HomeMy WebLinkAboutWUSSB 03.09.17 (2)West University Senior Service Board Minutes March 9, 2017 Roll Call: Selby Clark presided and called the meeting to order at 2:02 pm Present: Selby Clark, Candyce Beneke, Ruth Becker, Stan McCandless, Judy Faulkner, Carlos DeLaTorre, Sarah Ballanfant, Virginia Lootens, Ann Crowley, George Baker, John Palmer, Susan Davis, Becky Arnold Absent: Rebecca Dozier Staff: Toby Brooks, Susan White Council Liaison: Burt Ballanfant absent Others Present : Alida Drewes, Dorothy Zink, Bruce Beneke, Sonny Brandtner A quorum was present.Minutes: One correction of the spelling of Dick Yehle’s name was made to the February minutes.Council Meeting Report : Burt Ballanfant was absent and no report was made.Parks and Recreation Report: Susan reported on:Liberty Hill: the sign project will be presented to the City Council on 4/10/17.Park Lover’s Ball: raised $374,000.00 net. Mobile bidding which replaced silent auction bidding was very successful Colonial Park: Prince Hamburgers was the only bidder who submitted bids to provide food service at the Park for summer of 2017. April 29 is opening day for members.Tennis Committee : Community tennis policy is in final form and will be submitted to committee for review. Once finalized, signage will be installed at all courts altering tennis users of the proposed policies and directing them to the website for review and comments.Jennie Hughes Park: there will be a town hall meeting on April 6,2017 when 3 selected contractors will present their ideas about design options and next steps.Big Belly recycle bins - on hold due to issues with 5 year (60 month) contract.APAC: Virginia Lootens introduced a representative from the U of H School of Social Work Graduate, outlined that Care for Elders helps with referrals and counseling. Virginia distributed handouts about the organization. There will be a new senior benefits guide in April which will overview a large group of participating organizations. Toby will send copy of handout to all board members via email.Good Neighbor Team: Toby reported on:- Everything is ready for Spring deliveries on March 30 and will include bibs made by the quilting club and other volunteers.- Jelly beans and trail mix were distributed - last meeting had panel of past recipients who expressed their thoughts about how the committee is working and suggested some ideas for improvement.Activities and Previews:Rotary Pancake breakfast was attended by 30 people despite a stormy morning. Stan was the king of pancakes.
Field trip : -Taste of the Town went to an Ethiopian restaurant.-Girl Scouts served a “grandmother’s tea” and a Saint Patrick’s Day celebration. Ed Heathcott provided corned beef and cabbage.-New York New York is the next event at George Ranch in Rosenberg with a hayride and lunch Jennie Hughes Park : Selby Clark reported:Architect met with city attorneys, the original attorney who wrote the first will and the family. The family had previously vetoed some of the early plans and were present to discuss what they thought was acceptable. At the most recent citizen’s meeting the architect presented 4 designs that had already been approved by the family and the group selected 3 of the 4 which will be fleshed out a little by the architects and presented at the town hall meeting. There will be no garden space in the park. That idea was rejected by the family as not meeting the donor’s goals. There was enough dissent about meeting the family’s goals that some folks even suggested returning the land due to significant costs to the city for development which could be more than one million dollars. Our city attorney explained that there will be no more debates regarding the type of park, but plans can be revisited in 5 years and again in 10 years. The family does have the right to take back the property if no agreement can be reached or if the city tries to develop the park in a way the family does not approve either now or at any time in the future. Susan White explained the town hall meeting will serve to provide the public with the park’s parameters and the three alternatives will be on the city website after the meeting . Background information will be given prior to architect’s presentation. The City will remove the existing home soon. Selby reviewed what had happened in the most recent meeting and attempted to explain some of the suggested plans. Susan White reminded everyone that the town hall meeting is scheduled for April 6 at 6:30.Old Business:Swift 911: the good neighbor team submitted 80-85 paper forms to be included in the new system. There is no cut-off date and the old system (Code Red) stopped March 1st. Anyone can still sign up for Swift 911.Meet the Candidates is scheduled for April 23, at the Comm. Center and time to be announced.PERS: Carlos will have different questions for vendors and people who currently use a service will speak about their experiences and help educate the public. Selby will give examples of available choices.Citizens Comments: Ms. Drewes suggested the board needs to know about city council candidates various positions regarding seniors and requested an electronic monitor and closed caption for hard of hearing.Dorothy Zink said the city council does support seniors with exemptions and budget considerations, transportation that most cities do not provide as well as many fees are waived for seniors.Bruce Beneke is a city council candidate and said he did receive questionnaire.Sonny Brandtner announced he is running for mayor and was glad to attend the meeting and appreciated the chance to introduce himself and listen to the board meeting.Adjournment: Ann motioned for adjournment and Stan McCandless seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 3:00pm