Call to order. Let's do the pledge of >> allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and to the stand, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
>> So, as far as announcements, this meeting is being recorded by the local scene. Anyone intending to make an audio or video recording of this meeting should notify the chair at this time. There are several volunteer opportunities at the Council on Aging,
including but not limited to meals on wheels, volunteers, volunteer help at the cafe, volunteers needed with computer skills, and senior tax write off volunteer opportunities. If you are interested in any of these or would just like to volunteer in general, please
reach out to the director of the COA. For those who wish to contact the COA advisory board, please note our email COA-ab kingston.gov. And right now we don't have any activity
on there. Is there anybody who wants to be uh on open forum? No. Okay. As far as the meeting minutes, you all should have a copy uh of the
secretary report for November 18th. Have you all read the report? >> Any questions? Anyone want to make a motion? >> I'll make a motion >> to approve the minutes for November 18th,
>> 2025. >> And anybody second? >> I'll second it. All in favor? >> I. >> Okay. >> Next item, new business number one, uh, the agent dementia working group livable
Kingston action plan survey update by Joanne Ziggmmont from Oolony Planning Council. And Joanne is with us on Zoom. >> Hello. Welcome everyone. >> Have in mind to discuss today? >> Yes. Yes. So Holly asked that I give you
all >> Joanne, hang on just one second. We can't hear you very well here. >> Oh, >> how's that? Any better yet? time for March speakers. How about now? Does that sound any better to you all?
>> No, it's coming to the computer, not >> Have you tried the little arrow on Zoom next to the audio? You can choose which output you want. I can hear you a little bit. Yeah. Can you guys hear me better?
>> Oh, good. >> Good. Good. Okay. So Holly asked me to give you all a little bit of an update on the survey that was conducted a few months ago. We have the results in and they're written
up in a pretty detailed document. Um I don't know if Holly shared that with you all. Um if you do want to see the actual document, she can. Um there's a lot in it to unpack. So I'm only going to go through things for, you know, no more than 10 minutes just to kind of give you a a sense of what folks said. Um but
then the details are in that document so you can go into a lot more if you read that. Um just going to share my screen. I think I should be able to Yeah. Let's see. Okay. Can everybody see that? Okay. Is it big enough?
>> Yeah. Bigger. How's that? >> Didn't change. >> It didn't change. How about now? >> That is good. >> Good. Okay. Good. All right. So we um in
2025 we ran the um community survey for about a couple months. We received 516 responses which is a really really really good response rate for a small town like Kingston. Um by comparison, you know, sometimes we've run surveys in
towns of Kingston size and only gotten a 100 responses if we were lucky. Um so 516 is a great response. I know Holly and working group members put a lot of effort into getting people to reply to that, so it's a a huge shout out to them. We had um most of the respondents
um identify themselves as residents of Kingston. Um the remaining either worked in Kingston or provided caregiving for somebody who lived in Kingston. Um so all the responses are relevant. We did have more adults over the age of
65 and more women reply to the survey than those groups are kind of represented in the general population. Um, and also we didn't have any respondents who are under the age of 24. So that's just something to keep in mind when you're thinking about what was said
is that there might be a bit of an over representation um among those groups. Um, so you can't really completely generalize to what folks generally in the community might might be thinking because it could potentially be a little bit different if you got um more folks
under 65 responding and participating or more men for example. Um, nevertheless, the responses do reflect a really wide range of lived experiences. Um, we did ask folks if they were veterans, if they they were caregivers, um, what their race and
ethnicity was, um, a whole bunch of other demographic questions, and there was a good representation, um, among all of those groups. So, it's still a it's still a a legit sample of of your community and your residents and and what they think.
Overall, um, twothirds of respondents to the survey did view Kingston as a good or a very good place to live as people age. So, that's really good news. You can see the orange um is very good and the lighter kind of teal color is good.
Um, very few people thought the community was poor or very poor and then most everybody else thought it was acceptable. Um, so this is overall a really great um indicator that residents view Kingston favorably. Um, about a
quarter of them, we did ask some questions about um potentially moving out of town or moving to a different home. About a quarter of them did expect to move in the into about a quarter of them did expect to move in the future. um and their
concerns related to the move usually centered around cost, cost of living. Um housing suitability, it might be too small or too big and also accessibility. So for example, um homes that don't have steps.
