HomeMy Public PortalAboutA 2008-01-09 - SENIOR ADVISORY COUNCIL
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GENERAL MEETING
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AGENDA
Wednesday, January 9, 2008 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
12:30 p.m. Call to Order President Lorene Reed
Pledge of Allegiance
Invocation
Roll Call
Certification of Agenda Posting
Approval of Minutes 11/07/07
12:40 p.m. New Business
Introduction of Senior & Social Services Manager -Marisa
Cordova
President's Report
Senior Building Fund Update
Membership Application
Library Committee Report
Bylaws Committee Report
Turkey Giveaway Report
1:05 p.m. Public Comments (2 minutes)
1:15 p.m. Board Orals (2 minutes)
1:30 p.m. Adjournment
Next General Meeting on Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The Recreation Department, Senior Services Division does not discriminate on the basis of
disability. Persons with disabilities may request accommodation services by calling (310)
886-0425 two-weeks in advance of the meeting. The facility providing this service is
wheelchair accessible.
Senior Citizens Advisory Board
Meeting Minutes
November 07, 2007
The meeting was called to order at 2:30 p.m. by President Lorene Recd. The agenda was duly
posted as prescribed by the Brown Act.
Pledge of Allegiance: Secretary Julio Mendoza
Invocation: Member Cecelia Dove
Roll Call: Cecilia Amezquita -Minutes Clerk
Present: Absent:
Willie McGill Irene Garcia Melziner H. Pierce
Marie Lindsey D. Joyce Edner Alfred Kilts
Julio Mendoza Cecelia Dove
Lien Stringfield Lorene Reed
Margaret Araujo
President Report:
President Lorene Reed - I have. receipts that will be attached to next meeting minutes showing
that the bill with Magic Rose has been paid. Mc Kilts came to me because he had recyelables that
he wanted us to pick up. The money that was collected from the recyclables would be donated to
the building fund. Jose'frejo arranged for someone to recycle them, the total was $292.34. The
money was deposited into the Senior Building fund. On October 19, 2007 1 received a complaint
about one of the meals in the lunch room. Manny Perez is the Advisory Council Member for
Human Services Association. When 1 receive a complaint about the meals, I refer it to Manny and
he takes it to the council. 'they meet in Downey once a month. We receive invitations to the
meetings through the mail. On October 20, 2007 a complaint was presented to the NAACP
against the City of Lynwood and Senior Advisory Board. I do not have the disposition of the
complaint. When I find out what the disposition of the complaint is 1 will let you know.
Bylaws Committee Report-Second Reading of Articles:
President Lorene Reed - We have the third and final reading of Article 16 & 17.
Vice President Irene Garcia-Third and final reading of Article 16 & 17 Amendment.
President Lorene Reed -Once the Bylaws are completely done, a new set will be typed and
distributed.
Member Margaret Araujo motioned, 2°d Secretary Julio Mendoza, by unanimous consent motion
passed.
President Lorene Reed -The Bylaws revision on Article 16 & 17 is the third and final reading. I
would like to ask the chair of the Bylaws Committee, when will there be another meeting on the
Bylaws. Have you set a date for your next meeting?
Vice President Irene Garcia - [will notify you of the next meeting.
Bet Tzedek Legal Services -Velinda Mackey:
Velinda Mackey - I am the Director of Municipal Grants for Bet Tzedek Legal Services. 1 have
been with the company 12 years. In my position as Director of Municipal Grants 1 work directly
with municipalities, cities, County of Los Angeles, Uni[ed Way, City of West Hollywood and
anyone where we can put forth a proposal to get grants and drop off services free of charge.
