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 additions, deletions or corrections to March's minutes.  There being none, the minutes were approved as written. 

Chair Gonzales introduced Charles Treat, a member of Rockville’s Long Range Plan for Senior Services Task Force.  Mr. Treat gave a brief overview of the mission of the Task Force, explaining that there are 18 members plus Rockville staff from the Division of Senior Services with a focus of determining what the future holds for seniors in Rockville.  He went on to say that there are dozens of issues such as income stability, health care and traffic congestion however, the Task Force is concentrating only on the Senior Services programs and services.   The Task Force has studied all the services and programs available to Rockville seniors and determined they are all valuable and should be continued.  When looking into the future, there are a number of issues such as population growth, demographic changes and available tax money that need to be considered.  In order to gather input from the community, a questionnaire of talking points was developed.  Task Force members will speak with community groups and the data will be incorporated into a final report to the Mayor and Council.

Mr. Treat took a few moments to highlight the eight preliminary questions (see attached) while asking each Commissioner to take a few moments to answer them and return the information to either Doug or Lorraine as soon as possible.

 Re: Club Reports

Audrey Beck, reporting for the Young-In-Heart Club advised that she and Betty Briscoe would be exchanging e-mails on action items, noting that in March the club celebrated their 56th Anniversary and recognized past presidents.  Following the celebration they had an old-fashioned sign-a-long with pianist Joe Morra.  In closing Audrey noted that the club has planned a trip to the Allenbury Dinner Theatre to see “Nunsense” on April 12th.

Stu Crump, reporting for the Willing 3 C’s, said their last meeting had been March 18th with 11 members in attendance with one new member.  Following the regular reports, there were discussions of the 30th Anniversary in June with the installation of officers and an upcoming trip for May.  During the March meeting they held a ‘no bake bake sale’ and held a lengthy discussion on senior driving.  

Jonathan Triandafilou, reporting for R.S.I., said they have a very busy month of May coming up as follows: on the 1st, there will be a proclamation during the Mayor and Council Meeting for Older Americans Month, encouraging the R.S.I. and Commission members to attend.  On May 10th there will be a ‘Mother’s Day Tea’ at the Center from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m.  On May 16th there will be a reception to honor all the Senior Center volunteers and on the 17th Steve Chappel will be the speaker on ‘Protecting Against the Theft of Your Assets’.  Mr. Chappel has been involved with R.S.I. on the investment of the monies raised from the sale of the home that was donated by Mr. White.  On May 20th the Spring Bazaar will be held and the Health Fair will take place at the Center on the 31st from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Pete Sante, reporting for the Triple F Club, said their meeting had been held April 10th, a regular meeting with 25 members in attendance.  He went on to say that the club has been working on re-writing their by-laws and has issued a new roster of their 72 members.  In closing, Pete said he had reminded them that they needed to complete and return their Senior Center surveys.

Doug Bly, reporting for the Bethany House Club, said their last meeting had been held April 3rd with 25 members in attendance.  Doug went on to say they are planning a bake sale for May 13th and an ice cream social in the near future.  He noted that the Treasurer’s report noted $2,178.30 in the club account and that an Officer Nomination Committee has been formed.  In closing, Doug said their entertainment had been Dick Dangle who sang and played the accordion.

Re: U.S.M. Report

 Ciriaco said he had been unable to attend their last meeting.

Re: Chair Report

Ciriaco mentioned that he had attended the last Montgomery County Stakeholder’s meeting where they had dealt mainly with budget issues.  He mentioned that he had also received an e-mail asking him to join them at the upcoming County Council budget hearing where they will be testifying on getting the county’s senior facilities upgraded.

It was also noted that next Monday, April 24th, the Rockville Mayor and Council will be hearing testimony on several city budget issues and that the Needs Assessment for the Senior Center is still on the table.  During the discussion it was decided that Doug Bly would attend and testify as to the Commission’s views on the subject.

Re: Old Business

None

 Re: New Business

Audrey noted that during the 2005 Senior Center Health Fair she and Pete had represented the Senior Commission and had passed out quite a bit of information on Senior Center programs and services.  She moved that the Commission be represented again this year and volunteered, along with Pete, to take care of the booth.

Audrey also mentioned that she had attended the Neighborhood Network Learning Series at the Senior Center last Saturday, April 8th.  She commented on all the good information, noting one presentation by Susan Hoffield of 'Rebuilding Together' (formerly Christmas in April). 

Ciriaco mentioned that there would be a meeting this evening with the group ‘Alliance for Rockville Citizens’ if anyone would be interested in attending. 

It was also mentioned that the ‘Governor’s Conference on Vital Aging’ will be coming up on Tuesday, May 2nd.  Lorraine said she and Mary would be attending and would report back to the Commission.

Lorraine said her division had recently sent out approximately 500 surveys to all those persons who had registered for computer classes since the lab had opened.  She noted that she was pleased with the response so far and hoped to have some valuable information on new courses and ideas for the Computer Lab.

She also mentioned that another survey had recently been given to the Senior Center bus riders asking for feedback on Rockville’s senior transportation services.   

In closing, Lorraine mentioned that the latest recommendations to the County on the Ride-On bus issue is that the Monday through Friday schedule to the Center continue and that the Saturday schedule be eliminated

With there being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 11:25 a.m. so the Commissioners could join in on a small appreciation celebration for the two ‘retiring’ Commissioners, Marty Roney and Connie Farrell.