Um, so this kind of suggests to us generally that as I said, Kingston is viewed favorably as a community in which to age in place, but there are structural pressures that could be threatening residents ability to do so.
We asked residents, so if you remember, I think I spoke to you all probably about a year ago or so. It's been several months at least. Um our process is based on AARP's framework for age friendly communities and in that
framework there are eight areas of focus which are called domains. Those are listed here. Um we asked residents in the survey to rank these areas of focus or domains according to what they think
is top priority for the community to be addressed. Housing clearly came out as the number one. You can see that uh 44% of respondents chose housing as the number one priority um far more than any
of the other um domains presented here. Um the bottom um excuse me was communication and information as well as employment and civic engagement. This doesn't mean that the this doesn't necessarily mean that residents thought
it wasn't a priority. It's just in the context of all these others. These are the two that kind of were at the bottom of the pack. Um you can see most clearly by looking at the red that you know 18% 19%
put these as literally the last priority, the eighth priority. everything else in the middle, the community health um and social services, social participation, outdoor space and buildings, respect and social inclusion, they're all kind of tied in the middle.
Um the document with the summary um that Holly has and can share goes a little bit more into detail about what this means, but essentially everything else in the middle is kind of tied. um different people thought um these were all different priorities, but in general
everybody thought they were kind of somewhere in the middle. >> Um housing >> go ahead >> back to the previous page. There's one there labeled transportation that what category does that fall in?
>> So that one actually falls into roughly equal. That's a really good catch. I messed up my arrow here. Um, so this arrow should go up here, too. So, transportation, you can kind of see, um, 9% shows it as number one, which is kind of similar to these other groupings
here. Um, and then 14% chose it as the last priority, which is kind of similar to these here. So, transportation should be in that kind of middle bucket, roughly equal with kind of these other ones. Thank you for catching that.
So on housing, um I'm not going to go through each of these specific things in detail because it would take too much time. Um but in general, um it was definitely thought to be the most urgent challenge in the community. Um the
resident the respondents to the survey expressed strong concerns about affordability, availability, and accessibility of housing options that were suitable for aging residents. And in general there seems to be a limited awareness of available options or
services. Um so on this chart here on the right um you can see that folks could choose from very poor to very good but we also actually gave them an option of don't know. And for some of these items a lot of people just didn't know.
Um so that's where we kind of get an indicator of where the limited awareness is. Um, but the key message is essentially that affordability, availability, and accessibility are kind of your three A's in the community that residents most
worried about when it comes to housing. Outdoor spaces and buildings. Um, this area was generally seen as um pretty good with um a few notable strengths in particular. Um, town-owned buildings
that are accessible. Folks thought those were good or very good. There were however some clear gaps mostly related to comfort and accessibility. So things like um more or improved
outdoor recreational places for people of all abilities um was thought to be an area that needed more improvement as well as outdoor community gathering places, places where people could just kind of you know hang out um or come together. Um the big gaps
that were identified were benches and seating in public areas um as well as public restrooms. Now the benches and seating is a relatively straightforward thing that a community can work on. Public restrooms are obviously a lot more complex. Um but those are the two
clear gaps when it comes to outdoor spaces and buildings that the survey respondents um let us know about. Transportation. Um, probably no surprise, Kingston is a highly car dependent community, but walking is
actually quite common. We asked some questions about that. You can read about that in more detail. Um, but the conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists were rated poorly overall. Um, you can see in this chart here, um, the teal and the orange are good or very
good. So, you can see that very few areas actually rated as good or very good. Um, the key issues really probably won't come as a surprise to you. Lack of sidewalks. Um, very few benches, which I
mentioned on the previous slide as well. Accessibility barriers. Um, so that could be um things like depends on how somebody interpreted it, but typically it's like um uh utility poles that might be in the middle of a sidewalk um or um
you know big potholes that you can't get through or something like that. And then unsafe conditions for bicyclists with health services and community supports. Um it was uh again similar to open spaces and buildings, a lot more
favorably viewed across the board. In general, you can see a lot more orange and teal um on this table here. Um residents generally perceive the community's access to health care more positively um especially regarding proximity to healthcare professionals
