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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSCAC Minutes 2010-10-12 RegularREGULAR MEETING Senior Citizens Advisory Committee October 12, 2010 Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, which was held at the Activity Building in Meeting Room D at 9:00 a.m. on October 12, 2010 with all board members present, constitutes a quorum: Committee Members: Mr. Paul Gordner- Chair Ms. Jill Musser- Vice Chair Ms. Si Pate- Regular Member Ms. Ginger Spade- Regular Member Ms. Frankie Santoro- Regular Member Ms. Rae McMullen- Regular Member Ms. Sharon Richardson- Regular Member Ms. Dorothy Montz- Regular Member Ms. Irma Trevino- Alternate Member Staff/Liaison: Michael Boyett, Recreation Coordinator Genie Balderaz, Senior Program Manager Elena Luquette, Assistant Senior Program Manager The following items were discussed: 1. Mr. Paul Gordner called the meeting to order at 9:06am. 2. The invocation was given by Ms. Si Pate. 3. The September 14, 2010 minutes were approved. The motion was made by Ms. Sharon Richardson and it was seconded by Ms. Irma Trevino. 4. Several members of the public attended the meeting to discuss the Non- Friendswood Resident fees. One senior made the comment that several of our activities would be affected if we continued to charge the fee. He noted that several participants have already left the program and the instructors were left with no students. He said that the fee was having a negative effect on the Friendswood residents who no longer had a class because of everyone leaving. Another senior added that the tap dancing class, in particular, has suffered a major loss in participants. She claims that the spirit of the group has been lost as well; they have a very cohesive group and they want to stay together. She also mentioned that Jackie, a tap dancer in Friendswood, just sold her car and had hoped to take our bus to the building on Fridays so that she could tap. Now, she has no place to tap. Noula Varsos, the tap and line dance instructor, stated that the issue is not paying the instructors, but the non-resident participants do not want to pay the fees. She says they can tap elsewhere for free, but they like our program and our city and they would like to stay here. Ms. Varsos added that our program does not make enough money from the fees to justify the loss of our non-resident participants. She has been a volunteer instructor here for five years now and she loves it. Ms. Varsos admitted that most of the tap dancers do not live in Friendswood, but they need the exercise and community fellowship. She would like things to go back to the way they were, before the fee was instituted. She asked if there was any way that we could come to some sort of compromise. She suggested we could perhaps find a sponsor to keep the program free for everyone. Several other comments were made by the public on the issue. The consensus from the public was that the fee should go away and that the program should be free for everyone. Ms. Irma Trevino commented that she plans to start teaching a new class and she understands that it is a strictly volunteer position. Also, Ms. Si Pate stated that she currently lives with her son and he insists that as a Friendswood resident, his tax dollars pay for this program. Therefore, he asks, why should non-Friendswood residents participate for free? For now, the fee will remain in place. All non-Friendswood residents will have to pay an annual fee of $25.00. This will be prorated for participants joining after October 1st. 5. Upcoming trips and events include a trip to the Sealy Outlet Mall in Sealy, TX on Monday, November 15th, 2010. We will leave the building at 9:00am and plan to return around 3:00pm. The cost is $5.00 per person and lunch will be on your own at the mall. This is an HP1 trip. Also, Friday, November 19th, 2010, we plan to attend the Alvin Opry. We will leave the Activity Building at 6:30pm and return around 10:00pm. The cost is $10.00 per person. November events include a Lunch n’ Learn on Monday, November 1st, 2010, from 12:00pm until 12:30pm. Tim Berlinger will sponsor the event and plans to speak about wills and power of attorney. Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 is Election Day and voting will take place at the Activity Building. All regular activities are cancelled for the day. However, we will be open for a movie day for all those who would like to attend. Regular lunches will be served that day. Copeland Group will sponsor a Hot Chocolate Social on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010, from 12:00pm until 1:00pm. Also, Thursday, November 4th, 2010, a representative from Galveston County will sponsor a Lunch n’ Learn from 12:30 until 1:00pm. The topic will be “Diabetes”. Our Volunteer/ Sponsor Appreciation Celebration will take place Thursday, November 4th, 2010, from 2:30pm until 5:30pm. The building will close early that day. Monday, November 8th, 2010 is our Birthday Social, from 12:30pm until 1:00pm. Emeritus will sponsor the cake this month. The Veteran’s Day Celebration will take place Tuesday, November 9th, 2010, from 10:30am until 12:30pm. Regular activities will be cancelled for the day. The Activity Building will be closed Thursday, November 11th, 2010, in honor of Veteran’s Day. Thursday, November 18th, 2010 is our annual Thanksgiving Potluck. Festivities will begin at 11:00am and last until around 1:00pm. Marian Gordner and her cloggers will offer a special performance for those in attendance. Greg and Pauletta Jeter with Jeter Memorial Funeral Home will provide the turkey, gravy, ham and dressing. Participants are asked to bring one side dish and one dessert. All regular activities will be cancelled for the day. Raymond James will present a Financial Seminar Thursday, November 18th, 2010 (after the Thanksgiving Potluck), from 2:00pm until 4:00pm. Finally, the activity Building will be closed Thursday, November 25th, 2010 through Friday, November 26th, 2010 for the Thanksgiving holiday. 6. The number of seniors that attended the Fall Dance was disappointing. The money collected at the door did not even cover the cost of the DJ and it was decided that we should cancel the Fall Dance for now. 7. The Volunteer/ Sponsor Appreciation celebration is coming along. Invitations should be mailed out this week. 8. The Committee briefly discussed the progress on their goals for 2010. The construction of the awning was very fast and everyone is pleased with the outcome. The Boy Scouts did an excellent job on the benches. They should be painted this week. Finally, the bus was approved in the budget and now we are just waiting for word on the grant we applied for to help cover the cost. If we cannot get the grant, we will be able to lease a bus. 9. We have a net total of $2,808.17 available in the senior account. However, we have not paid for the casino trip yet, so that number will change drastically. 10. Report from the Recreation Coordinator: N/A 11. Comments made by the Public: N/A 12. Comments made by the Committee Members: Ms. Frankie Santoro has lined up several veterans to attend the Veteran’s Day Ceremony. She has offered to pay for all of the food. The AT&T Pioneers will purchase hats for all the vets. She only asks that we try to get our vets to attend the ceremony. We want them to know how much they are appreciated. 13. The meeting was adjourned at 10:15am. _________________________________________ Elena Luquette, Assistant Senior Program Manager Date Approved: November 9, 2010