashamed of myself for what I did And I'm understanding now that I wasn't picking on a particular person but it came out like I was I was talking about the board as complete And I'm sorry that I hurt feelings um because I didn't mean
to I mean everybody is a person Everybody has a right and everybody has whatever duties they want And I'm sorry Thank you I had the first class last and I know from now on if I have a problem
or something I feel I go to Katie first before the board Thank you Barbara And I'm truly upset that I did that Thanks Thank you for that Thank you for that I'm sorry Cheryl I wasn't taking
anything against you the way you came out Nothing Take No no offense taken Thank you very much That took a lot of courage Thank you And we are at our review
Jay could I ask with these documents that you're dredging up or or creating in order to respond to the various standards that they have here are you keeping those things um in one place here so that when the when it comes time to
recheck or when it comes time to re-evaluate you know we're comparing apples to apples Sure I I certainly can Um so that's like that's a great point in terms of like all of those documents from our last meeting should have been
posted No no no With our um and then certainly keep them here is like right so that either so that there is a an electronic file but also one of these things so that you know what it is that
we requested in the initial evaluation what you supplied us and does that need to change or not um yeah I can make a list Um I can keep that certainly in my copy I mean if if you guys want Do you want
them for No no no I don't I don't want them I just want the next year or two years from now I want whoever is doing it to be able to compare apples to apples Um at the next review right yeah If you go back and
take a look at them Yeah Okay Yep And I mean having done these at school we always go back to the last review or the one before that right and say "What have we improved?"
Yeah What have we failed at because we're going the state ofation not you know So on this one where did we leave off so we were so I had presented all of the um
example backup materials for the standard 7 fiscal and asset responsibility and everyone had agreed that they would go through and do their individual scoring for standard 7 Yeah Uh and that we would come through and
discuss them I failed to do that Okay Well I mean we're going to discuss it anyway So um you know you can score as as you go and then uh I think we need to consider how we want to tabulate this Um
you know there are certain like we could I mean there's so many blanks here we there's a couple of options we could say um back in the back it said that you know of of all these things you must have these three things for accreditation Um we could say either
would meet criteria or wouldn't meet criteria or we could say of the 36 blanks in standard 7 we meet the criteria for 20 of them and then track it that way Uh I think
largely I want to make sure we have some some way to track it and then to at the end of the discussion to be able to say what are what should Katie's goals be or the COA board but I mean most likely my goals be for the upcoming
fiscal year So I will be evaluated as a director in June Um and then I as part of that process I put forth goals um with the town manager for the upcoming fiscal year So I think it would be great to have um you know one or two of these
standards discussed because then there may be something that I want to roll into into that We certainly can compile those goals here as a as a COA board But I certainly think they could roll forward into into those goals You sent
us these as word documents too is my actually pull that up Yeah that's what I thought Y So that's fine Um y I guess is has a board What are we looking to see
one of these taken in this format here answers answers written in sort of as the consensus of everybody that everybody agrees with that one or or not because I think I believe I said I would you would tell yeah so and and the
scoring is we is there a definitive scoring mechanism so I don't see a definitive scoring mechanism so I think we can kind of because again this is the not formal version of this so I think we and decide So I think
meets you know meets the standard fails to meet the standard exceeds the standard Okay So like yes no doesn't work What's that yes and no doesn't work Yes we have it No we don't have it Well it's these individual ones are all yes nos
Oh well it's got all those Oh see what you mean But some of these are controlled by the town anyway Right But they would be but they yeses Yeah Or check I mean a lot of these seem to be noises and nos do yes and nos with
comments like if we have specific sort of comments or feelings about something Um you know that it may be that or do we we don't have control over this It comes from federal money or it comes from state money or or different things like that Um make those types of notations in
there Yeah Yeah That would be my suggestion is to to count to count up however many lines there are in here And there's a couple that have two lines for one thing It's a formatting problem Um but then to say we need out of the 25
that are here we need 15 of the 25 and then a list of like maybe oh gosh this is an ASAP this needs to be fixed or this is something for a goal for the upcoming year and then some things might be
longer term goals but yeah do we want to start and then we may we may kind of modify it as we go but if we never start we'll never know that is all right so u for fiscal and asset management um is