and emergency care. Um but many residents, and again you won't be able to see this in this uh chart here, but you can in the document um that we've drafted. Um many residents aren't clear about what services are available locally, how to access them, or whether
they are affordable uh particularly those related to inh home care, mental health, and memory loss or dementia. So a lot of these items here, we had pretty high responses that indicated don't know. um when they were asked about them
social participation, respect and inclusion. Um in general, most respondents do feel socially connected. Um and Kingston does appear to have uh does appear does not appear to have um an issue with widespread chronic
loneliness. Um we did ask some questions about loneliness and kind of related feelings. um and it was on par with other communities that we've worked in. So it it doesn't seem to be um unusual the levels um among residents in
Kingston. However, about a fifth of respondents did say that they do experience loneliness or isolation at least sometimes. So there's still a group of, you know, there's still a group of folks in Kingston that do feel that way often enough to um to consider
it um when we're planning for a more livable community. um affordable activities and programs for older adults received relatively positive ratings. Um opportunities for intergenerational interaction were rated
lowest in this domain. Um so having you know the younger population um either volunteer or work or just socialize together um more often with the older generation was something that was seen as an area that could
definitely be improved. Um perceptions of respect and inclusion were mixed. Uh many respondents weren't really certain whether older voices were consistently valued in community decision-making. So that was kind of a little bit more of a mixed bag um that you can read more
about in our um draft findings. Civic participation in employment uh opportunities for civic engagement uh especially participation of boards, committees and town meeting were seen more positively uh than employment
related opportunities. Um many value Kingston's tradition of direct democracy. Uh we did ask about how many folks uh who took the survey actually had attended a town meeting in the past. Um and it was a good chunk. You can read more about that. Um but barriers like
time, caregiving responsibilities, the length of meetings, and a lack of awareness do hinder participation, and that's pretty typical in in most communities. opportunities for employment and volunteering for older adults and people with disabilities
received poorer ratings, but there was also a large chunk of people that just didn't know. Um, so that suggests limited visibility, accessib accessibility, or availability. So there's potential um areas of improvement there as well.
Um, communication and information. Um, so this actually turned out to be um, more positive than some of the other communities that I've worked in um, more recently. Residents in Kingston generally feel pretty confident about accessing town information. Um, however,
there they find it more difficult to access information about jobs, volunteer opportunities, and civic engagement. Um, so there might be some opportunities around those things to help get the word out in the community. While most residents have internet access and
prefer email, um the results do still indicate a need for clearer and more coordinated and more user-friendly communication um within the community, which again isn't really a surprise. Communication is very challenging these days, and it's it's pretty typical for
many of our towns. The survey included a lot more questions. We asked about um whether or not people have used the senior center. We gave folks an opportunity to leave um their own comments. We asked some questions about how folks hear about
activities that are happening um and a whole bunch of other stuff um that I don't really have time to go over with you all today, but Holly um does have the draft that she can share with you all. It is still a draft, so please don't um share it too widely um because
we want to make sure that we finalize it before it goes out to you know public comment through the process. um the next steps for the age friendly project. So the working group has decided that it will focus on housing. Um very clear direction from the community survey on
that one. There's currently a poll out to community u sorry to working group members asking them to um choose which two other domains they would like us to focus on. Um I've gotten about half the
working group members responses back today. um as of today and I'm chasing the rest for their responses. So hopefully by the end of the week um the working group will have decided which other two areas they want to focus on. Um what the working group will be doing
now is meeting on a monthly basis to talk about each of the domains that we've selected in detail. Um typically we have a guest speaker who talks a little bit about what the issue is, what other communities are doing and some of the things that Kingston might want to think about. Um, and then we talk about
it in the working group. I'll do some um, interviews or focus groups um, depending on what's needed for that topic to learn a little bit more about what's happening in the community and what people are thinking. And then all of that comes together into a draft
action plan um, that we will put out for public consultation. So folks in the community will be able to come to a public meeting to hear what the plan is all about and they'll be able to read it and provide their comments on it also before it's finalized sometime in kind
of the early to midsummer. Um and my contact details are on the slide and obviously you know Holly is available as well too um if you guys have any further questions. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you.
