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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAging Board Minutes 020811 1 ORANGE COUNTY ADVISORY BOARD ON AGING MINUTES February 8, 2011 PRESENT: Leo Allison, Heather Altman, Alex Castro, Peggy Cohn, Ed Flowers, Mary Fraser, Steve Lackey, Haryo Marsosudiro, Mike Symons, Janice Wells, Steve Yusko STAFF: Kathie Kearns, Joan Pellettier, Janice Tyler The meeting was called to order by Chair Heather Altman at the Seymour Center. Janice Tyler gave an update on the health status of retired Department Director Jerry Passmore after his recent heart attack. Leo Allison reported that he spoke with Mr. Passmore earlier in the day and he is progressing well with his recovery. Ms. Tyler passed around cards to be signed for both Mr. Passmore and Thelma Perkins. In reviewing the minutes, Heather Altman requested a change in wording to emphasize that Pat Sprigg has not yet agreed to serve as the co-chair of the next Master Aging Plan Update. Ed Flowers made a motion to approve the minutes of January 11 with this change and Leo Allison provided the second. Motion carried. Janice Tyler announced that she is scheduled to be interviewed for the Department Director position the following day. Heather Altman reported that the interview staff attempted to contact her to participate in the process while she was out of town. Peggy Cohn expressed her disfavor with the exclusion of the Advisory Board from the interview process. Ms. Tyler reported that the County Attorney is reviewing the Nantucket catering contract to determine if can be extended another year or if it must be re-bid. She also informed the Advisory Board about the partnership with Durham Tech for use of the senior center kitchens for its Culinary Arts Program. Ms. Tyler announced that the Advisory Board is finally fully-appointed as of the January BOCC meeting. She reviewed the Code of Ethics that all BOCC-appointed committees need to be familiar with. Section 2 and 4 are applicable to this Board. Triangle J AAA will be monitoring the Dept on Aging next week. Heather Altman, Jan Wells, and Jean Suddarth currently serve on the regional advisory board on aging as Orange County representatives. Jerry Passmore’s recent resignation created one Orange County vacancy. Ms. Altman stated that the replacement does not have to be a advisory Board member. In response to Alex Castro’s inquiry, Ms. Pellettier reviewed the regional board’s meeting schedule. Representatives can be nominated by a County Commissioner or be a Senior Tar Heel delegate. Ed Flowers and Mary Fraser will recruit from their community advisory committees. Janice Tyler informed the Advisory Board that the Senior Care adult day health center is struggling financially. Ed Flowers added that the program is recruiting new clients, especially veterans. A minimum number of 5 new clients is needed to return to financial stability. The Board is reviewing options - changing to a social model will exclude 4 of the 5 current enrollees. Steve Yuhasz asked why the decline in participation. Ms. Tyler reminded the Advisory Board that Senior Care Inc. will continue as an organization, even though the adult day care is its primary service. Mary Fraser added that the Department on Aging developed the adult day health care and spun it off to the non-profit agency. Joan Pellettier added that the adult day health center gets Home and Community Care Block Grant funds but cannot earn it without participants. 2 Mary Fraser spoke about the recently-submitted Capstone project application. If Orange County Dept on Aging is selected as a finalist, the interview will be March 18. If funded 3-5 students will be assigned to the Department to work on the Master Aging Plan (MAP) for one year, beginning September 2011. She asked that all application edits should be submitted by the close of business Friday. Alex Castro asked for the definition of ‘lead agency’ and Commissioner Yuhasz suggested deleting acronyms altogether. Janice asked that Chair and Vice-Chair present the project proposal. Mary Fraser summarized the meeting held to discuss revamping the MAP format. The subcommittee recommended organizing the next MAP Update around issues instead of population groups. This new approach would follow the format of the NC Division of Aging State Plan. Ms. Altman stated the Pat Sprigg will be on the agenda of the March Advisory Board meeting and the structure can be further discussed at that time. Kathie Kearns distributed a summary of the changes proposed for the FY2011-12 Department on Aging budget. Janice Tyler noted that the proposed co-funding of the Eldercare positions with the Department of Social Services will allow seniors to make application for services such as Medicaid or Food Stamps at the senior centers. Other staffing changes in the Eldercare Division will include employing a part-time licensed counselor to continue working with support groups and families. The increased catering cost will limit the growth of the Senior Lunch Program without additional funding from a non-County source. The United Way has already awarded funds to purchase meals for disabled persons who do not qualify for the program due to age. The next agenda item was review of the non-profit agency applications for Orange County funding. The Advisory Board has been sent six applications from aging services providers to review and recommend funding. The Chair summarized the review process utilized last year. After further discussion Leo Allison, Alex Castro, and Janice Wells agreed to meet with Ms. Tyler to complete this task. Haryo Marsosudiro and Leo Allison announced that a few tickets remain for Saturday’s Las Vegas Night fundraiser at the Central Orange Senior Center, sponsored by the Friends. Mike Symons reported that the Friends of Seymour Center’s recent fundraising letter campaign had been successful and now the Friends organization was preparing its application to the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro for continued programming support. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Janice Tyler Secretary 3