HomeMy WebLinkAboutSSMINUTES031308WEST UNIVERSITY SENIOR SERVICES BOARD MEETING MINUTES
March 13, 2008
Meeting called to order at 2:00 PM.
Attendees: John Neighbors, Stan McCandless, Betty Aillet, Jo Lukens, Elizabeth Young, Lyndon McKnight, Selby Clark,
Mary Lee Gray, Cathy Wright, Celia Chipman, Margy Butler, Mary Ryerson and Joan Johnson. Staff members present
were Tim O'Connor and Toby Dykema. Guest present was Village News Reporter, Kate Bolen. City Council members
present were Mayor Pro Tem Bob Fry, Councilman Michael Talianchich and Councilman Chuck Guffie.
Previous meetings minutes were approved.
Previews and Sneak Previews were reviewed.
REPORTS
APAC: The Senior Expo is very much on the agenda and in need of volunteers. It will be held on May 16" at the George
R. Brown Convention Center. Deborah Moore is on board as the new Director, and very much qualified for the position.
COUNCIL MEETING REPORT: Seven new zoning code changes are under consideration by Council. One objective is
to get cars off streets and into garages and driveways. Another new regulation would be to require a minimum ten foot
driveway width for new homes. Extra space in front of garages is also being considered, but had the unintended result of
forcing builders to locate garages at the front of the home. Council is also debating whether or not parking over sidewalks
should be illegal in the city. The position of City Secretary is open and being advertised. In the future, that Secretary will
report to both the City Manager and to Council, as opposed to answering only to Council in the past.
GOOD NEIGHBOR TEAM: Volunteers will assemble on Monday, March 17" to pack the Spring bags, and reassemble
on Tuesday morning (10:00 AM) to deliver same. Those delivering will have a card for each resident visited on which to
offer a subjective assessment of that resident's physical and emotional well being, and of the premises. Seniors are
automatically added to the GNT's identified list of those in need of assessment/communication. Other Seniors are
identified by various methods, including monitoring the tax rolls. There are 150 identified Seniors, with an additional fifty-
two people between the ages of eighty-five and eight-nine. The GNT budget was raised from $2,000 to $3,000, and may be
increased to $4,000 to accommodate these fifty-two.
HI NEIGHBOR NEWSLETTER: The Newsletter is being proofread prior to being submitted to the printer.
ACTIVITY REPORT: Activities included the Round-Up theme meal, Windy Hill Winery in Brenham (complete with
entertaining bus break-down), a Better Business Bureau presentation of Medicare fraud and scams, the Lake Jackson
History Museum, and Belmont bingo. Shakespeare and opera classes continue to be increasingly popular.
PARKS & RECREATION REPORT: The subcommittee has met on the Colonial Park, Recreation Center and
Community Building issues. A presentation of the proposed renovations will be presented to City Council the afternoon of
March 13". The committee will recommend ten solutions, one of which will entail moving more activities from the
Community Building to the Recreation Center in order to free up more space and time for Seniors at the Community
Center. A three-pronged proposal will address improving the cost of the renovations, authorizing a November bond
referendum, and the development of a business plan for the redevelopment of Colonial Park and the Recreation Center.
Clarification of "Rental Caretaker" referenced in the prior month's Parke report elicited a job description for various part-
time employees to personally oversee rental events from unlocking doors all the way to clean up and lock up.
PREVIOUS BUSINESS: Councilman Talianchich asked for Board members to volunteer to provide property tax
appraisal versus income amounts for 2007 and 1996 or 1997. The purpose is for him to be able to provide Council with real
scenarios from Seniors, so that Council can address an increase in the over age sixty-five homestead exemptions for our
City. There appears to have been a 400% increase in property values over this time period, and a comparison to income
increases would be informative. The mechanisms for providing this information were discussed with an eye to keeping
volunteers' names anonymous. Increasing the $110, 000 exemption to $200,000 or $250,000 is being considered. This
would entail a tax increase on under age sixty-five taxpayers of 8 cents to 1.2 cents on the dollar of assessed value. Out of
4,200 households in the City, it is believed approximately 800 are Senior households. Mayor Kelly is planning an open
workshop on this issue. Regarding the bracelets, residents are to call Toby for an application. We are in the process of
developing a list of Board members to be placed on the Memorial plaque, and are now considering a list of qualified
volunteers that were not Board members to be placed on a plaque.
NEW BUSINESS: Maureen Graff has completed an application for the Board, and the Board voted unanimously to ask
Council to appoint her.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: The bus is not ready yet. Meeting Adjourned at 3:12 Pvt