screen sharing working quickly Cheryl can you see that yes excuse me okay okay I So um so all right so uh senior centers shall practice sound fiscal planning management of assets and maintenance of information
with um transparency and actions and responsibilities So um in terms of the budget development process so development of programs and services that would fulfill the senior cent's mission I would say that I'm always looking at the mission I'm always
looking at a whole person view uh of wellness for older adults Uh I'm always looking within those like if you think about the listening session I've got things put out into programs social services outreach transportation and other
um I would give myself a check for that one or I the senior center personal but I think no I understand So we don't So So do we as a board agree with that
assessment yes Is that so important i say yes but I say it's also not necessarily but a you know I feel Yeah So but for some of these I
think there should be a way for us to note that in this one in particular that it seems to me that in the in the budget development process Katie does exceptionally well
linking the budget development process to trying to develop programs services that would fulfill the senior cent's mission So yes it's a check No I know but I I think I think you deserve more than a check I'm thinking like a check plus or Well that could maybe come with
comments down at the you know the you know so you can go ahead I mean I guess I if you want to make it more complicated we can make it more complicated but we don't want more
complicated We want to get through this right and I think it has to stay I think we can add comments afterwards but I think we really need to start okay and get through and get through I think it's a check Okay Because I can put it
at our to-do list since November I can argue my point too but I think it's a check So I give it to you So how about how about we say yes no for it and if you say no I give it to you But because you do it for the seniors and I give it
to you right but you could also say "But I'd like a note for this." And then we can just be very brief about the notes and you'll capture the notes I will as we go Okay But I give it to you All right Okay Wonderful Uh and then I think that's in maintenance over
there Staff and governing board We got a staff member here Do you feel like there is um input from you uh in the governing board and you guys would be Oh I
So the town's really the governing board Are you heard yes Are all the staff heard yes and at all meetings You guys are the advisory board versus the governing board I think
we can we can talk about that and that could be part of the notes So when I'm going through like to give a specific example so in the budget specific to the budget development process because that's what we're talking about So during the budget preparation in November and December I go to Mary Allen
and I say "What are your goals for outreach for this year for this next fiscal year what are you trying to accomplish how much money can we do some research on how much you know big foam fingers that say the air senior centers number one on them cost?" And you know
whatever it is And I make sure to get that in the budget So I would so for one check one B I would do a check Yes And I but I think that what a note that should be added is that and and and
as a COA board I think you do exceptionally well including us or asking for our input in terms of the budget development process I s I would suspect that the select board your governing
board is is not providing significant input Um nor are they requesting to um Right But yeah I I'm pretty autonomous in terms of and obviously if I ask for something that is above and beyond either the town manager or the select
board or there are budget meetings Oh yeah Um so the budgets are due at the end of December and then sometime in the spring there are meetings with the town manager the town treasur But as part I mean just to kind of read what's being
asked here as part of the budget development process The select board doesn't provide you input into what you ought to be doing Okay You initiate the behavior and then they respond to it as they see fit Right Okay All right Yeah Is that is that a
note you a note you want a note yes I just think that it's important that the distinction be drawn between okay the council on aging as an advisory board with whom I think you do have some input and you do request information from as you
developed the governing board as stated here is a different animal Okay All right Great So when Mary comes back I'll tell her it's birectional from staff and the COA board and the directional with the board
Okay No worries So we have a note for 1B for you to record question Uh Dennis would like it noted that the input from staff and the advisory board being the COA
is multidirectional birectional and from the governing board being the select board it is unidirectional All right Uh staff and see
So in terms of 1C college ongoing programs and services uh I do monitor that as the year goes on Like I noticed the cable bill went up two months ago Um you know I talk with my vendors or my
you know independent contractors uh in the budget development process to see what they're looking for if their needs have changed if their fee structures have changed We certainly look at um you know kind of map out how much I'm going to have each month for programs and you
know try and get a sense of whether that has changed since I planned the previous year's budget So I would give myself a check I would give us a check for that one Do you have a like schedule of when contracts come due like you know like the Comcast contract that it comes due
