I call the Council on Aging meeting February 10th 2025 to order at 12:30 we'll do a roll call vote for attendance paa here car Laughlin here elain here Carol Smith here Jack yeah
here Harvey here here okay um public participation good afternoon my name is Pam spani um five Co Road right here in south of course um I'm on the master uh plan implementation committee and I'm assigned to your group um and I'm just
here to see if you have the master plan on your agenda to discuss that today um and if not just to make sure that it gets on for the future and see how I can help thank you thank
you do you have a um a email it is it not sou mass.gov no it's it's personal want me to can you just give it to me Yani spell that s
c f 2016 at gmail okay thank you thank you everybody have a chance to look over January minutes yeah any corrections or
changes then could I have a motion to accept January minutes motion to accept a second motion okay any further discussion roll call vote to accept January minutes paa yes Carol Laughlin
yes Carol Smith yes Jack yes Harvey yes yes okay moving on to new business Lisa we're moving everything's moving down there it's constantly moving
sometimes I forget what we've done and what we still have to do um we do have the pool table getting brought upstairs on Wednesday um we have a group already that keep calling and saying when when um because they want to start a league
so that'll be good um Joyce banish um donated another pool table and we just have to get the top done which is only like $500 so that's not bad um and this guy that's moving it does all that so when he goes to move
hers he'll um move hers here on that day and then he'll just do it right then and there so probably within another month after this Wednesday will probably because I have to schedule him and he's pretty scheduled out um so um that'll
get done within another another month we'll have two of them two yep and then the gym I'm just waiting for the to hear about that from the Grant from the grant that hasn't been done yet did we hear about the like did
we receive the money from the grant or are we waiting on the grant the Grant I like they're they're meeting now so they're probably picking and choosing how much they want to give everybody and then they send us um a letter okay so saying that we got so much or whatever
um for our project and then yeah oh good okay and then I I I would assume they send us a check do you know what I mean and then that would go right into that yeah okay at some point I think I heard something about a dart board or
something did we talk about darts somebody asked about darts is that something we we're going to do dangerous we well maybe maybe they should all come to the eye exam first one of those because I'm sure Jack there's people that play you play cards
with that you would not say that they're not capable of throwing darts I mean it's just like the gym yeah it's kind of like the gym not everybody's gonna use the gym we need a big yeah yeah it won't be by the windows be on the
opposite yeah so there's there's a few other G game things that people have asked about I just for that I would just have to find the right place yeah um maybe maybe that's amazing but usually the people that play darts is are pretty
yeah you know yeah I used to play in a dirt League years ago so just kind of I haven't really thought about it no they asked I just didn't give them a definite answer yet yeah I have to think about where the right wall I was wondering where
yeah Outdoors oh Outdoors P throw she said next will be that ask for that all I okay we'll do
that well new business for us would be the 2040 plan for the town um I guess um Pam if I could ask you what what is it you're looking for us to do as a
board so I mean we can always put I mean you can explain some things and then down the road that could be on our agenda for what it is we need well there's really good news I feel like you have like two or three items that's it like some of the Committees have like could you come
close yeah there's a chair right here if you like you have a you have a little voice sorry I have this cough I cannot get rid it's Ling link so it's kind of driving me crazy but um you're really lucky because you only have a couple of
items and there are some committees that have like 14 15 16 items so um we had sent out an email um or Norm sent out an email he's the the chair of our committee to let you know that you know we're asking you to put this on your
your agenda and then he sent out attached to that for your uh your lead roles and again there's just a couple of things here so it's kind of it's kind of nice if you want for the next meeting I could just send this or make a copy of this to give to I think I have that from
the email um but I I I emailed him because I had some questions like what is it you want us to do if I if I can accomplish those things or get those together then it's not something that we need to discuss again every single month right yeah because exactly because you
are already have that in place but I think one of our questions is how are we going to make sure that this is something that's going to be ongoing and it's not just going to be done like one time and then it's over and done with so this will be an ongoing thing where I'll just pop in every now and then or whenever you need me if I can help you with
anything okay let maybe just put it on your agenda for next month and look at the the um the two items the items okay okay okay excellent thank you okay any anybody else new business okay we'll continue update on
um classes Lisa I think are going well they've moved upstairs yep um the classes that I'm familiar with are um pretty well attended yeah a of the classes have expanded their their
