Re: Opening and Welcome

Commission Chair Ciriaco Gonzales called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. with a welcome to Barbara Smith-Brady of Community Ministries of Rockville.   He also took a moment to thank everyone in attendance that had been able to help with the Aging in Place event November 13th.

Re: Approval of Minutes

Chair Gonzales asked if there were any corrections, additions or deletions to the October minutes.  Norene Stovall, who was absent from the October meeting, said she had heard there had been some discussion of the Master Plan but there was no mention in the minutes. Chair Gonzales said the subject had been touched upon but there had been no real discussion therefore it was not mentioned in the minutes. With this noted the minutes were approved as read.

Re: Club Reports

Audrey Beck, reporting for the Young in Heart Club, said they were at the Golden Bull Restaurant in Gaithersburg celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with a luncheon.

Kathy Neale said she had attended the meeting of the committee that is working on the City of Rockville 150th anniversary celebration.  Kathy said there had been lots of enthusiasm, lots of good ideas and close to two years to work on it.  She went on to say that the committee would be meeting once a month until March of 2010 when the yearlong celebration will begin.  

Doug Bly, reporting for the Bethany House Club, said their last meeting had been held November 3rd with 30 in attendance and 2 new members.  Doug said the Treasurer reported $1,787.89 in the club account.  He went on to say that they had a short business meeting followed by entertainment with ‘Two for the Show”.  Doug noted that next month the club would host a Christmas Party with no further business discussed until January.

Katherine Foti, reporting on S.T.A.R.S. said their last meeting had been held on October 25 with the next coming up next Tuesday, November 25th.  She went on to say that Lorraine and Steve Lipson had attended the productive October meeting.  Katherine also noted that their discussions had touched upon problems with noise in the dining room when Katherine had been ’elected’ to speak with the Outreach workers to request they speak with their respective seniors regarding complaints about excessive noise at times in the dining room.

Katherine went on to say that they also talked about starting a Spanish language class and possibly a Chinese language class for seniors whose first language is English and who might want to learn to converse with seniors from other cultures in an effort to bring everyone closer together.  It was noted that many of the seniors who attend English classes at the Center are reluctant to speak with members of other nationalities for fear of making pronunciation or grammatical errors.  Katherine mentioned the possibility of holding tutorial sessions at the Center for those who would like to have more individualized practice sessions.  Norene noted that the Rockville Library already has tutorial sessions on Tuesday mornings that are given at no charge.  Audrey volunteered to get more information and report back to the Commission.  

During the discussion, Audrey suggested that Katherine make some inquiries regarding instructors and meet with Lorraine about the possibility of scheduling Spanish and Chinese language classes for the Spring 2009 Guide.  The Chair requested a motion on recommending that language classes in Spanish and Chinese be announced in the Guide. Norene made the motion and Kathy Neale seconded it and all voted aye.  Audrey volunteered to contact Lisa Navidi at the Rockville Library for information on volunteers for their tutorial sessions.

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

Re:     R.S.I.

No report.

Ciriaco said the County Commission on Aging report could be eliminated from the agenda since he was no longer attending the meetings. 

Re:   U.S.M.

Ciriaco passed out copies of a Health Care for America NOW! Organization plan.   He explained that this organization is compiling ideas from the nations current health care system and ideas expressed by the McCain and Obama campaigns in an attempt to create a solid plan that can be presented to Congress in 2010.  Ciriaco went on to state that the new program would focus primarily on the prevention of illness and injury as well as coverage for all Americans.  (See attached)

Re:  Old Business

Doug Bly said he had attended the last Task Force meeting with the consultants from the firm that has been contracted by the City to work with the architect, City Planner and Traffic Engineer to evaluate the physical constraints, traffic patterns and available utilities.  Doug said it may be possible to add up to 10,000 square feet, however they are looking to add closer to 2,500 square feet of usable space with the primary work to be done on the Fitness Room.  In addition he noted that discussions are underway regarding the replacement of the floor in the Carnation Room, full time monitoring of the Exercise Room and additional parking.  

Doug said there had been discussion on the possibility of opening an entrance to the property off Gude Drive although it was looking more unlikely.  It was noted that monies have already been appropriated for the expansion but none have been set aside for any projects connected to a Gude Drive entrance.                                                    

Kathy Neale said she had written the most recent Newsletter article on Crime Prevention Tips for the Home.  She went on to say that she had found a good website with valuable information regarding the prevention of crime at home as well as when out walking for shopping, etc.  She reminded the Commissioners that they had previously discussed and decided to invite guest speakers such as the Rockville Chief of Police to attend the Commission meetings once every three or four months.  Kathy said she would like to see the Commission follow up on the idea and volunteered to get together with Lorraine to schedule a speaker. 

Norene asked if anything was known about the status of the F.O.R.S. logo that had been discussed during the July meeting with Betsy Thompson, Superintendent of Recreation, who had volunteered the services of the Communications Team and Graphics to assist with it’s creation.

It was noted that the new Senior Center Manager, Alexis McKenzie, would be attending the Commission meeting next month at which time the Commissioners could begin to develop a rapport with her and their connection to City Hall and specific departments.

Re: New Business 

Audrey Beck asked the Commissioners if they had any objections to changing the meeting date for the Commission from the 3rd Thursday to either the 2nd or 4th Thursday so that she could attend the Young in Heart meetings as their liaison.  The Commissioners discussed and voted to move the meeting date to the 4th Thursday of the month beginning with the January 2009 meeting.  This recommendation would be forwarded to Lorraine for implementation.
                   
With no further business to discuss Chair Gonzales adjourned the meeting at 11:33 am.