Re: Opening and Welcome

Commission Chair Ciriaco Gonzales called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.

Re: Approval of Minutes

Chair Gonzales asked if there were any corrections, additions or deletions to the January minutes.  There being none, the minutes were approved as read.

Re: Club Reports

Audrey Beck, reporting for the Young In Heart, said she would leave at 11:00 a.m. to attend the Young In Heart meeting in the Carnation Room to make a short report on what the Commission has been working on, and return.

Stu Crump, reporting for the Willing 3 C’s, said the club held their January meeting on the 21st with 11 members in attendance with 3 guests.  Following the routine reports by the officers, it was announced that the February meeting would be a celebration of Black History Month with a potluck lunch.  Stuart advised he had given a short report followed by everyone enjoying several games of Bingo.

Pete Sante, reporting for the Triple F Club, said there had been no meeting this month due to the snow.  The new club officers were announced and are as follows: President, Jenny Ricketts, Vice President, Al Green, Recording Secretary, Sharon Ghafir, Corresponding Secretary, Teedy Blackwell and Treasurer, Ethel White.

Marty Roney, reporting for the Senior Associates, said 11 people attended the February 7th meeting where the officers were elected.  Officer Installation will be held March 7th at the Flaming Pit in Gaithersburg.

Marty went on to report for R.S.I. that they have been working on a new program to pro-rate membership dues for seniors who have been living in the City but for various reasons move out of the City.  She asked for the Commissioners input on the matter. After a brief discussion it was decided that the Commissioners would recommend a $62 membership fee combined with a minimum of 50 volunteer hours for an annual fee.

Karen Lumpkin offered information for Ring House noting their meeting had been held Feb 8th with 142 members in attendance.  Following the meeting there was Irish entertainment and the installation of officers.

Doug Bly, reporting for the Bethany House Club, said their February meeting had been held on the 6th with 27 members in attendance.  The Treasurer reported a balance of $2,239.88 in their account.  Announcements were made that included a February 14th pasta dinner and a May bake sale.

Doug said he had reported on the Task Force, asking the Bethany House members ‘what it was that they really wanted/needed’.  Doug noted that there was no immediate reply however, following the meeting, several residents came to him to express their concerns about the increasing volume of traffic in the area and others said they were concerned about the large number of new, non-English speaking residents in the building that are receiving subsidies.

Doug also mentioned that the Task Force meetings are ‘getting better’, the members are steering more towards Recreation & Parks activities for seniors, specifically those run through the Senior Center.  They are working to improve on the utilization of the facilities to achieve the maximum benefits for seniors.  When asked whose ides it was to create this Task Force, Doug indicated he believed it may have come from the new City Manager, Scott Ullery.

He wants to eliminate overlaps in services and make the best use of the resources available in the City.

Re: Montgomery County Commission on Aging

No report

Re: U.S.M. Report

Ciriaco said there had been approximately 500 people at the rally last month and U.S.M.
is busy looking at the bills going through the committees, particularly those that pertain to to seniors.  A speaker at the rally noted that the State of Maryland currently has more seniors (approx. 900,000) that it does children in school (approx. 869,000) grades K through 12. 

Re: Old Business

Ciriaco mentioned the recent request for funding for a Senior Citizen Survey.  Lorraine advised that the funding was denied at the lower levels but Ciriaco, passing out a list of suggested questions said he would like to go further, to propose ideas and make the recommendation that the City reconsider funding the survey.  Doug suggested that most of the issues are similar to what the Task Force has been studying, noting that the ideas are the same but the magnitude is unknown, and that magnitude is where the crux of the problem lies.  Doug suggested that a cover letter go with Ciriaco’s list, emphasizing the fact that the 2001 survey was done only in English therefore representing only a partial sampling of the seniors residing in the City.

Re: New Business

Pete Sante commented on the recent meeting with Audrey Beck and Lorraine to discuss
the possibility of a ‘handyman’ service for seniors living in the City.  He noted that apparently there is a form of handyman service already in existence, run through Community Ministries of Rockville and usually noted in the Senior Center Newsletter.  It was noted however that this program is restricted to low and moderate income seniors and is used solely for the purpose of making those repairs that make the home safe and habitable, such as ramps, bathroom grab bars, etc.  Pete went on to say that he had contacted 5 area companies and made inquiries about their handyman services and found out that they charge between $85 and $125 per hour with a minimum of 2 hours per contact.  He also noted that some were not interested in small, inconsequential jobs at all.

There was a lengthy discussion on the ideas and types of services that might be required / desired and Ciriaco noted, in the end, that what seniors and the City would want most would be

Re: Staff Report

Lorraine said that the Senior Center staff is working on a new advertising campaign to promote the idea that 240-314-8800 is the single point of entry for information about programs, services and assistance offered to Rockville’s aging population.  She went on to say that the City is looking for a new logo and slogan for the Center and Senior Services that embodies everything that is offered.  The deadline for submission is March 31st and the winner will receive a $25 City Gift Certificate.

Lorraine said there is a new program in Montgomery County, a Residential Real Property Tax Deferral.  The program allows taxpayers to defer that amount of their taxes that exceeds the amount of taxes paid the previous tax year, for one year.  The gross income of all who reside in the home must not exceed $120,000 for the preceding calendar year.  Members questioned whether this would be helpful since the taxes would have to be paid the next year.  A member of the Center asked that the Commission look into a similar, improved program for Rockville.

In closing, Lorraine said she had received an inquiry from an attorney who indicated they were working with a developer who wants to convert part of a senior building in the city to an assisted living facility (without revealing the location).  The attorney was requesting a copy of the Senior Commission’s Housing Study from 2004.

With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 11:55 a.m.