CharlevoixSeniorCitizensCenter
Minutes of Board Meeting
Tuesday, September19, 2017
The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by chairperson Bill Keehn. Board members present besides BillwereLinny Arnold, secretary/treasurer, Chuck Schmidt, vice chairperson,Shirlene Tripp, Joni Olach, and Paul Stephan. None were absent.
Visitors: Amy Wieland, COA director, Sheri Shepard, COA assistant director,
Pat May, Ed May, Gus Schmidt, Dick Schnackenberg, Lee Schnackenberg.
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA : None
MINUTES: The minutes from the May 9th meeting were presented and APPROVED. (Shirlene, 2nd Paul).
FINANCIAL REPORT: The financial report for the fiscal year fromOctober 1, 2016 through September 15, 2017waspresented and APPROVED. (Chuck, 2ndPaul). The treasurer made special note of a grant received from the Community Foundation for Southeast MI, and also more detailed income information thanks to our new coordinator’s special efforts to be more accurate.
COORDINATOR’S REPORT:
There is a new dehumidifier in the basement. Most activities are done on the main floor. Suzanne was wondering if the piano could be tuned. Motion was made (Linny, 2nd Shirlene) for this Board to support the cost of tuning the piano and checking the organ. APPROVED.
Sheri took the amp and microphone to Radio Shack for repairs. They have been relocated in the center for better sound.
A power strip has been placed behind the hostess desk for patrons to charge phones, etc.
There was a large donation of craft supplies for Thanksgiving projects. She would like it to be acknowledged.
The meal count is up slightly. (There was praise from Chuck and Paul on the meal quality.)
Regular users of the CSC include the church group, Street Legends car club, and the Back Porch music group.
Suzanne is excited that Amy and Sheri are so supportive of our center.
COA REPORTS:
New director Amy has been on staff for eleven days. Her plan includes meeting all the staff at each center, and gathering input from the staff. Among other duties, she will create job descriptions, update policies and rental use agreements for each building.
She will also coordinate with the Advisory Boards at each center to keep information flowing. She wants electronic copies of meeting minutes which will be posted publicly.
Amy is looking for senior volunteers for any job they can do. “Young Seniors” are encouraged to help at all senior centers. There is no age restriction for volunteers. The age restriction for senior services is 60.
The COA office hours are now weekdays 7:30-4:30.
Starting in October there will be a free monthly blood pressure service.
There will be community flu clinics held in October at each building. Any Charlevoix county resident can qualify. They MUST make appointments through the Health Dept. The schedule is as follows:
Boyne City Center – October 2nd 9:30 – noon
Charlevoix Center – October 5th 9:30 – 11:30
East Jordan Center – October 9th 9:30 – 11:30
Amy’s focus for this year is:
- Staff retention
- Whole new marketing program (such as craft class/sales publicity) Any senior in Charlevoix County can ask COA for info.
- Every senior center will have monthly veteran’s recognition – social time and lunch. Each center will participate once a month on different days, so ultimately, including all centers, it will be weekly. John Hess, the local VA agent will be part of this.
- Bringing in fresh fruits and veggies, working with the jail for their garden produce and other sources such as farm markets. COA is working with kitchen staff at each center.
- There will be a water cooler installed in each center for both hot and cold water.
The loan closet has been eliminated for safety and liability issues. Other organizations are set up to do this service: Jay Peck – East Jordan EMS, Linda’s Loan Closet in Boyne City, etc.
The new assistant director Sheri has been on staff since July 24th. She says two computers will be coming to each center. The COA (Brian and Scott) is refurbishing them and will support maintenance of them. Sheri would like someone to help the seniors learn about electronic equipment and technology. She is asking high school honor society students who might be interested in teaching the seniors. It would be a good welcome activity to be held at the centers.
Sheri is also making sure all the centers will have a deep cleaning, to be as clean as possible – floors scrubbed, carpets cleaned, equipment put into tip-top shape.
COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS/IDEAS: (Limited to a 3 minute discussion)
Ed May expressed the feeling that questions or comments are discouraged. He acknowledges that change is coming and hopes it will be for the better.
BUSINESS ITEMS:
Per our bylaws, a new board member is needed. (Suggestions made after the meeting will be pursued.)
Tax program volunteers are also needed. A great ad was placed in the Senior Hi-Lites newsletter and will be repeated each month.
The back garden needs some mulch. A former garden volunteer may be back to help with that.
The computers donated by the library were no good. See above for COA’s handling of this matter.
(From Shirlene) Many suggestions for additional services and activities were made: Coloring, dominos, hearing tests, eyeglass repair, Oleson’s receipts, driving refresher course, speakers representing Alzheimer’s, dementia, diabetes, etc.
Also – 4 reasons to attend senior centers: Learning, Independence, Good friends, Energy levels.
Our next board meeting has been set for Tuesday November 14th at 9:00 a.m.
This meeting was adjourned at 10:50 a.m. (Shirlene, 2nd Joni) APPROVED.
Respectfully submitted,
Linny Arnold, Secretary/Treasurer
1