HomeMy WebLinkAboutWUSSB 1-10-2013West University Senior Services Board Meeting January 10, 2013. Present: John Neighbors (Chair), Stan McCandless, George Baker, Selby Clark, Virginia Lootens, Michelle Moore, Becky Arnold, Janet Vrancken, Pieter Vrancken . Absent: Sarah Ballanfant, Chuck Gu ffey, Joe Mitchell, Mary Ryerson. Staff: Toby Brooks. Guests: Councilwoman Joan Johnson, Councilman Dick Yehle. The Meeting was called to order at 2:03PM. The Minutes of the previous Meeting were approved. Activities (Toby Brooks) Roll out of activities fo r April, May & June will take place on April, 1. The New Year’s Eve Pot Luck meal was attended by 17 residents. Hugo – our part -time driver – has obtained a full time job so we are looking for a replacement. Our Line Dancing class did not attract sufficien t support. Tai Chi class did. A proposed Spanish Language evening class (Crossing Borders) scheduled for 16 weeks on Thursday evenings for a fee of $320 did not attract enough subscribers. A boat and Apache Helicopter trip from Conroe has been deferred due to complications with the company . Following the Board’s meeting at Brazos Towers discussions were held between WU & BT staff regarding participation by their members in our activities and by our residents in their activities particularly in trips requiri ng bus transport and a minimum participation level. Various Board Members commented on this development. It was felt that singling out Brazos Towers alone as a partner in our activities might be discriminatory and if it was felt that an activity which did not attract sufficient support from our own residents was worthwhile then a number of other entities should be approached such as the Jewish Community Center, the City of Bellaire, The Terrace, The Hallmark, Belmont Village and the YMCA among others. Canva ssing a large number of such entities might unduly burden our staff unless work was limited to informing them in advance of planned activities. Summarizing the views of all present the Chairman felt that further thought should be given to such partnerships and a decision deferred until later meetings. APAC (Virginia Lootens) 96% of the $12 million budgeted by the Area Agency on Aging was spent on regular health and personal benefits routinely provided by the Agency and on air conditioners for seniors. Media contacts are being increased to make AAA more visible in the community. AAA’s work plan for 2013 is due by May 1 st . Input is being sought regarding unmet needs of seniors and service gaps in Harris County. A state wide conference entitled Aging In Texas i s to be held at the Westin Galleria from June 16 to 19 . AAA did not close intake to its services program at end December. Applicants for home services can still apply. The waiting list for home delivered meals is growing and funding is flat. The Aging/Disa bility Resource Center (ADRC) will be the single point of entry to determine eligibility of seniors for state services in a 13 county area. Silverhaired Legislators are to be elected this spring. Three resolutions were approved: 1) to allow flexibility for Home Delivered Meals for emergency demand and to prevent waiting lists; 2) to mandate governmental entities to consider “COMPLETE STREETS” designs and policies and 3) to legislate that pay day and title loan payments can be applied to principal, limit rol lovers and require stricter underwriting standards. Good Neighbor Team (Michelle Moore) There are currently 151 names on the list held by the GNT. People listed are either a) over 85 b) a widow or widower over 65 and living alone or c) over 65 and disabled . Mary Lee Grey is looking at voter lists to see if anybody has been missed. Smoke detectors are still available from the city of Houston. These take into account whether the applicant is deaf or hard of hearing or has mobility problems. The detectors are installed by the Houston Fire Department. The GNT will meet on January 17 th at 2PM to approve this year’s budget and set out the remaining meetings of the year. PARD (Toby Brooks) Members should have received an Open History of the PARD as well as weekly a ctivity reports. The Meeting was adjourned at 2:55PM