numbers quite a bit um and we you know dealing with the seniors is change is hard for everybody um so we had a few people that weren't happy about that move being upstairs but then it was funny because the other day we had someone walk in and say you know I
didn't and I've seen her around um and she was like you know I wasn't really happy about the move upstairs I didn't understand what your thinking was she goes but let me tell you now that it's there it it's the only place for us she goes cuz our class is not squished we have
more room we've had more people join um the class um so it was it was a positive but you know change some people just don't they hear the word it's changing and then they just they don't like it they freak out a little bit and then they just don't know how to deal with it and then you know a negative comment
comes out but I I got to tell you I've probably only heard maybe two negative things about it and it was about this it was more about changing than it was about what it was actually do going to do so um and I can take that
every day of the week you know what I mean I I don't have a problem with someone saying they don't like something because they don't like change I can accept that one it's it's when they don't you know it's negative even though it's up there and everyone else is positive I'm like how do I get them to be positive about that but it there
really hasn't been any negative so which I like do they come do they come through the senior center and sign in so some of them will come in through the senior center and sign in there and then they wanted um so because I knew it was a big
change for some of the older ones um they Park some of them will park on the side of the building and just cut it in and so they weren't signing in so we don't get credit if you don't sign in so we lose the numbers um so I somebody said well why don't you just buy another
signin thing but that was like $4,500 and I said I'm not spending that but I will try to accommodate them so then I found where there we have a um manual one that we can take like to the park when we do our picnic and everyone can scan in there a portable one so I called
the company and I said it's not turned on I don't know how to turn it on I don't know how to use it can someone walked me through it they did it took like one whole day to get they had to go in through the computer system put it on there and then now I bring it upstairs in the morning they this instructor
scans the um barcode for their class and then all the people will scan it but now the problem have to come downstairs they don't right and a lot of the people that come in on a regular day come in just for exercise anyways they don't stay
downstairs and hang around that's a whole another group of people um so I didn't have a problem with that and it accommodates them it makes it easier for them the only problem now is they're not bringing in their cards so they went to well now I don't have to come in downstairs I won't bring in my
card and I so now I had to put a piece of paper in a pad with a pencil and I said for the day's class if you didn't bring your card you know sometimes you don't have your card if you don't bring it then um so they sign in and then we have to go in and put them in so it's a
little more work for us but I'll take it yeah I'm not going to complain it whatever makes them happy you found a work around I did I did and it's we who work around Brown Bag Brown bag's tomorrow and it's the same it's small
numbers actually the things they're giving us are kind of not important there there's never any like fruit or well canned fruit but there's nothing fresh like we used to sometime have
apples or squash or something like that I mean we have no place to keep like meat or something but we we get nothing like that it's the same thing all the time peanut butter Tuna Fish and Rice oh plenty of rice yeah so yeah the world ends tomorrow everyone's going to be
living off of their bags of rice yeah so they get one every month last month they really were bad like kind of embarrassing them their bag like or mac and cheese and then there's always mac and cheese or canned salmon
yeah hand salmon a lot of people are excited to get that that to them it means a little bit more something different right yeah but if they they don't even go out of the way for like when there's a holiday yeah like for Christmas you would have thought or Thanksgiving you would have thought
they'd get like some a box of stuffing or something and it's almost like I feel like everything goes to the pantry which is great I'm glad because they they do three towns they do talin Granville and Sou but it's like I I feel like everything
goes to the pantry and we don't have anything here for us like they forget this end right yeah right so I I didn't know if it was okay with you because you you're part of that um if if I could make a phone call to them and just ask a
few questions yeah because and then just ask is this the only I mean are you limited does this food is it a menu that comes from the top is it coming from the government where is it coming cuz someone's not really thinking it through yeah you know because it is it's kind of
bad what we're giving them and it's almost like then if if that's their answer and this is what they're getting I almost feel like we need a group to try to get those extra things and I don't know if that's the friends group okay every month can you give us $100
and we have 20 bags and we'll go buy a few extra things yeah um because those people that come for our Brown Bag aren't necessarily going to The Pantry St out in the pantry they are are they eligible oh they're eligible but I think
