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HomeMy Public PortalAboutCouncil on Aging Board -- 2023-07-20 MinutesTown of Brewster - * i t'F 4 t ` Ii Council on Aging Board Meeting RYE- 1.'L EY i U¢ *' Thursday, July 20, 2023 —1:00 p.m. Brewster Town Hall, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 Board members attending: Andrea Nevins and Sharon Tennstedt, Co -Chairs; Jill Beardsley, Jay Green, Penny Holeman, Honey Pivirotto, Laura Usher, Alternate Board members present: Jan Crocker, Eva Orman Board members absent: none Others attending: Elton Cutler, Director and Annie Rapaport, Program Coordinator; Absent: Cindy Bingham, Select Board Liaison; TBN, Finance Liaison; Marilyn Dearborn, Friends of Brewster Seniors Liaison 1. Call to Order S. Tennstedt, Co -Chair caped the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m. 2. Declaration of a Quorum S. Tennstedt declared a quorum with all members including alternate members present. 3. Meeting Participation Statement S. Tennstedt read the Meeting Participation Statement 4. Recording Statement S. Tennstedt read the Recording Statement. S. Public Announcements and Comments No members of the public attended the meeting either in-person or virtually. 6. Board member introductions Ms. Tennstedt then welcomed Honey Pivirotto as the new full time board member filling the vacant position. Also introduced were two new alternate board members, Jan Crocker and Eva Orman. Alternate Hoard members can participate in discussion at each meeting and will be eligible to vote if a permanent board member is not present and they are filling the vacant 11 Page Town of Brewster Council on Aging Board Meeting Thursday, July 20, 2023 --1:00 p.m. Brewster Town Hall, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 position for that meeting. Each of the Board members and alternate members introduced themselves to each other. 7. Approval of minutes: June 15, 2023 The minutes were reviewed and no revisions noted. A. Nevin made a motion to approve minutes for the lune 15, 2023 meeting; J. Beardsley seconded the motion. Minutes were approved with one abstention by Penny Holeman. 8. Director's Report Elton Cutler, COA Director, reviewed the Director's report. In addition to his written report, Mr. Cutler indicated the following: He is anticipating 36 to 40 SHINE appointments per week and staff are now creating a waiting list for the open enrollment period of 10/15 to 11/7. Residents are encouraged to call. Mr. Cutler then announced that the COA received a grant for $600 which funded new tires for the Ford transit van reducing the cost to the Town to $491.99, representing a significant savings for town taxpayers. 9. Program Coordinator's Report and Review of 2023-24 Action Plan Implementation Annie Rappaport then presented the Program Coordinators Report highlights from the written report provided in the meeting package. Ms. Rapaport announced the COA is finally on Facebook. She cautioned there is a fake COA website out there which makes it harder to find the Brewster COA so try searching Brewster COA or Brewster Council on Aging. She encouraged all to find it and follow it. Ms. Nevins encouraged an announcement in the Chronicle re COA presence on Facebook. Ms. Nevin also inquired about the next session of 'if I Live to be 100'. Ms. Rappaport is working on it; 30 people have registered. The Board then discussed the challenges of distributing notifications of programs and services now that COA is issuing a newsletter every two months. For instance, the newsletter covering 2 1 P a g e Town of Brewster Council on Aging Board Meeting Thursday, July 20, 2023 —1:00 p.m. Brewster Town Hall, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 September and October has to be finalized in early August, meaning a lot of planning has to happen far in advance of the actual events. 10. Update on Needs Assessment Survey-UMASS Contract Work S. Tennstedt discussed the Needs Assessment Survey and UMASS Contract Work. She noted that currently, the COA has completed its five-year plan activities as of June 30, 2023. UMASS is working with Brewster to conduct the community survey, the results of which will be used to develop the next five-year plan. Work was delayed on this project pending receipt of state grant funds. At this point the, needs assessment survey closed on July 12, and UMASS is compiling the results. The response rate has not yet been calculated but is believed to be in the 25% range. Residents age 70+ were surveyed for input into the five-year plan. Anyone age 76 or older was to have received a hard copy of the survey. Jan Crocker indicated that neither she or her father received the survey. Mr. Cutler will be providing her a hard copy. The final written report is expected in early December and a report will be presented to the Select Board and Town Administration with the public presentation in January. 11. Discussion of 50th Anniversary Events Mr. Cutler then presented ideas for a Legacy event as part of the 50th anniversary of COA which is occurring throughout this year. He indicated that outreach could occur to find people born, raised and contributing to Brewster during their life. A suggestion was made to also consider "Wash Ashores". Jan Crocker suggested pursuing grant funds for the Legacy work effort, possibly from the Cultural Council. Eva Orman indicated that, while volunteer appreciation is usually in April, grant potential is possible for food, entertainment and educational components. The Friends idea of a large celebration event at Sea Camps was highlighted. Ms. Pivirotto raised the idea of a Taste of Brewster theme with food stations from each of the town restaurants at the evening event suggested by Friends Ms. Nevin would like to include more educational events like the Social Security forum during the year as well as intergenerational activities. She believes kids are interested in how life used to be and pulling photos from 1900s would be an idea to consider, Ms. Usher indicated this might present a good tie-in with the Brewster Historical Society and Cobb House. Ms. Crocker offered to reach out to the producer of the video for the pond property and seek ideas. Penny 3 1 P