every February or comes due or when they look at So I don't have um I mean I could look back and tell you I don't have a separate schedule Okay There are a few things like my MCOA and my mockds that come due and the motion
picture license Motion picture license I know off the top of my head is July I don't have that many like a dozen So I don't have a whole separate document as a schedule for that because it hasn't there haven't been enough of them I certainly could put something together
like that if that is helpful I guess is would that be beneficial for you if you had to take a leave of absence or something so that the awareness of it Right Right Okay It's a good idea not necessarily you
specifically but you know somebody to take a look at should you not be here So I would put that as a suggested FY26 goal unless you think it's an immediate one that has to be done right now but that would be a great a great
goal that would come from this So yeah So you do do it but it's just not written really Yeah Okay So um cost of planned expansion of programs and services So I'm always taking a look at what more we could do
um you know as things get more expensive um I take a look at the subsidies that I want to offer or if I know that the coach bus is going to be more expensive um I try to look at that and see um we added I think it was not last year but
the year before um the smartphone went from being a flip phone to a smartphone and so I had to project like I had to identify that as an increased cost I had to project that out and modify the budget So that was a
planned you know expansion of the services Don't update now It's going to be expensive Um so then inclusion of anticipated income So I'm I mean I'm always taking a
look at that I don't have a lot of fluctuation in that So I have my town um you know obviously the omnibus budget and then I have my formula grant Um you know this past year I had the the hybrid
programming grant but I I really have the two main sources of income So I I would either say yes I'm aware of both of those things So I get I would do a check or I would say not applicable What grant is it the formula grant Formula grant
So there really isn't a lot of income that will come from anywhere else No I mean I do have I I do have this donation revenue that comes in off the meals and things like that So I guess that is that is part of my um
that's part of my meals budget That's part of my supply So you sudge it So So you sort of have the expense and the offsetting income or portion of the offsetting So you really do account for it then right yeah It doesn't it doesn't actually offset because
I omnibus but um what I spend comes out first of the omnibus budget uh and then any revenue I receive from fees for older adult for the older adults in programs or meals goes into the
appropriate okay um donation account And so I am always looking at that and I know that like I don't ask the town to cover the entire meals program because I know I will receive meals revenue Is there much variability in how much meals revenue you get from
year to year i mean like 10% 5% 50% I don't know the answer to that in general but I would say about 2/3 to 3/4 of people pay for each particular meal Um so you know but if you got x amount of
dollars last year you can project how much you're going to get this year within some relatively narrow range Yeah I mean yeah I mean lots of factors like I will
be curious to see whether as this year goes on you know as groceries have got people who are um there's more clients at loaves and fishes all of those things whether people's ability to give the donation will go down I don't know um but within the realm of
predictability yes I can say that I will get half to two twothirds to threequarters of people will pay so you so just sort understand that a little bit more So you've already submitted your budget for the fiscal year
25 26 actually So and that starts July How do you adjust for any increasing costs at during that unknown time what is I mean we we know it's probably going to go up right we don't so there may be more people coming There's a a couple of
mechanisms for that One the town budgets using bottom line budgeting which means that if I run into unexpected food costs I have the ability to say okay I want to put money that I was going to spend on
programming put towards the meals or I have the ability to say instead of having 24 people we're going to only have 20 people at the in order to keep that one in line So um for example like I have a little bit of extra and and by little bit of extra I mean like $500
extra because we're just not going through the amount of ready refresh water that we used to We're just not Um so like that created a little bit of wiggle room So I have a note in my budget that I can either take that out like I can reduce my budget by that
amount next year Um or I can reallocate that and show the reallocation Maybe it goes into a different line item Okay Uh so I thank you your your interview Oh yeah Um All right
So then um budget is approved by the governing board Yep Yeah All right So definitely approved at the town level Um number two the senior center prepares and publishes an annual budget document
Yes Yes Uh I'm going to have to leave you guys All right Go ahead Um continue and discuss If you have any questions you know you can note those um and see All right Good luck Thank good