Basically I act as a compliance director making sure we do everything we need to do to continue
getting this funding every year. We have been very successful in continuing oin' Cunding for over
30 years with these different entities. If you are not aware of Bet Tzedek we are non-profit Legal
Aida established in 1973 as a store front in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. At the time it was
two attorneys and one core volunteer who wanted to offer free legal services to the Jewish
Community.As it stands now we will work in just about any legal area with the exception of
family law, criminal and immigration matters. We have received grants from both the City and
County of Los Angeles to go into Senior Centers throughout the City and County to offer services
free of charge to seniors. One of the reasons 1 was interested in coming back to this area is
because 1 grew up in Compton but I live in Paramount. I noticed we were not really servicing the
seniors directly living in these communities. You would have to go out to Willowbrook, Long
Beach or Gardena to seek out legal services. When Mr. Johnson contacted me and told me he
would really like for me to come I told him I would be here. 1 have made a commitment that 1
will do whatever 1 can to see about getting Bet Tzedek to come to the senior center. The
brochures give a laundry list of the different areas that we cover; consumer rights, bankruptcy and
consumer fraud. We have a huge elder law legal service area that we are doing. I would say ~ I
of the services we offer are geared toward seniors and the aging population. We are doing a lot of
work with conservator ship, long-term care planning and assisted living facilities. We do
presentations on how to navigate issues with Social Security and in-home supportive services.
One thing I am truly proud of in my 12-years of employment with Bet Tzedek is that we host an
annual three-day advocacy training where we invite community activists, persons working in
senior centers, nurses that are on the front-line dealing with seniors and issues to come to a
training totally free of charge for three-days and learn all the most up-to-date information on how
to deal with Social Security claims. Do you know someone having problems with nursing homes?
Learn how to get your loved one into boarding care. I brought a few copies of our last manual.
It's Cree of charge and it is written in layman's teens so they can take it back to their senior
centers and community and deal with seniors one-on-one. We also give them a hotline number to
a Bet Tzedek Attorney if any questions should arise. They contact a legal advisor to answer their
questions. 1 am proud that we have been providing this service for over 25-year in senior centers.
We need people in senior centers and in our community helping their elderly neighbors and
anyone with these types of legal issues. They will come to you before they come to us.
Question & Answers:
Fran Ripler - 1 have been very experienced in counseling and abuse in Los Angeles. Is it only
geared for senior citizens or other individuals? Are you involved with children?
Valinda Mackey -Our services are opened to anyone living in Los Angeles County that have an
income that is considered at poverty level, low income or considered to be poor from zero to
infinity, 51 % of the issues we see are dealing with seniors and a lot of that is really driven by our
funding. Anyone can come to us for any of the issues listed on the brochure and we would
defiantly look at their case free of charge.
Member Margaret Araujo - We want for someone to come and discuss trust and living wills do
you do that?
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Valinda Mackey-That is one of the other functions I handle at the office. I schedule an advocate
to come and give presentations on whatever topic Che vendor needs for the community. Bet
Tzedek at the moment does not handle trusts but our advocate will give a presentation on the
difference between a living will and trust, so that you can make the determination of what
instrument will better serve your needs. If you contact me with the date, time and topic I will
assure you 1 can get someone here that will give you infonnafion.
Secretary Julio Mendoza - Do you have an office closer than North 1 Iollywood?
Valinda Mackey - We have an office in North Hollywood, on Fairfax Ave. and in L,os Angeles
these are our main offices. If you have access to a computer you can go to the website and view
the different sites available for services. You can call and make an appointment opposed to going
to Los Angeles or Fairfax Avenue. We have created our own power of attorney document for
health care. You can also buy this form at a stationary store. Basically it gives you two options to
do everything for me should I become incapacitated or do nothing. Our form has a laundry list,
keep me hydrated until or disband all life saving measures unless. We offer two different ways
we can come do a great presentation, tell you what it is, give you a form and let you go home and
talk to your family members and if you're interested contact us at Bet Tzedek and we will draft
something for you. We can also come do a presentation, have align-up sheet for the seniors that
really want to get this drafted and give them the opportunity to take it home to their family
members. Then, about two to three weeks later we meet with the seniors to do a one-on-one and
actually draft the document so we won't waste time.
Fran Ripler - Do you have a 24-hour counseling hotline?