Does anybody have any questions right now or >> so you you had mentioned that Holly you have the same draft? >> I do. >> So the graph that you see have >> Yeah. I gave her a copy of the slides
and there's also like a I don't know it's probably like 25 pages or something summary of the findings from the survey. >> Well, it sounds like it's gone well. >> It has. Yeah, it's a really great response. I'm really really pleased with
that. So, it's really good info. >> Thanks, Jo. >> Thank you all. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Have a great day. >> So, the next item on the agenda is uh new business, too. Um we have a guest
speaker here today. Actually, we have the the two ladies from friends, Mary Hayes and Mary Booten. Um, >> we're on. >> Well, good morning. And my name is Mary Bin and I am clerk to friends of the
Kingston Council on Aging. Um, we are a 501c3 group, which means that we any donations that you'd like to give to us, um, membership fees, those are all tax
deductible for you and adds to the kitty for us to expend for here. Last year we expended over $7,000 on various things and just a few here.
Um we sponsored Dot McFarland's craft classes train your brain. We did postage for the anchor, the Real Pirates of Salem program, that wonderful 60s band, the Bombshell
Betty production. We had the ice cream truck for a couple times. Boy, is that popular >> in the freezing cold. >> Doesn't matter. Um, we supply the Thanksgiving and Christmas paper products and desserts,
our friends annual meeting and dinner at the Knights of Columbus, Mother's Day and Father's Day raffles, and we did have some lunches at the um, you know, function hall at KFC.
And we have ongoing gift shop and cookbook sales to earn money. And by the way, here's the book. It's available for $20. It, you know, you get two or three.
And um it all goes towards things that are needed here at the center. As far as programs, um Paulie hasn't made any specific requests yet. Uh the only thing I know for sure that we're doing is we'll have an election. Again, we have an annual
meeting and election once a year. Uh there were two positions up the position of director and clerk. Those are available this year if anybody wants to sign up for them. Um let's see
uh see all our meetings are open. You can just walk in and talk. Obviously, you can't vote, but we take all your suggestions very seriously and
we we have some great discussions and um we we're open we're open to one another about different ideas or how to approach things. So, anytime you feel like coming in, we're glad to have you. Is any there
any questions? >> When do you meet? We meet the second Friday of the month at 100 p.m. in the Oxford crafts room. >> Anything question? >> Are you taking donations for the gift
shop current or will you be? >> Give us another couple of weeks and we will be. Okay. >> We're trying. We have uh the cart there that has all the Christmas items that we've marked uh that are half price and
we'll negotiate if you want to do that. We we need to get those out of there to bring more stuff in. There just is no storage space. Um my cellar was interesting for a while with all the stuff. I have a wonderful gentleman who
gives me lots of stuff. Um a lot of the the jewelry that's in the boxes in the in the case that's all branded stuff. It's it's good stuff. Then we have other um I've bought so
much jewelry here and earrings etc. But uh toward give us till the end of the month. We'd like to get the Christmas stuff out of there. We have other stuff uh stuff goodies um in
the closet in the bathroom that they want to get pull out, but we've had several people want to bring us stuff. We just needed to be able to get one one season out and get the next one in.
As far as this coming year, what are your plans? We don't have any specific plans at the moment other than we will do the annual meeting and election. The date to be determined. Um it's usually in either
June or July and it's offsite. It's not it's one thing that's not held here. It's offsite and we have it cated. Um, but the nomination sheets sheets will go up for the two positions and please sign
your name if you're really interested to get on the board. Um, Young Bloodood is always appreciated. I'm not one of the ones. Did you say you have another project upcoming, a calendar?
>> Um, that's in the talking stage. >> Okay. So, it hasn't got off. >> No, it has not gotten off off the ground yet. Um, we're talking talking to those uh that we've approached to participate,
but nothing is final. So, and it's definitely not the board that's going to be on the calendar. >> Yeah. Uh, as I say, everything is still in the works, so we didn't really want to get it out there. Okay. Yeah.
But that's okay. We love you. Anything else? No. >> Thank you. >> Oh, you're Thank you. And any book orders? The sales are still coming through, huh?
>> Yes. >> There's a lot of nice things in there. >> My daughter through her work has sold 12 of them for us. >> Yeah. So, yeah, it all goes towards the center.
say Holly hasn't given us any things she wants yet, but uh >> we'll get her. >> I suspect she's probably accumulating that list is gonna come in maybe in February or March and say here folks. >> Thank you.