[Music] Okay zone As the senior center works towards diversification of funding their income [Music] stream includes government grants for delivery of service
Okay Does anyone want to I don't know where you guys are in the meeting Does anyone want to Can you send her quick email and let her know she can hop back on she usually gets on because she only has an appointment at 4 Oh gotcha Okay Okay So so by the time we got all that
stuff it was okay And I think I Yes we my pen with me probably should have um No did you have another one i think we are Okay So where were you guys we
were at 5J 5 And participant members receive budget information in a way that is most appropriate for them And I just said most of them don't really So
So I guess the question is who is the participant or member is it of a of a board we've got back and forth Don't really I think it's the I think it's actually for the senior senior the seniors that are coming to
the center Okay Yeah I I put a question mark by that one because I really was not sure even and I said is because we had this conversation earlier on too about you know some of the sarbain oxy and those types of things and they're not applicable to us and some of that is because some senior centers are private
centers right my comment was that most of the seniors it's only a listed in session okay the air seniors have their say their issues right but that's not
related to budget It's not But they they're like "My tax isn't doing it." Right But I put that in the I would put that in the standard but they never asked you about the budget what it is So so do the folks who
come here as budget time rolls around or periodically during the year do you hear qu you know like where's the money coming from or are they going to be are we going to be funded next year no they don't So they don't seem interested in that
level of detail right um so in answer to the question receive in the budget information in a way that is most appropriate for them most people I mean would you want to kind of initiate
an annual senior center of financial report to the community kind of thing and then yeah or is that too much work or not much um I think if people were if there
were people who were interested in it I'd be happy to offer it sort of like the public budget forum um you know maybe that could be a goal for this upcoming fiscal year would be to offer one and see what kind of interest there is Um do you think it would open some
eyes maybe I don't know I think it depends upon the user I think um I think for some users it's too much information Um others might might really enjoy it I
don't know I don't know It could be a hot topic and it could be you know All right But I'd be willing to try it if it's And here's your next one The senior center publishes budget reports on a
regular basis and provides reports to the appropriate governing board Yes So I would say I mean you guys can pick yes or no because some months I do include a budget report to the in my director's report and some
months I don't So that would be a great like I said when we started this I don't expect to excel at everything You guys could say you want government but if you do in fact publish your reports on a regular basis and give those to Robert and hence the select
board No you don't Nope So the town you don't have to kind of show Robert like on a quarterly basis this is my budget This is where I'm you know so the so and and I wasn't here for the um the first
part but Dennis Dennis assured me that you did that Everybody I just made Mary's weak Let me clarify that So I have a bottom a bottom
line budget which means once they give me the $255,000 as long as I'm following town's financial policy and as long as there's money to pay the payroll right like no one's asking me like "Do you really need
that sponge in the kitchen for the most part?" like so um the town accountant puts out a monthly balance statement So 5e that comes from the town accountant but I sort of felt like 5 C and 5E were
kind of the same thing Um I do keep my own Excel spreadsheet for each of my line items and I showed you guys that during the last one So if anyone needed that information I could certainly provide it to them like I know where I
am in my budget at any given time but I'm not required to report the particulars of that back to the select board Or I mean if I if I over spent my budget I would of course be you'd have to answer for that right
if I um spent something improperly I would of course have to answer to that Uh what do you do comparisons of previous years or periods or do you So in my own way my own internal information So like
I know for example that I should be tracking about $3,500 a month in kitchen expenses between the food and the paper goods And so I have a part of my spreadsheet is a formula at the end of
each month that's like if I how much did I spend in this month if I had spent 3500 every month this is the balance I should have left And so I'm either over or under budget by that much Like I do have that in my thing
Um so I can compare that to a previous month or um like I can tell you last year I didn't I had plenty of money I did not need to go into my donation account until the last two weeks of the
month I anticipated I would have to go into it earlier but I didn't Um so I can anecdotally do that So I'm gonna say that's a yes anecdotally It's not like a year to date where I am Though when it
comes to spring town meeting though that actually does show what I requested the last four years in a row and then what I have spent to date for this year Okay You know so that is in there Okay H um so so I think for number six you
