HomeMy WebLinkAboutWUSSB 04-10-2014West University Senior Services Board Meeting April 10, 2014 Present: Pieter Vrancken (Chair), Stan McCandless, George Baker, Michelle Moore, Selby Clark, Janet Vrancken, Becky Arnold, Candyce Beneke, Joe Mitchell. Absent: Philip Bryant, Sarah Ballanfant, John Palmer, Mary Ryerson, Virginia Lootens. Staff: Tim O’Connor, Toby Brooks. Guests: Councilwoman Joan Johnson, Councilman Dick Yehle, Cybil Pallogna -Saenz (Next Door), Brenda Guzman (Next Door). There being a quorum, the meeting was called to order at 2:10PM. Minutes of Previous Meeting & Matters Arising (Various): with minor changes the Minutes were approved. Stan McCandless noted that Board Members should be given a copy of the Parks Task Force Survey. Stan McCandless expressed surprise that the cost s of AAA were taken up as to 70% by meals and the logistics of supplying these. Councilman Yehle picked up on a reference to TML and explained that this was the TEXAS Metropolitan League – a group which includes all cities in the state and which provides i nter alia buying services and pension advice.TML holds a General Meeting once a year and this is attended by Michael Ross and Tim O’Connor who lobby for items of interest to our city (as needed). TML provides a voice, particularly for the smaller cities, t o our state legislature. Candyce Beneke noted that she was a member of the team looking at possible alternative names for Senior Services but had been omitted in the Minutes. Activities (Toby Brooks): Most activities are covered in the Hi Neighbor which ha s just been printed. A Fre nch class is starting up a lso a class on Folk dancing. A tour of the downtown area attracted a full double decker bus load. The class “Bones for Life” had just had its third meeting and attendance has increased from 5 at the first meeting to 12 and now 15. The Genealogy Class had its final meeting this week and was attended by 15 participants. APAC (Selby Clark): Mary Southwick from the Houston Better Business Bureau’s Education Facility gave fascinating lecture on Fraud in Medicar e which now amounts to $60 b n per year for the whole USA. The Mafia are believed to be involved while in the Houston area a Nigerian ring is operating. The major parts of this fraud are 1) Ambulance fraud and 2) Home help fraud. There are currently 450 lic ensed ambulance companies in Houston. Federal “Pay & Chase” schemes are not very successful because companies wind up before they can be pursued through the courts. Both for ambulance use and Home help eligibility is unclear. The Board is providing informa tion to Seniors. AAA has almost cleared the backlog on Vision, Hearing and Dental treatments and are now offering financial assistance for residential repairs (up to a maximum of $5,000 dependent on eligibility) since they have additional funds available. Any seniors wishing to be considered should contact 832 393 4301. AAA is updating its website in order to expand its funding pools. It has improved its capture of statistics and has expanded its staff by 7 members. A conference will be held on MIPPA on Apr il 24 & 25. A representative of this Board will attend. Sheltering Arms will hold its Senior Crafts Fair on May 24 from 10AM to 2PM. APAC’s next meeting will focus on caregivers and will be held on May 1. Council (Joan Johnson): At its meeting of March 23, Council approved an ordinance to increase the City’s surface water rate as charged by the City of Houston. In a letter dated March 1the City of Houston announced the annual treated surface water rate adjustment pursuant to City of Houston Ordinance 2010 -3 05. The rate increase effective April 1, 2014 will be 1.2% or approximately $0.032 over the current rate of $2.6903 per 1,000 gallons. In order to continue recovering the cost of purchasing treated surface water and maintaining estimated “pay as you go” ca pital improvements, it is necessary for the City of West U to adopt a 0.50% rate increase for water sold to our customers. For a customer that uses 12,000 gallons of water, their rate will increase by $0.59 per month. Council also approved a Proclamation o f April 12, 2014 as Arbor Day in West University Place. From 9 -11 forty -eight trees will be distributed. Council recognized the City’s designation for 2013 of Tree City USA. Good Neighbor Team (Michelle Moore) 146 gift bags were prepared at the meeting of 9 April and will be distributed at the next meeting. At the meeting on May 15 th members will discuss the summer package. PARD (Tim O’Connor) Weekly accounts of operations have been distributed to this Board. Two Classical Music concerts will be held on Fri day April 11 and Friday April 18. Previous Business (Various) Ear Looping: will have to be installed under floor and because of budgetary constraints will only be bid for City Hall. The bid is expected shortly.
Name Change: The committee decided that the n ame should better describe who we are and what we do. Because of the resistance to the present name the committee has enlisted the help of U of H who will meet with the committee at 1:30PM before the next Board Meeting on May 8. Resident/Non -Resident fees: A review and proposal were put forward by Mr. O’Connor. Essentially non.-residents will pay the full fee schedule as established for the year while residents will receive a discount of 10% on programs offered through Senior Services. This proposal will be submitted to Council for approval. It is aimed to introduce this program contemporaneously with the new fee schedule on January 1, 2015. Disclaimer for Newsletter: Suggested language for a disclaimer has been received from the City Attorney and was circul ated to the Board. The Meeting was adjourned at 3:20PM