>> Oh, you're welcome to join us again with any >> Thank you, Mary. Mary, >> no more questions. >> Oh, we also have another Mary on the board. Maryanne. >> Oh my goodness. Yes. >> Okay. Thank you.
>> Thank you. >> So, uh, new new business three discussion with a candidate, Melissa Clemens, regarding her interest in joining our COA advisory board. And you all have a copy.
You all have a copy of the letter, Melissa's letter of interest. You can introduce yourself if you want. Anything you want to tell us or >> um Sure. Um so I'm Melissa Clemens. I'm a resident in Kingston. I'm a registered
nurse for about 20 years. Um I recently took a step back from nursing. I just my last position was was kind of making me unhappy and it was just time for a break at least from that. Um I'm very passionate about you
know advocacy. I did a lot of that in one of my previous roles and it's just very important to me especially with the elderly population. Um you know as people get older you know they need more support they're more vulnerable. So,
it's just important to me to be able to help in some way. And I'm not actively a nurse right now, so I want to put myself out there in another way to help people. And uh it just seemed like a good fit. And I want to do more for my town and my community. You know, I've been a
Kingston resident for 10 years and this is my first opportunity to really be part of the town. So, that's what interested me. And I also have elderly parents. Um, my dad has dementia and that's been challenging.
Yeah. So, it's especially on my mom and I see like, you know, all of the things that come along with that. So, it's >> So, did you mention you had followed few of our meetings or >> Yes. Yeah. >> And you took the that survey that we had
>> the survey >> that the uh Liverpool Kingston study. Um, I know about it, but I don't remember ever having gotten to take it myself. But I I've >> I've been following along with the >> Oh, I thought you meant I take it like
myself. >> No, maybe you're familiar with >> Yes, I've been looking at that, which I found very interesting. All that information is so helpful to know the needs of the community are. So, I think it's fantastic. Anybody
any questions from Melissa? >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And a lot of people didn't understand what that person was going through. >> Yeah. It hasn't. >> Yeah. We had at one time we did have a I don't know if anybody remembers but we
did have a class with them coming in to show us how difficult it is >> for the Alzheimer's person that they they they gave us gloves because they can't you know put a button button up their shirt. >> There's so many things that you don't
realize that's going on with them. >> And we did that in nursing school. They had us put goggles on and try to open pill bottles with gloves. And um we have a person here whose husband was badly dementia and eventually took the Alzheimer's and this was after he
passed. She took the class and she said she wish she had known about what was going on with him >> so she could have helped him more. So that's another thing that maybe we could um get back here just to >> Yeah, but let's face it, right? It's not
Bob has to be young. He can't be young. >> He's 84. Yeah. Um and so it's tough on the caregiver in that. >> Oh yeah. And you have to be careful of her too because it takes a lot out. >> It does. >> How did you hear about the advisory
board? What brought you to us? >> Um so really just thinking about myself and how I could fit in and and do something for the community. I just was looking for a good fit where my nursing background and my experience with my own
family. Um, just the senior center just seemed like the first place for me to go. We need >> um where I I guess like my only question is where you if there's anything you can think of that there is a need for
somebody new to come in and help with. You know, I'd be interested. >> What you say? >> A younger mind. >> I like what you said about that. >> What? Oh, yeah. >> Yeah. And I I love to teach. That's I in nursing, that's my favorite thing to do
is teach people things. >> It was it was a good class. >> I love involved in some of those things. Yeah. >> Who taught it? I'm not sure who did it, but um I just know I went to it and I thought it was upside. In fact, it was
right here in this room. And um the woman like I said her husband had passed but she went and to her it was like I just wish I knew. So it's something that we might all get there. >> How many years go
>> before me the Alzheimer's Association from >> you would probably know people who process like that. >> That's what Holly said about a >> very very interesting and it just makes
people aware and it shouldn't just it should be out there for the younger generation who are going to be putting up with the elderly. You know, I hate to say that because I haven't. So as the advisory board, we would go to Balling
and ask her to try to reach out and find out who did it because we are not a governing board. We just are an advisor. We make no decisions. >> We just bring stuff to the board >> and ideas and discuss them and if
they're worthy, you know, we ask colleague to go further. Um we are not a we don't make decisions. just advisors. So if somebody steps up to you like they do to us, >> you say we'll look into it. >> Yeah, we'll look into it. We usually go
to Holly or if it's an immediate need, we send that person to Holly. Um but you know, we should have some background on it anyway if they approach us. Not to make a decision, but we should know a little bit more about who's sponsoring
this uh program or whatever. I think as a board member what the future is going to bring opening up >> and new possibilities so we can always use >> in the board with all our projects
>> just like this >> Kingston who knows what else is >> I sit on that board and it is very intense 36 pages in the hando I just went through it all the last couple of