I think that just brings them a different level we're here they come they walk in they get their bag and there's only a few people standing there now yeah you guys put it in the car they know us and we know them so that's the connection it's not like you're out in
the public and someone sees you going there and then you feel bad because you know there's someone even worse off than you I think ail comes with that you know but I was just going to see if I make a phone call get all the answers we need see what we can do and then see
what the friends we ask oh I know no but I'm just saying the right asking no it's not Highland Valley it's someone else it's from Springfield uh
food place yeah and it our our things so I don't know valy not I'll double check just an emergency Springfield Bank in Springfield yeah they're distribute they got a big
old warehouse and everything out there and they just give us what they have yeah whatever they whatever they uh get just separated and everything for each Town basically I mean because I do Springfield I'm yeah they do Springfield they do here I think they do somebody
had asked at one of the vegetable STS one time I can't remember who it was and they said oh if they have things extra they give it to the pantry right because they assume that people will if they they assume and I don't
sending I know but at least even even maybe the friends could kick in just on the days of um a holiday or something like every special thing I like that idea I'll put that for the meeting when you'll be there
too y okay moving on to dining room um the dining room's been good um we're trying to get the numbers up Highland Valley um since they did the
covid um the numbers are are went down because they only had drive-thru and then you came in and got your lunch through drive-thru um and I know last week we spent a lot of time talking about the meals themselves um but until Highland Valley makes us go back to the
old way um it's it's very limited who wants to come but so we're we're like in this one for March um their meal is the meal they send us is the um corn beef and cabage right I have no idea what it is
or what it looks like I haven't been here in March yet so it'll be um a challenge and we'll see we're hopeful hoping the advertising that special one might bring it them out for that little holiday um and then the Highland Valley
we have the Bingo um this month to play a game um about nutrition that's coming from the guy at Highland Valley so um all he asked me to do was come up with some prizes because all he he said the only prizes he had were like pens and
notebooks and I said yeah that ain't gonna fly I'll go get some nice ones um so I only have to do 10 discussed the fact that um that some senior centers are making their own meals and we have a a kitchen did we do
that at one time I think we had the hot never we had they never they never made them here they just gave us um ENT trayes and then we served them on a plate if you started doing food and everything it's you get with state inspections and which is fine
if we're the kitchen's not prepped that's my I got you 20 FY 26 that's working down that's working I need new sink I need yeah so I have to that's on a whole another plan but um and that shouldn't bother anyone because no one
goes in there right so I'm happy about that um yeah so that we can kind of like up it a you know step it up a notch but we have to have the right equipment and St like that but we did have a lot more people come to meet the chief
and you know yeah which kind of blew my mind because um but and that I had two reasons because someone asked that like why did we get like 50 plus people that came in so every month I try to do a meet and greet with a new person new
department head whatever and then so last week was the police chief and his new lieutenant and then everybody was like so went around and asked what why' you come did you you're not talking to him yeah you're not talking to him you know and then they said because you
advertised what the free meal was and I made Bak zitis with bread and salad and they're coming in for that one good meal Bingo there were a lot of bingo that have
St so I I don't I don't care the event once a month brings them in and it gives them a good meal and then if I have extra they come back the next day and we give them the extra and if they don't want to eat it that day they I'll put it in a container and give it to them to
take well it also gives the incentive the ones that don't come all of a sudden know oh there's more here that I can so I think the key is when I do my meet and greets I got to put the menu in there what we're having yeah people have to sign up ahead of time they sign up ahead of time yes we probably had about five
or six walk-ins and people that were were going and doing um aerobics or something came downstairs and saw the crowd and then everyone said you could stay and they stayed yeah so yeah I think advertising and saying the right stuff kind of brings them in what I
think would help with this um menu is the sodium the what that's high sodium it's so high that's not my menu That's the menu oh that's their menu know it's not um yeah that menu is
basically I think Rd for sodium just like oh really your average like that bad oh that's good enough and some of
them like the the pot roast on the 7th is sodium 798 yeah I mean that used to be a really big one the roast day chicken stir fry that's probably because there's um soy soy sauce in there yeah um but that's not really a lot that's
only like a third of what a low sodium diet would be well the menu the menus have gotten better because they have a whole another group up in Highland Valley um they got a new cook they that I think Denise said that was a couple years ago or something um that they got