a g e Town of Brewster Council on Aging Board Meeting Thursday, July 20, 2023 --1:00 p.m. Brewster Town Hall, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 Holeman thought it might work to feature 4 events — one for each season. Ms. Nevin indicated that she heard a Yale professor talk and he was so good that Sally Gunning was to invite him back this year to the Historical Society at Sea Pines inn, and this might be one of the events. Ms. Tennstedt asked Mr. Cutler to put together a committee and include Marilyn Dearborn as well as Kyle Hinkle from the Chamber of Commerce to capture all the Ideas and develop a plan. 12. Fundraising Updates Fundraising updates were discussed with Jay Green indicating that he thought the bench and picnic table proposal COA is supporting could be eligible for grant opportunity identified by Ms. Nevin. Ms. Tennstedt and Ms. Nevin then oriented the full Board and alternates to the concept of these special benches and picnic tables and the goal of placement throughout the town. Ms. Tennstedt indicated that the Chair of the Pickleball Committee has approached her about placement of benches and/or picnic tables at the Stonybrook courts as there are a number of people who show up to watch pickieball activity there and there is nothing suitable for them to use. There was discussion about raising the concept at the Drummer Boy Advisory Committee. Jay Green indicated he was told he was not a member of that committee. Ms. Tennstedt indicated she would follow-up as one COA board member was to be on the committee along with Mr. Cutler as a non-voting member. Ms. Usher indicated that the COA can resubmit in January for funds from the National Realtor's Association. 13, Committee and Liaison Reports Committee Liaison reports were made next. There was no report for Recreation Committee. A new liaison was requested. Ms. Pivirotto volunteered. Ms. Tennstedt indicated R. Bassett is Chair. Vision Plannin[, Committee: Ms. Tennstedt updated the Board on the Local Comprehensive Plan work effort and outreach. She indicated a draft word document reflecting outcomes of November and March Town Meetings would be posted shortly. This document eliminates any development of a boardwalk to Wing Island plus updates the content and simplifies language. 41 Page Town of Brewster Council on Aging Board Meeting Thursday, July 20, 2023 —1:00 p.m. Brewster Town Hall, 2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 Community outreach by the committee has begun, starting with a presence at the Pond summit, Conservation Day at Drummer Boy Park, and a presentation at Brewster Men's Club. The objective of the outreach is to inform the voters about what the LCP is, and what it does as well as what it does not do as it essentially provides direction to the Town in its planning efforts. Bay Property: The next forum is August 5; there are three one-hour sessions residents may attend to respond to various scenarios that were developed from the initial forum. Several buildings will be open for viewing. Discussion likely will include a discussion regarding, if there was a community center, how would It be configured and what would it contain. Mr. Cutler and Ms. Tennstedt indicated they toured the Harwich Community Center which is considered a model for intergenerational community center to learn more about how it operates. Ms. Nevin recommended reading the report from the original forum which is online before going to the August 5 forum. Ms. Usher recommended adding info on the forum to the COA Facebook page. Ms. Tennstedt indicated COA will be providing transportation for the forum. Pond Property: Ms. Crocker indicated there are walking tours of the pond property on Saturday, July 291h leaving from Town Hall. Board of Health: Ms. Holleman reported the idea of a liaison between the Brewster Board of Health and COA continues to be discussed. It would not typically be a voting position but would solidify a very important common mission focused on public health and safety. It was noted that Ms. Holeman who is on the Board of Health is already on the COA board as a voting member. Ms. Holleman reported that as of July 7 the state reqs on the watershed were published and there have been a number of questions on how these affect the towns on Cape Cod. She reported that Brewster is in a better position that some other towns on Cape based on what Brewster has been doing for the last 30 to 40 years. Ms. Tennstedt indicated the Water Resources Taskforce is developing informational materials and that the Town is applying for watershed permits in addition to the Pleasant Bay watershed. Ms. Usher stated it would be helpful to have a one pager with bullet points on these regulations to inform the residents with accurate information. Housin : Ms. Usher report that the partnership cancelled the .lune meeting and in July there was a program on ADUs the partnership was to attend. There are two new houses through Habitat for Humanity in Brewster off Red Top Road. Applications are due August 14. Market 51 Page, Town of Brewster Council on Aging Board Meeting Thursday, July 20, 2023 —1:00 p.m. Brewster Town Hail, 2195 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631 stats for housing sales in Brewster through for June were 12 sales with a median of $810k; 13 properties open for sale with 1.2 months of inventory and sales at 101.4% of original price. Mr. Cutler reported the outreach workers have information on the two houses through Habitat and are distributing info to those who are housing needy. Brewster Housing Partnership has a link for houses available. Beth Finch donated the property and it will be called Phoebe Way. Fincom: No report; waiting for liaison to be appointed. Select Board: No report; Cindy Bingham was absent. 14. Questions from the Media No media representatives were present. 15. Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair Nothing presented. 16. Next Meeting Next Meeting is August 17, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at Town Hall. 17. Adjournment J. Beardsley made a motion to adjourn at 3 p.m.; A. Nevin seconded the motion. Meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Honey Pivirotto 61 Page