weeks. It's very interesting, but I can see it overlapping into our questions. Like I have a big question about transportation. Yes, I know we provide it, but I don't know transportation like I feel I should know. It would be nice to have Patty
maybe someday come. We could present some questions to her. There's a lot of things that I don't know. I just know we have it available. But instead of saying, "Well, I'm not sure." I would like to say this is what I think but please go to Patty or please go to Ali
but I would like to have a much better background and I'm thinking the transportation overlapping with the um housing that's a big thing if you're going to stay in Kingston you're going to need and you can't drive any longer you're going to need how to access gatra
or whatever yes we have it but what does it cover where did they go you know >> well and we're really only a piece of that larger puzzle of transportation. So, we service uh residents 60 and older. >> So, anyone 60 and older in Kingston is
eligible to receive or to take advantage of our transportation system at no cost, but there's uh restrictions there. There's we only go certain distance. Uh we're we're contracted through Gatra, so we don't we're only boarded certain liberties. Um, so transportation as a
whole within the town, within the community and the outskirts is a it's an obvious issue and we're we're again only a small piece of that. >> Right. Kathy, you have found that out going through um right >> the elder services the lift program.
>> Yeah. Lift program. I can go back and forth to Boston hospitals with lift when >> and I I worked in the dialysis world. So I saw a lot of transportation issues with the dialysis patients getting to treatment three times a week and there
was a lot of challenges >> and my comment was because I sit on the aging aging in place I'm starting to mingle couple of things that we do with them and got to try to keep it separate but I
really need the background >> and you have to learn that we're always >> be very helpful. >> It's a nice >> Thank you for interested being on the board. Now, it suggested maybe you sit down a couple meetings to make sure this
is a good fit for you. Uh get to know our board and our procedures. Uh you would probably have to work with Harley when the time comes to fill out a volunteer application and all that that goes with that. >> Okay. And then what we would do is take
a vote to recommend you to our board. And with that result going into the select board for their approval. And then if it all works out, your appointment in that order. And the final result, you'd be sworn in at the clerk's office
and they work with you when doing any kind of conflict of interest training or whatsoever. But you probably want to make sure this is be good for you. >> Then we are ready.
>> So any other questions or >> are you ready now? >> But yes, I'd be happy to sit in and learn more about what you guys do. So >> thank you for >> having me and listen to me. >> Thank you.
So next staff uh committee reports. >> Sure. >> Uh so you have a copy >> uh everyone should have a copy of the director's report for this we're recapping
January December and January. Um, this month's events at the senior center are training your brain, Frankly speaking presentation, a local history presentation with Nick Culis from the Kingston Public Library. Uh, we show movies, we have a watercolor painting
class. We recently showed a webinar on decluttering that was hosted through AP. So, we just sort of have the room open for people to join in on that uh over Zoom. Um, and last Friday we had a welcome 2026 party with singer
entertainer Laura James. >> Was fun. I saw some people dancing. Um, >> with a cookie sheet >> this month we are offering a new fitness class. Uh, Chiang is pronounced. Uh we
had an introductory session last week and Chiang is used for improving physical, mental and emotional health through a combination of gentle movements, breathing exercises and meditation. It can help manage stress, reduce anxiety and depression and improve sleep. It can also support
physical functions, balance and energy levels. Uh I'm hearing a lot about opening up the lymphatic system and breathing and just general overall health. classes will be held on Monday mornings at 11 o'clock for $5 per class. So, we're always looking to sort of fill
the gaps of, you know, we say exercise, but like fitness, overall health, um what that looks like individually and and and part of the broader picture. So, this is something that we're trying and
it's uh sort of filling the gap of >> So, say it again. How do you pronounce it? >> Chiong. So the Q is a >> C or >> I went to the class but didn't know where I was going. >> Yeah. Uh in addition to those events, we
have office hours with our state representative Kathy Linatra, Kingston Police Department Chief Brian Holmes, as well as legal consultations with attorney Ed Conroy. We have hearing screenings with at home hearing healthc care. Those are once a month. foot care
specialist, Donna Golden. Uh, Donna's here again once a month and this starting for 2026, she has a longer day, so she'll have more appointments available. She'll be here full day. >> Great job, too. >> Yep. And our new town nurse, Annie Stafasnos, will be holding blood
pressure clinics now every Thursday. We were alternating uh twice a month, but Annie's going to be here every Thursday from now on. So, that's nice for the consistency for people to have that blood pressure check and keep the record of it and they see week to week what that's all about. So
our triad program continues to grow in partnership with the district attorney's office county sheriff's department police and fire and at the end of this month our triad committee will meet followed by a public presentation from Lieutenant Tibbitz from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation BCI Crime Lab.