new people and their the menus have gotten better they got new I think yeah yeah they moved around two people a few times I thought yeah yeah they really work hard
at trying to be creative but they make for thousands and thousands thousands provide a lot of food a l can we go back to BR I got a suggestion is there way we can make it like a small room and make it like a pantry or
something lock up and like maybe once a week or something if people need something they can go in there pick it out and everything else trying to get canc St and stuff like that um I would have to be very careful about not taking away from the pantry itself
so we don't want to have you know 50 people showing up all different days and and stuff going through cupboards that not going touching anything that can say they need peas or corn you just give me one can or something like that yeah case they need we have to figure out
something let me think about that one um finances Lisa finan say we're doing good um Highland Valley still sends us our checks every month those are getting up there and then um like I said the grant I'm just waiting for them
to decide I I think it's probably spring time it when they give you a a thing um and I have a grant writer who's constantly looking for more senior senator grants great that's nice
good well if he doesn't then he doesn't get [Laughter] dinner whatever works hey old business anyone [Music]
you about your grand um one day a month for like birthdays of that month or something they had a celebration didn't they used to do something that they did they stop that during Co for Co
and they just never I know um to celebrate say the February mon once a month birthday yeah cuz they um the girls told the card girls told me that um to tomorrow is um D Gerard's 90th oh
wow that's what I said like wow that doesn't she does not act or look 90 yeah but um so they'll they'll probably bring in something for her yeah you know they always do that so that's a thought if we want to start I thought I would make a
list kind of like what we do in memorandum but then I went into my senior center and printed out today's birthdays and I was like beautiful flyer I would need a whole page just for how many people are in there like
seriously like it was a lot so I was like well that's not going in the flyer right I could put maybe happy birthday month or so you know everybody February birthdays or March that's about all I could fit as one liners well that well for us then if we have that many members
do that's excellent we really do maybe the friends could help with too like a little dessert or something once a month yeah for birthdays maybe oh we have so many people that like to bake and bring things in too so that is that's no no problem no but that's what no but that's
what I'm saying that would be easy to ask for that um and and we're constantly getting like two to three people a day signing up for the senior center excellent that's a lot that's wonderful
it is now I just keep thinking one or two a month yeah we get quite a few I know I'm hanging out downstairs there's always somebody coming in the back hall or and I'm I'm not here that often yeah it's like I know the word is out maybe
the word is out yeah that we're getting more and more things like other senior centers have right so it's worthy of coming to maybe and then maybe maybe you know the dart board might bring in the younger crowd I don't
know you can see um but some things you know the younger crowd is is to get them to come here you need the gym you need the pool table you need a few of the funner things otherwise yeah um but yeah so I think
we're headed in the right direction absolutely we we used to have two um from the Technical Academy sometimes they would come and give a demo for we oh okay so that's coming up I already reached out to them yeah they just didn't want to do it in February because
they I guess they have the schools have February vacation and they didn't want to screw up the scheduling so I'm thinking maybe March April that was excellent yeah that was good okay yeah and then we do have for March we do have
the um lady from Fallon health group um Connie she's going to come in and talk about um highight and how important it is and then I reached out out to my Lion's Club um and they have a new blink machine and they'll put it up to you and
it'll tell it'll tell the machine will tell you if you need to go see a specialist it won't tell you what your problem is but it could be like a million things yeah trust me I failed it already you're
blind um so that's that's all free so that's one of our um oh that's pretty good yeah so that's a in connection with both of them so I'm hoping to have at least two of these a month of some group coming in um and so I'm working on that
good could you tell us more about this when the health director is coming so March 12th he's coming on so him and and the nurse um board of health nurse Trisha she comes in on um Tuesdays and does blood pressures now okay
um the super sandwiches where's that is that from the lunch in lunch nope that's just going to be for them for the for the for that Lon who's making soup and sandwiches I do yeah I had to change it up we were
doing a lot of pasta couldn't take it anymore I had to take a break from pasta but yeah so we'll do soup and sandwiches for that lunch lunch and um I'm sure we'll get quite a few I just gave him my um Handler certificate I did a class
um for food handler um and then I'm in on March hopefully I can um if everything goes well and I have to cancel that one I had to cancel it in February because I had jury duty but um I'll be doing the full SE search safe
class so then that'll keep us when if we do anything in the kitchen in the future um so we don't have to worry about you know everybody else will get trained everyone did is in the process of finishing doing the
