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Senior Citizens Commission
Rockville Senior Center
1150 Carnation Drive
March 17, 2005
10:00 a.m.
Members Present: Richard Ahlberg, Audrey Beck, Stuart Crump, Connie Farrell, Ciriaco Gonzales, Nancy McIntyre and Peter Sante
Absent: Marty Roney and Jonathan Triandafilou
Staff: Lorraine Schack
Re: Opening and Welcome
Commission Chair Ciriaco Gonzales called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.
Re: Approval of Minutes
Chair Gonzales asked if there were any additions, deletions or corrections to February’s minutes. Connie Farrell noted that on page one, last paragraph, her report was for the Senior Associates, not the Golden Ringers. With this correction, the minutes were approved.
Re: Club Reports
Richard Ahlberg, reporting for Bethany House, said their last meeting was held March 7th with 33 of the 110 members attending. Richard noted the treasurer reported a balance of $2,955.47 in their account and that the nomination committee report is due next month with elections in May. He added that there had been a successful bake sale that raised $550. There was a preliminary discussion on the annual June luncheon at the Willow Tree Inn and Richard said he gave a report on Commission activities. In closing, Richard noted that the entertainment had been Mr. Jerry Rowan on the piano.
Connie Farrell, reporting for the Senior Associates, said they had discussed the two- time postponement of their luncheon that has now been scheduled for April 5th. The next meeting will be March 29th. In closing, Connie said Christine Sutton gave out fliers and information on upcoming trips.
Nancy McIntyre, reporting for the Golden Ringers, said she had been unable to attend their last meeting. She also noted that she would be out of the country at the time of their next meeting so Ciriaco said he would try to attend, April 13th.
Pete Sante, reporting for the Triple F Club, said their meeting had been held March 8th with a St. Patrick’s celebration. There was lots of good food with entertainment provided by a singer and piano player. Pete added that he had given a short report on the Commission business and there had been a lively discussion on homeowner and renter tax credits. In closing, Pete said there had been a discussion on upcoming trips that included the May Gala and a regular meeting that will be held at the Old Country Buffet in Gaithersburg.
Stu Crump, reporting for the Willing 3 C’s, said their last meeting had been February 19th with 20 attendees. There had been the usual reports, the secretary’s, treasurers, Commission and staff, followed by a potluck lunch. Stuart said there had been an excellent program in celebration of Black History Month that consisted of poetry readings by the daughter-in-law of Annie and Lewis Rhodes.
Audrey Beck, reporting for the Young-In-Heart Club, said their meeting was being held March 17th with an Irish party in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. Audrey said she had spoken with Judy and had typed a short notice with the Commission news and events that could be read at the meeting if Audrey was unable to attend due to the conflict with the two meetings. In closing, she said the club would be holding their officer installation while on their trip to the Altland House Country Inn in Pennsylvania.
Re: Commission on Aging
Ciriaco noted that the last meeting had been cancelled due to snow and the rescheduled meeting will be held March 22nd. This is the same date as the joint Commission, R.S.I. and Rockville staff work session as well as the forum at Holiday Park where issues of importance to Montgomery County senior residents will be discussed.
Re: Chair Report
Ciriaco said he has been invited to attend a meeting held by the Public Policy Committee of the Montgomery County Commission on Aging regarding the housing report the Rockville Senior Commission had prepared. He made a presentation and it was followed by a long discussion on what the county could do regarding affordable housing for seniors. He has also been invited to attend a meeting sponsored by the Montgomery County Commission on Aging, to develop an agenda of priorities for seniors in the county. It is to be held at the Holiday Park Senior Center.
Re: Old Business
Lorraine mentioned that she and Ciriaco had met with Ed Duffy, Rockville’s Community Development Program Manager, last week to discuss housing. She said they talked about how to follow up on the work-session, including a targeted property tax credit for lower income homeowners. Lorraine said she had suggested that once the program, what ever it is, has been implemented, the city needs to do a massive amount of advertising so that residents will know about the changes.
Lorraine said she has been working on a ‘Seniors Helping Seniors’ concept for a program to provide handyman services to older city residents as a method of helping them remain in their homes. She noted one model from California that has a $300 allowance (per household) from monies collected from one specific tax program that provides minor repairs for qualifying homeowners. She suggested that the Commission form a committee to discuss and plan a program for Rockville that would include funding, services, management and possibly, donated labor.
Lorraine reminded the Commissioners of the upcoming Health Fair to be held May 25th. During the fair display tables will be available for lending companies that deal with reverse mortgages. It was suggested that the Commission prepare an informative booth for fair visitors to learn about what the Commission has been doing with regard to housing, health care issues, the U.S.M. rally and legislation, etc. Lorraine reminded them that they do have monies that could be used to purchase the materials to create a professional display board. During the discussion, it was decided that Richard, Connie and Ciriaco would form the committee for the handyman program. Pete, Stuart and Audrey would form a committee to work on the display board.
Re: New Business
Audrey Beck said she had received a phone call from Mayor Giammo asking her to participate in a focus group to study the concerns of Rockville’s seniors related to his candidacy for mayor. During the discussion, it was noted that this might be a possible conflict of interest so Audrey was going to check with the City Clerk. The City Clerk responded that there was no conflict of interest for Commissioners to participate in the election of a candidate for city office.
Ciriaco said he would like to have another forum before the elections so all the candidates would have an opportunity to speak to the seniors and answer their questions.
Re: Staff Report
Lorraine said she had provided copies of the latest GROWS White Paper Report and asked all the Commissioners to read it carefully prior to the joint meeting next Tuesday. She went on to say that this would hopefully begin the groundwork by opening a dialogue with the City Manager for the future of seniors in the city.
Lorraine also mentioned the upcoming Gala, noting that in years past, the Commission had donated a door prize. The Commissioners discussed it and decided to donate $25 in cash this year. There was a question as to whether a table should be reserved for the Commissioners and members of R.S.I. The Chair will check with Ron Barber on this matter. She also asked if any of the Commissioners had been in the dining room to see the new snack bar. The shell is in place and they are waiting for the electric to be installed.
One of the commissioners pointed out that the list of Commissioners in the city website is out of date. Lorraine noted that it would be updated.
In closing, Lorraine said the new computer repair room (old dark room) is being remodeled to accommodate the volunteers who fix the computers, noting that more volunteers were needed to repair the donations.
Pete said he has recently seen ads on television for Seneca Home Apartments, Top Banana and Manna, services that he doubted Rockville’s seniors were aware of. It was suggested that inquiries be made to see if these companies would like to participate in the Health Fair with information booths. During this discussion, the Commissioners decided to work on communication, as it seems much of the information that is key to the seniors is not being delivered to them. Pete, Marty and Nancy will form this committee.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m.