Gail I know you're into this. Uh is that'll be on the 22nd. That should be interesting. We're scheduling events and activities for 2026 and collaborating with friends, which Mary alluded to, on ideas for things that they can sponsor with their
fundraising dollars. Um, so we were having conversations, I think it had been on the agenda for a while and we finally took it off. But this is just a copy of the building usage agreement. Um,
it provides information on how the senior center can be utilized outside a regular business hours. Recently, the building was used by the Kingston Police Department to hold six week citizens police academy. Kingston Public Library held two events. Uh, resident groups use
it for meetings and Mayflower Municipal Health Group offers a Zumba class at night for MMHG employees, retirees, and dependents. So, if anyone has any questions on this, uh, again, this is just something that like you would know about if somebody were to approach you
and say, "Hey, can we use the senior center?" The answer is yes. There's obviously certain restrictions, but everything is spelled out in here. So, if anyone has any questions, >> um, I'm always willing to work with people on their needs. Uh, again, this
is just for after hours outside of when the senior center is open, which is Monday through Friday, 8 to 4. So nights, weekends, everyone can keep a copy of that. And >> if somebody wanted to know what was upcoming, would they go to you? Yes.
>> Any events or go on the website or >> they would come to me essentially. We keep an internal calendar of who who's using the building. Um so say for instance finance committee was having a meeting here or they did a committee uh like a tri board meeting with uh finance
and uh the selectman. So if that were the case, if it was town meeting, the location would be listed on the town calendar, but otherwise some of these other things, unless that specific department or organization was promoting it, we would be the only
ones to know about it. >> They'll come to see you. >> Yes, that's the easiest way. >> So Zumba classes, what what day? >> So those are Monday nights. And again, those are only for u municipal people that are in the Mayflower Municipal Healthcare Group. So, town employees,
retirees, school, uh, anybody that's not really open to the public, >> correct? >> Yes. >> Yep. >> And do they pay the um, they pay a fee or >> they use the building? >> They do not. They pay the instructor,
the people that come pay the pay. >> No, a Mayflower pays the instructor and it's free to people that are in in that correct group. Correct. >> So, we we realize nothing. uses a building, not for particular groups. So, that's all spelled out.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Okay. >> Um outreach, you have a chart from Jenny. Uh her top 10 areas of outreach assistance that were provided in the month of December. Uh Medicare open enrollment was still taking place then.
Fuel assistance and housing was most requested services. transportation. In the month of December, we provided 330 rides through our transportation program and we had three new riders. Again, I was explaining that we see the change in
people who used to take the van and now don't take the van for whatever reason, but for every person typically that no longer tick the van with us and we're gaining new riders as well. Um, in calendar year 2025, we provided 3,516
nocost rides to seniors through our transportation program. So, it's a big >> lot. We have a new van driver, Cindy Mace, who recently completed weeklong training at Gatcher headquarters and has successfully completed internal training with Patty and observing other van
drivers. So, Cindy's out on the road now. Uh, we also received a new 2026 Ford E358 passenger van from Catra on December 31st. We wanted to break a bottle of champagne over it like they do
on ships. And then I was like, that's probably idea. I don't Yeah, we pick a class and whatever. So, we got sparkling fire and we sat on the van and we're like, so it's exciting. It's exciting for the drivers, you know. It's It's more
comfortable. It's just a new like everybody likes to get in the car, right? So, >> we could never use that van to go out of the area though, right? >> Can't because it's cold. >> Yeah. I'm thinking of the shot trips that I had always wanted to do. >> Yeah, I know. >> Kind of figured out.
