HomeMy WebLinkAboutWUSSB12-10-12-15 West University Senior Service Board Minutes December 10, 2015 Present: Michelle Moore (Chair), Becky Arnold, Sarah Balla nfant, Ruth Becker, Candyce Beneke (Secretary), Selby Clark, Carlos De Le Torres, Rebecca Dozier, Judy Faulkner, Stan McCandless, Joe Mitchell Absent: George Baker, Susan Davis, Virginia Lootens, John Palmer City Council Liaison: Burt B allanfant Staff: Tim O'Connor, Toby Brooks Residents: Linda George Smith Minutes: The meeting was called to order at 2:05 p.m. A quorum was present. Judy Faulkner moved to approve the Minutes of November 12, 2015, as presented. Becky Arnold seconded. The motion was approved. Activities and Previews (Toby Brooks): Toby Brooks reported on the recent activities of the West U S enior Department, including a presentation on macular degeneration by a retired eye doctor, facials with a Mary Kay Cosmetics rep, a trip to the Alley Theatre to see A Christmas Carol , Thanksgiving lunch donated and served by the Boy Scouts and o ther volun teers, a trip to Dicki nson to see the Festival of Lights, a talk by a rep from Dan’s Vitamins, and a Christmas concert. Toby also reported that the remaining funds in the 2015 Senior Department budget have been used to purchase items for the Good Neighbor Team’s 2016 spring gift bags. APAC Report (Virginia Lootens): No Report. Council Meeting Report (Burt Ballanfant): Councilman Ballanfant noted that one of his favorite duties so far was attending the West U Christmas tree lighting event. The eve nt had a record number of attendees. Additionally, he reported that West U was approached by the City of Houston which inquired about leasing the City of West U’s property on Dincans Street. Houston wants to use the property to store equipment necessary for constructing new storm sewers. City Council approved this request. Good Neighbor Team (Becky Arnold): Becky Arnold reported on the holiday delivery poinsettias to seniors. The Senior Dept used a new vendor this year, who was less expensive and pr ovided better packaging! Becky and others are working to clean up the list of seniors and volunteers for this team. Parks and Recreation Report (Tim O’Connor): Office remediation. Immediate remediation is taking place in some of the offices of the Com munity Center. An employee began having eye and sinus issues and testing of the facility revealed high concentrations of (nontoxic) mold in some of the offices. Other rooms had high moisture content and will be treated as well. West end of Colonial Park. The Friends Board is funding up to $375,000 for a shade structure, BBQ pits, fountains, etc. for the development of the west end of Colonial Park. Bids have opened for the remaining construction and the city has received three good bids from reputable c ontractors. Tim is going to meet with them all and view other projects they have done.
Previous Business: Appoint Task Force for Senior Tax Exemption: This idea was presented and discussed. Questions raised included how to target which seniors should g et tax relief - i.e., who most needs it? Tim O’Connor suggested that Board members email him ANY suggestions for benefiting our seniors (such as increasing the tax exemption or reducing their expenses in some other way). Tim also reminded us that we are talking about 2017 taxes and that any requests for tax changes would be due to Council by July 2016. Michelle Moore suggested that the Senior Board invite Chris Peifer, West U City Manager, to talk to us about this matter at our next meeting. Acquire sig natures for citizens’ complaint letter to Commissioner Steve Radack regarding Harris County precinct buses. Carlos De La Torre reported that he had a list of 41 participants involved in recent Harris County Precinct bus breakdowns. He emailed them about signing a letter from the citizens of West U to Commissioner Radack and 12 agreed. Candyce Beneke questioned about whether it was in the City’s best interest to have the letter come from citizens (rather than from City Council or the city manager) because the City could have some legal liabilities if any of it’s citizens were injured or harmed by a bus breakdown. Michelle Moore responded that she had talked to Chris Peifer and Burt Ballanfant and that they had suggested the letter come from the citizens f irst. Action Items: New Business: Special Trash Pick -up Policy Discussion: There was extensive discussion of the City’s new detailed Special Trash Pick -Up Service Request Form, which was distributed by Toby. Some (including Selby Clark) felt that t he form should be much shorter. Others thought the specific info was needed. After much discussion, the following procedure for requesting special trash pick -up service was proposed: The long form should be kept as an internal form for staff . Requests may be made by phone to staff , who will complete the form. The request is then reviewed, and approved or denied, by the Senior Board Chair. If denied, the applicant can appeal to the entire Senior Board. Becky Arnold moved for the Board t o adopt the above procedure and approved by another board member . The motion passed. Citizen Comments: Linda Smith stated that rather than send a letter from West U senior citizens to Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack , West U’s City Council or City Manager should contact him directly about the bus breakdown situation. Adjournment: Judy Faulkner moved to adjourn. Becky Arnold seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m