uh I'm going to go for the most applicable thing if they don't need it I would consider that um the governing board you guys in this case and then I would say you guys could decide that's maybe a maybe um I think
the intent behind that is a me is and then you guys could decide you know we talked a while back about what you guys wanted to see in the director's reports Um yeah And what we talked about was I think every like it would be good I think for
Ross and for you actually like every six months Okay Semianually but I would that was one of the recommendations that maybe we just sort of get an update like every six months or so Are you on track with you know over under um are you on track with the budget that
kind of thing So I can grab them Give me two seconds and I'll grab and we'll see if it's me that messes up the internet if I leave the room again But I would think right now it has to be a no because we haven't had a regular budget report Yeah But we're on the governing
board but she said she said the she said her governing board No we should be the appropriate board Yes Not necessarily So but up until now we haven't had not regular Not regular So I I would think that should be a no
Going forward Yeah Yeah So this is an example of and this is posted online but I'll put it up here Um there we go There we go Yeah that's and I posted one of those up Um yeah so this is an
example of the monthly report that comes from the town accountant's office and it shows what I was originally appropriated what I have expended to date and the available budget and the percent used So So then you probably match that somewhat
to what the budget you have Yes And it's you know it's always a little bit it's never totally natural because it's you know but basically like you know sitting out here has been this $164 in overtime that I need to have corrected with
Carrie because I don't have any overtime that should build to the omnibus budget Uh Sam did have some overtime but it should build to Mart So I that does allow me to do some double-checking Okay Um but I think if you wanted it on a
six-month basis I mean that's really only twice a year I'm happy to do it more frequently Yeah Um no because I never seen one until you printed that They were shooting for six months I was going for portal Why would you do whatever
because Dennis is too easy on you because what I would because what I would give you is this and I and I get one of these every month So it's it's not that hard for me to do it If you want to see it more frequently Mhm No
Um do you want quarterly you know I'll be honest with you I'm used to things quarterly right you know that's sort of just been my real spiel If it's simply a matter of a piece of paper I was the other thing I was concerned about was I didn't want you to
spend hours getting these reports for us that Right So you know this I can give you This is not a problem I just you know I have to make sure I go like I picked this up today because I hadn't been to town hall in a week and a half since well in the last couple days today
the eight in the in the last six days since this was run I hadn't been over to town hall Um so so they don't email it to you no you have to physically pick it up I do Yes Sneaker Um fabulous new technology
So um well Michelle's on next time Do you want to make We'll vote for her So we can catch her up Oh yeah We're gonna have Yeah Um we'll catch her I made a note Yeah So I can send this part of the recording We Where
where did I I'll email her Um you know I'll put it if you want I can put it together I'll put it together and email it to her I I'll email her then two three and four But I can certainly send her the link to this part we're discussing now Y
um All right So that's seven Yeah Were there any questions about three four and five that you wanted to come back we have one floor is not NA We put pretty much we did four is not applicable except for
the except for the last two Okay Um question it was question three Okay And there was just two sections on here because this had to do with a lot of it had to do with fundraising and those types of things right and we know that we I can't you
can't has as as the type of thing So I put those as not a question So we put all those but the financial support from the local business community and the inind support are those things while you can't solicitate solicit for funds Could
you go out and solicit for the meals program yes So and is that would you consider that financial support from local business or in build so I can't go out on like a campaign like a fundraising campaign but often as part
of my interactions with other organizations they bring by flyers you know we send people out to do programs and different things Um you know we find out ways to work together I will say that I find most restaurants and
organizations are all struggling right now So it used to be that if a senior center held you know two big barbecues a year and maybe one or two other things you could get a restaurant to do it But now that we're offering meals every day
of the week it's just not possible to piece together those donations It's more of a commitment from the restaurants and it's certainly a multiplied effort on my part So but could like and just I'm not trying to be the dead horse but like
sort of say the Pleasant Street picnic right could you potentially look for a sponsor for that to pick that i could Sure So yeah Okay Um so like for right now we have um we're just about to have Life Care Center of
Littleton Actton Actton Actton is gonna start donating the cakes for the birthday celebration Oh nice So um and then we have had um we have had Nishoba Park sponsor some talks