>> Yeah. Um the cafe in December cafe evergreen served 337 meals which included our holiday lunchon where we served 108 meals. Cafe was closed on December 25th
for Christmas. Uh so that I just put that into context of like that was working day, you know, cafe day. Uh so in the calendar year 2025, the cafe served 4,140. Wow. Great. >> Wow. and the ice machine was serviced in
December. Replacement parts were installed January. And just a reminder for advisory board members who are due to complete conflict of interest training should be notified via email. Uh I know that some of those reminders went out this yesterday. Um
if you're having trouble accessing it, let me know. Uh we've heard a little bit of feedback. I don't know if the system was just bogged down yesterday because people were getting emails about it. We got them as employees. So, um we do have public computer in the library which is
available for use and you can always rush to logging in. But you don't have to print out your certificate anymore. It goes directly to the Clark. So, don't worry about that. But it just does need to be done. you'll get nothing. So,
>> I did after two weeks of trying um >> I'm finally >> having a lot of trouble. >> I'm finally coaching. >> I left out the parts that I couldn't figure out. >> So, the survey results that Joanne was alluding to, are you all interested in
digesting those? Is that something that you would like me to share with you or do you want to wait and have the plan? because as she mentioned that we're the committee the working group is um filling out a poll to to rate to decide on those other two or three areas of
focus that we want. So based on that the work continues certainly not done yet but it is a very long what do you say 36 page >> document of the graphs and the ratings and whatever. If you would like me to share that with you I'm happy to just send me a quick email if you want it.
that information that Joanne presented today. It's just a few pages. Do you have that? >> I don't have the presentation from today. Uh I could get it, but I think she was just sort of >> just for us personally.
It's not etched in stone yet. So, it really is. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. She was just really giving you a snap. >> Um >> Yeah. >> And she did request it not go too far because it's not not finished yet. >> Yeah.
>> So, among us it would be fine. And it's very interesting. >> I don't want 35 pieces of paper. It >> was just that front page where it listed the chart of those that were equal. >> Couldn't you go online? I suppose we
could. >> Could you go online and on your computer and just have it printed out? Um Joanne, I'm willing to guess that Joanne would wouldn't mind sending me her slide deck from today, >> right? And sharing that with you all because
>> Okay, it's very very interesting. It is not going to be done. How many times have I said it is not a sprint, it's a marathon. It's going to take a while. >> I know. >> But it it's really it's a great
>> it's it's a good thing. people that um took the >> Oh, we did very well. >> I town did excellent. >> Even beat ducks, believe it or not. >> But that was everybody pushing.
>> Everybody pushing was a good response. >> Is that it? >> Yes. I'm sorry. So, as far as the chair report, I don't have anything official, but um in reflection of 2025,
I want to give a shout out and thank uh director Holly, her staff, our volunteers, the friends, and all those who have contributed to the success of our Kingston COA. We've had some exciting lunchons and special events
well attended. Uh the Kingston upbeat COA spirit and positivity is truly remarkable this past year. Um I wish for a happy, healthy and prosperous 26 and the continued success of our
>> CO. >> So in old business, I don't think we have anything to discuss. Um, does anybody have anybody to remember today or any special thoughts for anyone?
>> That's a good thing that we're quiet. >> That's good. >> Okay. Anything else? So, our next meeting will be held on February 10th here in this room. Uh, COA
plus Zoom. Uh as far as the tax schedule, it won't affect our meetings. >> No. >> So >> So they're going to be uh starting later. >> Okay. After the days,
>> I will now uh the question will have working. Yeah, that's true. I want my taxes done. >> So, the time is 12:25. >> Um, does anyone want to make a motion to adjurnn?
>> I make a motion to adjourn. >> Anybody second? >> All in favor? >> Oh, >> thanks for being here today. >> Have a great day ahead. >> Our first meeting of the year.
This is just my personal