ethics that was that was the other thing everybody did yep and then I think Denise Denise and Cara all had to do it also um May you would have gotten an email if you didn't get an email then you don't
have I think um is it what's this this is March April is going to be Sabrina for um for the meet and greet is going to be Sabrina um for conservation um and then um May because
it's also EMS um appreciation month um we're going to do um the fire department good so excellent thank yeah those two in advance when did you think you were doing the soup from the friends on the 18th on the 18th and so this will be
this so probably be just what one soup or two yeah it's just going to be one kind of soup with sand finger sandwiches yeah sign up ahead for that yeah yeah it won't connect to them and there and there's a little fee for that right on the
super yeah that's kind of like a fundraiser F yeah be soup in desserts yeah okay Harvey anything you want to say about the idea for grandparents day any time frame would you the best
thing to do is I don't know if have it day during the week or something but the kids should be off school like April April April vacation for them what month is it any month you want you gotta no I mean what month is Grandparents Day oh
that's September 11th grandparents day regularly is September 11th right okay butry one here it would have to be probably April vacation when the weather would be a little bit the
summer sum okay put yeah why don't we do it in the summer maybe two other people go places I like to get maybe the National Guard here for the kids when us live out there when they
first started this they have maybe about 10 kids come in day long start getting these here newscasters or weather person you know you L about the weather so June so that's gonna be hard June
11th is our um open house June 11th June 11th so um the the open house is basically for new recruits yeah so if we do this every year in June um I just
don't want to take away from the too close together could you even end of July would then go police fire for the June for the open house there's like 10 tables of different police fire um
Library all that and then you're going to ask them to come back out again all right so let's just think about a date that will work it's got to be where the kids roing school and everything yeah okay
okay anybody else old business I have one more thought okay about the food in there um there is a mobile food it's like a mobile food pantry for western
Massachusetts and they have multiple sites if people are willing to travel um there's one in Westfield East H tin fulio I have a list of them at least where I know how to get to a list of
them if people are willing to travel a little bit they give you like fresh fruits vegetables wherever and this is like from stoping shop or Big Y the big Supermarket are you a computer savvy person enough yeah can you make a list
and then we can put that in the brown bag I was wondering they would would like to hear that you mean for us to go get it and have it for bags or weet them no I don't think they all those food places don't want you to get it for someone they don't want to hear that you get it for
yourself right um and but so that would be some of them you drive up and some you have to stand in line and walk but most of them are Drive UPS wow but the lines are long I know because I've been there sure they're do you have to qualify or do you no anybody who wants
to go the closest one is in Westfield there's a church you know where stopage shop is in the middle of town and then where the post office is that road that goes in between between stopage shop in Big Y on that road there's a a church there the one that sets up on the hill
kind of with the it has a round driveway in yes and they do it in the back there and you have to park and then stand in line but the other ones I think are are drive throughs if I'm not mistaken there there's a bunch of but if you could find out what they are driveth through or
whatever then you could make a list put it on a flyer throw it in the bags every month good idea post it here for anybody who's interested because I mean it's it's a good source of food you know they have whatever vegetables are in season whatever it's overstocked right that
they want to like it'll sometimes they'll have meat they say you know it's like you know the extra meats and stuff they have like a big probably the stuff that you but it it could be helpful I think for people who are willing to travel a littleit because it's certainly worth the gas I
would say if you don't have time to make the list can you at least just I can do it show me okay I can do it right downstairs and I'll email it to you yeah is this strictly for seniors anybody anyone anyone who needs just a Mobile Food Market when they run out they run
out they don't know who you are you're just sometimes I think I heard that people line up like an hour ahead of time but if if you're a senior and you have transportation and you could do something else you know know yeah but it's sometimes
they get cancelled because of the weather so you have to go on the website so I will give you that too okay well that'll be y that'll work I mean there's great barington you could go to I think East East East
Hampton holy o there's some in Springfield there's one out where but lots of them downtown Springfield but I don't know about that I can't CCH for okay so get me a list okay any any other old
business okay seeing none do I have a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second motion okay any further discussion okay we'll vote on ad joury Paula yes Carol Lin yes Carol
Smith yes Harvey yes Jack yes Donna yes okay wej the meeting at 107