Valinda Mackey - We are currently looking at establishing a hotline specifically for housing. We
recently submitted a proposal with the County Community Development Commission for a
hotline attorney. To staff a hotline we will have volunteers and staff a hotline. We will have
volunteers and staff manning the phones answering the type of questions we would normally get.
The way. we function now, iPyou call us and say your landlord is harassing you, we give you a
referral number to an agency that can possibly help you with the matter, but should you get
served with papers call us back. If you get athree-day notice or are unlawfully detained now we
can get involved.
President Lorene Reed - We have quarterly workshops here in the senior center. We will get in
contact with you on various topics we would like presented. I am asking Margaret to work with
Mrs. Mackey to set up topics you feel are important. Next on the agenda is J.D. Whitaker. He was
supposed to discuss parking issues. We were presented with a petition from the seniors in the
center regarding lack of parking. We invited J.D. to come and go over the problem but he is
missing in action. He has an excellent plan. If he comes in we will give him the opportunity to
discuss it.
Senior Center Membership:
President Lorene Reed - In a previous meeting it was suggested that in order for us to be able to
afford some of the things that we want here in the center with out going to the Council. The City
does not have the funding for everything we want in the center we need to realize that simply
because it is a public entity that doesn't mean that they are responsible for our every whim. In
order to off-set the cost to the City to maintain the operation of this senior center we need to start
acting like other senior centers. Other senior centers charge to play a game of cards or play a
game of billiards. You have to pay for the use of the table by the hour. 1 have a newsletter from a
senior center, it has abreak-down of the different charges. It has been recommended that we
define what the membership fee entails. This is something we are currently working on. We need
a committee to work with staff.
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Member Cecelia Dove -What is the membership fee and to whom would it apply? Does it apply
to all seniors or anyone that comes in the door or who? How do you define a member and why the
fee?
Member Margaret Araujo - A member would be anyone coming in to use the facility and when
they sign-up for membership they should be given a flier with what the fee entitles. I ran into a
Samoan family and they were surprised that we do not have any Samoans. We need an outreach.
Maybe if we talk to Laura Alderete about running an article in the Lynwood `N Perspective.
There are some senior centers that do charge and some that don't.
President Lorene Reed - We are working to introduce a membership fee. What that entails has
not been worked out yet. This is why I am asking for a committee to work with staff to put it
together.
Secretary Julio Mendoza -Why do we need a committee? This is wiry we have staff working
here. You don't need to form a committee for everything you do. 1 wouldn't work it that way.
President Lorene Reed -Are you making a motion? (Secretary Julio Mendoza - No, it's a
suggestion.)
Member D. Joyce Edner -Listening to what you said, are you saying that to enter this building
would require a $5.00 membership for all seniors for the year? There are many activities we pay
for in the center. Is the $5.00 just to say that I am a member of the Senior Citizens Center in
Lynwood.
Jose Trejo - I think to create a dialog about membership is important. Right now a lot of
suggestions are being thrown out which is good. As far as the membership, to address Mrs.
Dove's question. Centers typically offer yoga class and visual arts class at a cost to the
participants. There is a fee involved_ A membership in this case would allow that participant to
enroll in this free class. Also trips for members would be a certain cost and non-members would
be a little higher. It is important to have some kind of dialog to bring all these issues out and
establish something where everyone is comfortable, then we can move forward. Perhaps for use
of the exercise room you must be a member.
President Lorene Reed - Do we want to leave the recommendations for staff to draft? At this
point we do know we want a membership fee. We don't know exactly how to go about instituting
the fee and how the fee would be best used. However staff has that expertise.
Jose Trejo - We will draft something and bring it to the board for review at the next meeting.
President Lorene Reed - We are going to draft a membership fee for ourselves.
Member Margaret Araujo motioned, 2id D. Joyce Edner, by unanimous consent motion passed.
Senior Volunteer Group:
President Lorene Reed - We have about 20 seniors that want to volunteer in this building. "they
feel that it's their building and they are willing to work on a schedule for no pay. They would like
to see the hours extended. They have met with the Interim Director and we are going to open
earlier on a trial basis.
