Re: Opening and Welcome

Commission Chair Ciriaco Gonzales called the meeting to order at 10:07 a.m.

Re: Approval of Minutes

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

 Re: Club Reports  

Doug Bly, reporting for the Bethany House Club, advised they had recently had their holiday party but that he had been unable to attend.

Steve Lipson, reporting for the Senior Associates, noted he had attended two meetings since the last Commission meeting.  The first was held November 16th and the second was held December 18th.  Steve indicated the club currently has 26 members with $2,070 in the treasury.  He also noted the club has been having some problems.  Due to their declining health, many members have been unable to attend the meetings that are held at the Glenview Mansion.  He said the members are adamant however about keeping the club going as long as they can.

Pete Sante, reporting for the Triple F Club said their last meeting was held December 11th with 25 members in attendance for a Christmas Luncheon.  Pete said he had taken the opportunity to tell everyone about the U.S.M. Rally in January and the 25th Silver Jubilee that will be celebrated at the Senior Center next spring.  He went on to advise the club that the Commission continues to work on their ‘Aging in Place’ projects and hope to have a full report next year.  Pete said Karen had thanked the club for their part in sponsoring a recent birthday party and mentioned the upcoming trip schedule.  In closing, Pete said the New Day Pre-School children entertained the members.

Stu Crump, reporting for the Willing 3 C’s advised he had been unable to attend their last meeting.                                                                                         

Audrey Beck, reporting for the Young In Heart Club, said they had recently had their holiday luncheon with the Carnation Players performing a ‘Couch Potato Santa’.  She noted that club members had prepared all the wonderful food.  Audrey also advised that the club would now begin working on the plans for their January ‘Closet Clutter Sale’ to be held on the 18th.  Proceeds from the sale would be used for the transportation fees for their May Installation Luncheon.

Kathy Neale, reporting for R.S.I., said they had met December 19th with 10 members in attendance. Reports were given by the standing committees and Chris Klopfer, the Center’s Sports & Fitness Specialist came to ask for monies to purchase the ‘NuStep TRS 4000’ for the Fitness Room.  Kathy went on to say that there was a discussion about CIP for the Fitness Room Expansion and the amount of money R.S.I. would be able to contribute for this project.
She noted that someone new has volunteered to run the woodshop and the cookbook is ready to go to the publisher.

 Re: Task Force Report              

Doug said the report has been presented to the Mayor and Council and there has been no action taken yet.                                                                                                                        

 Re: Commission on Aging  

Ciriaco said he had been out of town and had not attended the meeting.

Re: U.S.M. Report

Ciriaco said he had not attended the last meeting but had received numerous e-mails from other members with details in the works for the January rally.  He noted the program is being published and as soon as he receives a copy he will forward the information to the Commission members.  He did note that Governor elect O’Malley will not be able to attend due to a conflict with his schedule.  Ciriaco mentioned that he has been asked by several people to prepare a report on the Commission’s ‘Aging in Place’ program but has told everyone that it will be a while before the project is finished.  He was invited by the Montgomery County Committee for Vital Living to give a presentation December 6th of the progress to date on the Aging in Place Project.                                                                                        

Steve and Kathy gave a brief committee report on ‘Home Health Care’, noting that there seems to be three areas to study: temporary disabilities, long term care and end of life care.  The discussion went on to cover several different ways to get the audience really involved when the Commission has their forum and progresses to the importance of having a living will and the need for a serious dialogue between family members on their wishes should anyone become incapacitated. 

Ciriaco and Doug, working on Long Term Care Insurance plans, said they have determined that the consensus is that it is extremely difficult to make a choice as there is no standard contract, every company has slight variations on the basics, that there is lots of interest among the insurers and money managers for people who are approaching retirement but virtually no interest in people who have already retired.

Doug said he found a website, SeniorJournel.com (see attached) that appears to have quite a bit of worthwhile information and has written to them and A.A.R.P. and is awaiting a response. 

During a lengthy discussion, it was decided that the Commissioners would continue to work on the committee assignments in preparation for a forum and / or a series of programs for the Center’s members to begin in the fall on ’07. 

Re: Old Business

Pete and Audrey, working on the Senior Commission Survey, reported the results to date: only 30 or so surveys had been returned but the most requested services were for emergency household repairs, gutter cleaning, minor home repairs and snow shoveling.  The least requested service was for basic yard work.  The discussion went on to cover home modifications and the possibility of working with the City to change current regulations and zoning to allow seniors who wish to remain in their own homes a little more leeway with modifications they might want to make.
 
Pete mentioned an article in a small newspaper that he receives, the Parish Times, regarding ‘Home Health Services’ and the results of another survey on services available and costs (see attached).

Re: Staff Report

Lorraine said she had spoken with Karen Lumpkin regarding the possibility of forming a new senior club with residents from the new Rockville Town Center.  Lorraine said Karen had indicated she would be glad to work with the residents if there was enough interest amongst them.

Lorraine reminded the Commissioners that the Needs Assessment will begin in April and plans are being made for the Center’s 25th Anniversary Silver Jubilee kickoff on April 2nd.   A family day has been planned for April 14th and the publicity will begin in earnest in January.

She also mentioned that there is a new program on the calendar, Speed Dating, which will be held February 14th, Valentine’s Day.  She went on to say the program would be run in conjunction with a few other groups such as Asbury, so Center members will have an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. 

                                                                             
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.