We do lunches with them but we pay for them Um every once in a while the retirement community will come through and say "Can we bring by some dessert can we bring by this or that?" And I say "Yes of course you can." So um so I can change those two then to yes with sort
of a qualifying statement about it So I would say yes but it's an area that I think could use more development It's not an area I currently feel is worth a
lot more of my time at the moment but I think if we had additional staff members or a more active friends group or the COA board wanted to work on some of that I do think there's more that could be mined there But I don't think the old
version of a senior center where just people donate everything to you is valid any anymore Um plus like I worked really hard to make this center look professional So you know people oftentimes come in and be like "Can I
dump this stuff on you?" Um and that's not what we're that's We help people when it fits in the free window We help people when it is like an overwhelming situation It's an entree to a social service interaction Um but we're not
looking for people to to just donate whatever stuff they got It's got to be No I get it I get it I get it I get it So except for So some type of that except for STEMware but even but even that that is strategically setting up
for next year Yep Yeah committees or other groups within the senior center abide by these fiscal reporting practices Accurate and complete records
are maintained Isn't that really not applicable so I I think it depends on how you're going to define that So if you're thinking about that as the Council on Aging you guys maintain agendas you
maintain minutes you they're available for review by the town and by the public and all of that They're asking these are financial reports Cool So um I don't have any groups like for example um well a a good example of this would
be I don't require um my independent contractors to report back to me what their donations are but they're asking fiscal I I think that's not applicable I think that's more for a standalone That word fiscal is the if you take a look at
it right but what I'm saying is like I could require Jeff my exercise instructor to report back to me how many how much class participation fees he's earning each class That's fair
enough Right So we don't I don't do that But there's also no audit committee that's going to review it either So is it is So so he offices services here for a particular fee People come they take advantage of
the services they pay him directly right so the so he is on a stipend with the town So the town pays him a base stipend no matter how many people come and then he um has a suggested donation of three
or five dollars per class Um and then people pay him that directly Um I don't ask him how much he collected on any given day Nor do I for example keep records on how many people came into bingo how much money went in and how
much money went out That would be a great example Um they're all aware that it is supposed to be money in equals money out Um but so you don't give them a 1099 if they hit over $600 in the year So you don't keep track of that of the winnings
the bingo winnings Oh I don't You should [Music] I mean in theor in theory that would be well but they're so they're not they don't as long as the money in my understanding is as long as the money in equals the money out they're not actually gambling and I don't I'm not
required to have a bingo license but if we were giving away prizes or they were rolling over money from one week to another for a larger jackpot like money was available that didn't get paid in at a particular time then I'd be required to carry a bingo license So
um yeah that's but but I mean I so I think that's that's sort of what I was hoping you know as we're having these conversations is there'd be little pieces where you'd go "Okay maybe you should maybe you should." Do you think uh at this level
oh no So he's making money under the table He's not making money under the table but he his donations Yeah they are donations Could be a tip Could be considered a tip And if if it's I mean that would be up to him to claim waitresses have to claim
tips Yeah So like I said yeah so he receives tax documents from the town you know for but is he putting that on it he doesn't have to That's between him and the IRS because even waitresses don't claim if it's a cash tip They don't have to certain percentage Casino dealers are
a certain percentage and then they are supposed to claim the rest of it as tip income on your taxes Yeah So either way I wouldn't know that because obviously I wouldn't know what he claimed on his taxes
Um but he gets the appropriate for his stipen that the town is paying him as an independent contractor He gets the appropriate tax forms for that Um I need to go soon Yeah No So I think that should be
the Yeah Yeah I don't I mean it may be that the next time we talk around it we talk about the bingo one or identify different ones but I think that whole thing is na yeah I think at this stage I really y think it
is all right you want to leave off and I'm ready to so we'll pick up next time with item number eight y and hopefully move on to the next one too yeah and I I I think so many more of them going forward are
going to be a not less detailed but they're going to be more straightforward They're going to be more straightforward and everyone will have the information better The financial one just because Yep Do I have a motion to adjurnn motion to adjurnn Second
and yes we adjourn at 452