Jose Trejo -Currently we are opening at 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. The week of
Thanksgiving we are going to extend the hours on Monday and Wednesday from 730 a.m. to
830 p.m. on a trial basis and see what the attendance looks like and evaluate it.
President Lorene Reed -The reason for the extended hours is that there are a lot of working
seniors. Most of the people that come during the day arc retired. We have a lot of working seniors
that want to come in and relax, do crafts and play bingo in the evening so it was suggested that
we stay open a little later. Also Mr. Trejo what about weekends?
Jose Trejo - We want to start it off as a trial period. Part of it has to do with funding. This is not
in staff salaries, it was not appropriated in this year's fiscal budget. We really want to see if it's a
success to sustain these hours and then perhaps include weekends. AL this point the issue is who is
going to open and close the building and oversee staff.
President Lorene Reed -This is why it is so important to utilize the senior volunteer group. We
have a volunteer group that does not have to be paid and is willing to work the extended hours
and weekends. It is just up.to the Interim Director and City Manager to give us the ok.
Senior Center Rules & Regulations:
President Lorene Reed - We received numerous complaints about things that go on in this
building. Jose, would you help me out with rules and regulations that are used in most senior
centers?
Jose Trejo- We are currently working with a vendor for signage. Part of that is regulation posting.
In terms of the exercise room it is more defined, like water bottles that are capped and proper
attire. You want to make sure the seniors here feel comfortable, that seniors are not bombarded
with propaganda literature and that it is a more relaxed quiet zone. We will put up signs in line
with this center, being a place of peace and relaxation. It is a work in progress.
Extensive discussion regarding concept and posting of rules and regulations, draft will be
presented at next meeting.
Discussion December and January Meetings:
President Lorene Reed - I want to ask the board how they feel about meeting in December and
January.
Secretary Julio Mendoza -Can we do it like we do for the commissions, go dark in December
due to the holidays?
Member Margaret Araujo motioned, 2"d Secretary Julio Mendoza, by unanimous consent motion
passed.
President Lorene Reed -The reason I asked to discuss the January meeting is because the first
Wednesday of the month is the day after the first. Do you want to meet on that day and be alone?
Member Margaret Araujo motioned for the January meeting to be held the second Wednesday of
the month, 2°`~ Member Marie Lindsey, by unanimous consent motion passed.
Public Orals:
Fran Ripler - It would be nice to have a gathering in December since there is no meeting.
President Lorene Reed - We have a Christmas gathering in the senior center. During Christmas
we have so many gatherings, that is the reason we go dark in December.
Charles Woods - I am on the Veterans Affairs Council I would like to invite everyone to attend
our Veterans Day Ceremony tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. It took us 8 years to get a memorial
monument and we finally have one which will be unveiled tomorrow in front of City Hall.
Carolyn Anderson -What percentage of the senior centers charge for services? (President Lorene
Reed - We would have to survey the centers but I will bring a brochure with fees charged at other
centers.)
Paulette Bradley - Just a reminder, the first fashion show in the senior center will be held dais
Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in the Senior Center. Tickets are still on sale in the lobby and they will be
sold at die door. Please come out and support our first function. We had a presentation from the
LA Opera and 1 have 8 vacancies for the Don Giovanni Opera on November 21, 2007. The bus
will be leaving from the senior center. Sign-up at the front counter, leave your name and phone
number so we can call you. It is free of charge. The bus will be leaving around 1230 p.m. and
return around 5:00 p.m. It is a dressy affair, no hats please. IC will be al the Dorothy Chandler
Pavilion.
Board Orals:
Member Marie Lindsey -Thank you Mrs. Mackey for your vibrant presentation and Paulette for
the information.
Member D. Joyce Edner -Regarding the library committee we picked-up the books firom Mr.
Kilts and they are here. The library committee is supposed to get together to check and log the
books. I just need to know when the committee wants to get together. I was referred to Bet
Tzedek about four or five years ago. I did not know they didn't entail family matters. 1 had a
consultation with a counselor and they recommended arbitration. I didn't meet the poverty level.
