HomeMy WebLinkAbout1985-06-26 Bd Comm minutesMINUTES
SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION
MAY 9, 1985
SENIOR CENTER CONFERENCE ROOM
MEMBERS PRESENT: Bill Coen, Henry Fox, Marty Kafer, Ruth Wagner, Dorothy
Whipple
MEMBERS ABSENT: Don Crum, Geri Hall, Bob Jackson, Mike Kattchee
STAFF PRESENT: Bette Meisel, Donita Oevance
OTHERS PRESENT: Kathleen Norris, Richard Ruppert, CoE; Agnes Kuhn, Citizen
CALL TO OROER/MINUTES:
The meeting was called to order by the Chair at 3:05 p.m. Coen called
attention to the minutes of April 11, and the discussion involving a resolu-
tion accepting secondary ownership of H -bonds by the Commission. He recom-
mended striking the word 'accepted' (line ten, SENIOR CENTER GIFT FUND) and
substituting the word 'made.' The corrected sentence shall read 'Kattchee
moved that the resolution be made.' Coen reported that he had attempted to
follow through on the resolution but that bank officials, having checked with
the Department of the Treasury, determined that a Board or Commission could
not be co -signors for H -bonds. Mrs. Crites will amend her Will so as to
assure that her wishes are carried out. Fox moved for the acceptance of the
{ minutes as corrected. Wagner seconded. Accepted by unanimous voice vote.
PUBLIC DISCUSSION:
Coen reminded Commissioners to make a commitment to attend a Council of
Elders meeting and to sign up on the calendar that was being circulated.
Agnes Kuhn recommended that an individual performance evaluation of each
employee in each agency be distributed to Senior Center participants. This
would, she felt, increase the level of input of the seniors in the Center's
activities. Commissioners agreed that a general evaluation of the Center
would be welcome but disagreed with the notion of personal evaluations of
staff members. Meisel will present a copy of a survey that has been used
before at the next Commission meeting.
SERVICE PROVIDERS PRESENTATION:
Coen explained that in future meetings in-house service providers would be
asked to give a brief overview of their respective agencies in order to
acquaint Commissioners with the various services available at the Center.
Jeanne Snow, Director, Elderly Services Agency, was on hand to explain the
structure and services to the elderly as provided by her staff. Snow
explained that Elderly Services is funded through a variety of sources, the
City of Iowa City, Heritage Agency on Aging, United Way and Johnson County,
for example. It is an independent corporation complete with its own Board of
Directors. The main objective of the agency is to assist senior citizens to
stay in their own homes for as long as possible. There are four services
designed to work to this end: Information and Referral Service, Outreach and
Advocacy, Respite Care and Chore Services, and Shared Housing. The scope and
/doh
• Senior Center Commission
May 9, 1985
Page 2
I variety of services the agency provides is growing, as well as the number of
people that the agency serves. Home visits, cheese distribution, and
distribution of extra garden produce are a few of the direct services
provided.
CONTRACT RENEWAL:
Meisel presented a memo to in-house service providers regarding their
contracts with the Senior Center which expire June 30, 1985. The purpose of
the memo was to remind providers of this date and to encourage them to review
the current contract and inform the Commission of any changes they deer
necessary in the terms of their contracts. Kafer moved that the memo be sent
as read. Wagner seconded - unanimous voice vote.
CHAIRMAN'S UPDATE:
Coen explained that it was again time for the Commission's yearly evaluation
of Coordinator Meisel. The Executive Board is charged with the responsi-
bility of evaluating the administrative performance of Meisel for City
records. The forms, listing in detail the criteria for the evaluation, were ! J
distributed to Commissioners for review.
COORDINATOR'S UPDATE:
I
Meisel updated the story of the 111 -fated building sign. The stone has been
delivered twice; the first time it was cut to the wrong dimensions. The
second time the stone broke when the truck hit a bump in the driveway. The
sign 1s being changed to incorporate Johnson County into the name on the
front of the building. It 1s being purchased jointly with County and City
funds.
Meisel discussed the fluctuating figures for attendance at the Senior Center.
She explained that there are no real indicators of how high or low the
attendance will be. Neither weather nor special programming seem to have any
dramatic effect.
The heating and cooling problems in the building seem to have been corrected
at long last. Bette credited Jim Heinz of Engineering Associates for taking
on the project that others had found unsolvable. Heinz, working along with
Modern Piping has finished the work on the system and all is well 1n the
trouble spots in the building.
Meisel referred to "Capitol Echoes," a bulletin of current legislative issues
involving the elderly. Each bulletin contains brief histories and updates on
bills currently before the Iowa Legislature. As it is received it will be
included in the Commission packets.
Meisel commented on two complimentary letters that came to the attention of
the staff. One was sent to the Center and the other to the Press -Citizen.
Both were from participants pleased with the Expressions of the uman p r t
series. Meisel expressed her regret that attendance at these programs was so
low in relationship to the quality of the effort (average attendance 29 per
program). Because of the low attendance and the amount of staff time that
1.206
Senior Center Commission
May 9, 1985
Page 3
each takes, she has suggested that Senior Center staff not seek grants for
such educational programs until there are more staff people to cover the
amount of time that it takes.
COUNCIL OF ELDERS UPDATE:
The Council of Elders is finalizing plans for the Older Americans Day Fair on
May 17. Several members of the CoE will be on a radio program on May 14 to
discuss the events. Members regret that they did not get a shuttle bus to
transport people to the Center for the events. They will keep the idea in
mind for next year.
The service project with the Hone Economics Sorority did not go as well as
hoped. During the two day project only 25 of the sororities 49 members
showed up. None of them showed up the first day. They surveyed 60 people
and added 15 names to the Post mailing list.
The League of Waren Voters and Council of Elders sponsored Legislative town
Meeting was hailed a success. Three Iowa legislators were on hand to answer
a variety of questions from the audience. Five people attended the Gover-
nor's Conference on Volunteerism and came back with positive insights.
The Council of Elders has concerned itself with the re-covering and repair of
one of the pool tables in the game room. The pool players believe that the
1 workmanship on one table was poorly done in the first place. The CoE plans
to first write a letter to the Brunswick Company in Cedar Rapids, who did the
work, to request that they cane back and repair it. If there is a charge the
CoE may have to cone to the Commission and ask for financial support from the
i gift fund.
OPEN DISCUSSION:
Wagner expressed disappointment with the lack of progress being made to reach
rural areas through outreach and suggested more organization and concentra-
tion in this effort.
i
0