HomeMy WebLinkAboutWUSSB 03-12-2015 West University Senior Services Board Meeting March 12, 2015. Present: Pieter Vrancken (Chairman), Stan McCandless, Judy Faulkner, George Baker, Michelle Moore, Sarah Ballanfant , Selby Clark, Janet Vrancken, Becky Arnold, John Palmer, Virginia Lootens, Candyce Beneke, Mary Ryerson, Joe Mitchell. Absent (resigned): Philip Bryant. Guests: Councilwoman Joan Johnson, Councilman Dick Yehle. Resid ents in Attendance: Doroth y Zink , Phili p Snyder, Alida Drewes. The Meeting was called to order at 2:03PM Minutes of the Previous Meeting and Matters Arising: Stan McCandless referred to the courses offered by AAA in the APAC report and felt these should be evaluated for possible use by Senior S ervices. He asked about the maintenance referred to in the Operational Snapshot distributed by Tim O’Connor and was told a tank was taken out of service. No contamination was revealed. The tank was stripped down & painted inside & out. Candyce Beneke noted that her name had been omitted from the sub -committee on the census. The Minutes were approved subject to this change. Activities (Toby Brooks): The Summer newsl etter is at the printer’s. The Beaumont Trip to the Art Museum and pontoon boat ride attracte d 22 participants. Two small bus trips to the Farmers’ Market and to Rudy Lechners Restaurant attracted 13 and 10 participants respectively. The theme meal (chili) prepared by Ed Heathcott & Lyyn Old drew an attendance of 58. A lecture on Balance was well attended and another on essential tips for the elderly drew 20 participants. APAC (Virginia Lootens): Pat Pullins (Chair) op ened the March 5 meeting of APAC . Deborah Moore of AAA (Area Agency on Aging) made a slide presentation of the 2015/16 Area Plan. Th e two year plan covers the program goals and State Strategies for achieving those goals : AAA administration with eleven measurable strategies and Long Term Care Ombudsman Services with six measurable strategies. Access and assistance services include: a0 c are co -ordination; b) caregiver support co -ordination; c) information, referral and assistance; d) legal assistance under age 60. Services to assist independent living include: a) caregiver assistance; b) health maintenance; c) homemaker assistance; d) in come support; e) mental health services; f) personal assistance; g) transportation – demand response. Nutrition Servi ces cover: a) congregate meals to 1,500 persons per day; b) Home delivered meals to 1800 persons per day. Silver -haired legislative represe ntatives presented information about Senior Day at the Capitol. Those present were reminded of the Bridges Conference, May 7 -8 in Houston in the Brown Center sponsored by Harris County Agency on Aging. Committee group meeting will be held April 2 nd . Commit tees are Advocacy/Legislation/Ombudsman/Basic Needs & Nutrition and Member Services. General Membership meeting will be held May 7 th . Council (Joan Johnson): During the Workshop (Feb 23) discussion of the land swap was not open to the public. Afterwards Ji m Patterson (consultant) and Parks Task Force Committee Members presented the Master Plan to Council Members and members of the public in attendance. Richard Wilson , Chair of the Zoning & Planning Committee presented the updated zoning ordinance which incl uded changes arising from the Joint Public Hearing. There were no public comments. A Nuisance Sign Ordinance and an Ordinance to establish May 9 th as the day of the general election of the Mayor and 4 council members were approved by Council. At the March 9 meeting of Council the second & final reading of proposed amendments to the Zoning Regulations governing the Non -Single Family Districts and Town Center areas of the City was held and the Ordinance was approved 3 -1. Comments from those attending could no t be taken into account since the public hearing had already taken place. Other business was approval to purchase bunker gear for the fire department, Proclamation for March 28 th and lift station Electrical rehabilitation. Also approved was an Interlocal C ooperation agreement with Southside Place for government functions and services. This includes building and site inspections and Emergency Medical Services. WUP bills actual costs for such services. FIRE (Dick Yehle): On last Sunday night a significant fir e broke out in a house constructed in 1984 . The house was found to have no smoke detectors. It is unclear whether a power surge was responsible. The Fire Department is investigating. Good Neighbor Team (Michelle Moore): Easter packages will be ready for pi ck -up on next Thursday as from 10AM. Volunteers are needed for making deliveries. PARD (Tim O’Connor): A number of staff members attended the Texas Recreation & Parks Society Conference in Abilene. Severe weather lead to certain sessions being cancelled as well as the return flight
to Houston necessitating an eight hour drive back. Recreati on Center memberships so far this year are 269 in the 70 -74 age bracket an d 88 in the 65 -69 age bracket Previous Business (Various) A number of issues have surfaced regarding using an insertion in City water bills for carrying out a census of our senior population. On her own initiative Toby Brooks drafted a short piece for incl usion in our publication “City Currents” to test the possible response rate. New Business (Stan McCandless) Seniors should be wary of claims made by various entities offering reverse mortgages. Resident Business ( Dorothy Zinc, Philip Snyder) Dorothy Zinc introduced Philip Snyder, a candidate for City Council. Mr. Snyder gave an outline of his background and previous experience as well as his position on various issues currently before Council. The Meeting was adjourned at 3:05PM