Where does poverty level start? We need to keep up with the seniors that become ill.
Jose Trejo -You can use the CDBG household income and base yourself on the members per
household bracket.
Secretary Julio Mendoza-Nothing, 1 am talked out.
Vice President Irene Garcia- l wanted to mention that Paramount and South Gate are two centers
that don't charge. A lot of us don't use the facility as much as others I believe it's good that Mr.
Trejo is working on rules and regulations to get something together with signage. Seniors need
the utmost respect and quality time. No one should be approaching any senior. They need to
enjoy their meal in peace and quiet. Thanks Mrs. Mackey for the wonderful presentatiai.
Member Lien Stringfiield - It was a very nice meeting. Thank you madam chair, you bring a lot of
information to the seniors.
Member Cecelia Dove - Do you have ID'S or identification cards for your staff? (Jose Trejo -
All staff have one now.) There was something said about a suggestion box. As many times as I
have been here, I don't know where the suggestion box is but I will find out before I leave. You
said there are 20 volunteers. 1 would like to know if iC's a volunteer committee? (President Lorene
Reed - lt's a group of senior volunteers from all over that want to volunteer their time).
Jose Trejo -It's an informal program we are going to add formality to it and establish a criteria,
hours and procedures for volunteers.
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Member Willie McGill -Membership fee, before we didn't have a fee but we had sewing class,
knitting but we paid a portion to the instructor. If they charge for the class couldn't that take the
place of the fee? (President Lorene Reed - It could take the place of it but in actuality it would be
more. At one of the senior centers to take dance classes it's $6.00. They meet once a week and
pay $6.00. 1 am only talking about paying $5.00 a year).
Member Margaret Araujo - 1 would like to thank Mrs. Mackey. Trejo are we going ro have a
Christmas tree in our lounge? (Jose Trejo -Yes, the Quality of Life Department distributes the
trees to the facilities. We really don't know what we are going to get but you're welcomed Yo put
anything on it). There are some centers that don't charge for use of their facilities. A lot of those
centers don't have things we have like a pool table and exercise equipment in their facility but
they do charge for their sewing class. This is a new building, we can't always depend on the City.
We need to start looking for donations. The City of Paramount hosts a big Thanksgiving in the
Gymnasium. On Thanksgiving they raffle TV's, Radios and a lot of other things. [would like to
ask if we can take a bus over there for'fhanksgiving?
President Lorene Reed - I would like to thank everyone for attending this meeting. The profit on
the Great Gatsby BaII was $2,200 plus. We made $2,000 for the building fund. Regarding Mrs.
Edner's issue of ill seniors, there are two seniors that were ill. They are both in nursing homes
and they will not be returning to their homes. We have to find a way to keep track of all seniors.
Maybe the membership fee will help us keep track. 1 want to introduce staff to Fran. Staff are the
employees. Mrs. Dove the suggestion box is on the counter. You can put suggestions or
complaints in that box. if you need help 1 need to know your name and anything else. You can be
anonymous. Next meeting we will discuss bringing two new members to the Board. We had our
public announcement in the newspaper and received applications. The deadline was October 31,
2007. At the next meeting we will be voting on new members. There will be a turkey giveaway
November 21, 2007 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. we have Yvonne Burke, Apple Care and Human
Services Association. We have turkeys on a first come first served basis. Anyone who signed-up
will be going to Plaza Mexico and stand in line. Normally we ride in the Christmas parade. Last
year Willie and I were freezing so this year we will ride on the trolley with the rest of the
commissions. Mark Cutler donated $1,000 to the Senior Advisory Board to go to the senior
building fund.
Member Margaret Araujo - I have been giving pictures to Laure Alderete to put in the Lynwood
`N Perspective. They have the beach party and the picnic pictures.
Adjournment: Member Margaret Araujo made a motion to adjourn. By unanimous consent the
meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m.
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