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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-04-01 Regular Meeting GRAPEVINE SENIOR CITIZENS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING AGENDA (lhir Tuesday, April 1, 2008 — 2:00 PM Grapevine Senior Activities Center 421 Church Street Grapevine, TX 76051 817-410-8130 1. Call to Order 2. Welcome Guests 3. Consideration of minutes for February 5, 2008 meeting 4. Citizen Requests 5. New Business a. Discussion on changing the meeting time beginning in June. b. Discussion on increasing the fees for the monthly dance. c. Housing Authority update— B.J. Martin d. GRACE update— Pat Frosch e. Senior Activities Center update tor 6. To Do 7. Adjourn IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THIS PUBLIC MEETING AND YOU HAVE A DISABILITY THAT REQUIRES SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS AT THE MEETING, PLEASE CONTACT THE SENIOR ACTIVITIES CENTER AT 817-410-8130, AT LEAST 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE. REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS WILL BE MADE TO ASSIST YOUR NEEDS. IN ACCORDANCE WITH TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, CHAPTER 551.001 et seq, ACTS OF THE 1993 TEXAS LEGISLATURE, THE BOARD MEETING AGENDA, WAS PREPARED AND POSTED ON THIS, THE 27th OF March 2008 AT 4:30 PM. Kaye G ayson, Director Grapevine Senior Activities Center fie GRAPEVINE SENIOR CITIZENS ADVISORY BOARD Tuesday, April 1, 2008 — 2:00 PM Grapevine Senior Activities Center 1. The Grapevine Senior Citizens Advisory Board met at 2:17 PM on April 1, 2008 at the Grapevine Senior Activities Center. The following members were present: Dick Guckel — Chairperson Tena Burrell — Co-Chairperson Paul Ernst Pam Price, Acting Secretary R. Bruce Walters Dorothy Kritz— Ex-officio, Grapevine Senior Activities Center B.J. Martin — Ex-officio, Housing Authority Others present: Kaye Grayson, SAC Director Ted Ware — City Council Member Liaison Those Not Present Martie Chaplin — Secretary Pat Frosch — Ex-officio, GRACE Chris Smith — Recreation Superintendent— Parks & Recreation 2. Welcome guests No guests were present. 3. Consideration of minutes for February 5, 2008 meeting Minutes were approved without any changes. 4. Citizen Requests No citizen requests. 5. New Business a. MindFit Program at the Grapevine Senior Activities Center (GSAC) Recalling the presentation of MindFit Program by Roger Jones, Treasurer of Friends of the Grapevine Senior Activity Center (FOGSAC), members of the Board noted that articles about the MindFit Program have been read in the Grapevine Courier and Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspapers. b. Grapevine Senior Citizens Advisory Board Meeting Day and Time (1) Chairman Dick Guckel reviewed the history of the meeting date and time for 080401 Minutes final 1/4 the Board commenting that the day had been changed from Friday to Tuesday (00 previously due to conflicts concerning long weekends and holiday weekends. Tuesdays now pose a problem for Board Secretary Martie Chaplin due to her business obligations, but the Board determined that Tuesday is the best day for the Board to meet. (2) Pam Price moved that the Board move its meeting time to 3:30 PM, which is more convenient for BJ Martin and Pam Price; Paul Ernst seconded the motion. By unanimous vote, the motion was approved. c. Housing Authority update— B.J. Martin (1) Windows: (a) B.J. said that the window replacement is in the budgeted for the next two years, but has not begun yet. (b) The windows will be replaced with storm windows —double pane—for more efficient usage. (c) Residences with window units will have central air and heat installed. (2) Flooring and Cabinets: There has been $10,000 budgeted to replace the floors and cabinets in the residences. Linoleum flooring and wooden cabinets will be installed as each residence is vacated. (3) Washers and Dryers: (a) Apartments located on Worth and Texas Streets have individual hook ups in them for washers and dryers. tr, (b) Units on Starnes Street do not have individual hook ups for washers and dryers but have coin-operated appliances located in the community building. (c) Some of the contracts on the appliances are expired and new ones will be installed. These new appliances will cost $1.00 per load. (4) Sprinkler System: (a) The Housing Authority is discussing the maintenance issues concerning the new sprinkler system that will be installed. Electricity for the system needs to be placed on poles. No measure has been taken to contract with any company including the one used by the City. (b) Maintenance with the sprinkler system will be an increased expense. (5) Landscaping: (a) Volunteers are mapping out landscaping plans for the residences. (b) No company has been contracted for the sprinkler system's maintenance as of yet. (c) Some of the crews work for the City and some are contracted out. By doing the service in this manner, it will be less costly. (6) The funding is 97% with federal monies. d. GRACE update— Pat Frosch None Cir 080401 Minutes final 2/4 C. e. Senior Activities Center (GSAC) update — Kaye Grayson (1) Monthly Dances (a) Kaye told the Board that the GSAC has one monthly dance on the first Saturday of the month from 7:00-9:OOPM and charges a fee of$3.00 per person. The band costs $275. With 40-50 people attending the dance, the fee does not cover the cost of the band but the City covers the remainder of the cost. (b) She reported that the Center recently polled other senior centers in the area regarding the fees they charge for their dances. She presented a survey to the Board showing that these area centers charge between $3.00 and $5.00 for their dances, with the majority charging $5.00. Paul Ernst recommended that our center increase the charge to $5.00 per dance to help with the expenses. Dorothy Kritz said she did not think the rate increase would hinder those who attend the dances. Most are younger seniors. Chris Smith will make the final decision on the fee increase. (2) Kaye reported that the Center had a Fun Day on Friday, March 28 with 30 vendors participating. Due to the weather, there was not as large a turnout as expected, but those that did attend were treated with grilled hot dogs for lunch and many exhibits brought by the vendors. Some included sleep-number beds (2 demos), beauty shops which included wig and hair dressing options, chair 4., massages, and the Grapevine Police Department representatives. Kaye informed the Board that the first Fun Day was held in the Botanical Gardens on Ball Street and each year, more activities and vendors have been added. She told of other area towns which also have similar Fun Day activities. On Friday, April 4, the 9th Annual Senior Conference presented by Seniors And Law Enforcement Together (SALT) Council of Tarrant County will be held at the First United Methodist Church Hurst. The GSAC plans to take a bus to the conference. It was mentioned that at this function, the vendors are charged a fee for participating and offer door prizes for those who attend the conference. (3) The City Council approved the purchase of a new 2008 27-passenger bus to replace the current one which is a 1997-1998 model that seats 24. The new bus will not be diesel and will arrive at the Center to be used in June 2008. The older bus has had some maintenance concerns; it is time to have it replaced. (4) Paul Ernst had 19 students sign up for the AARP Defensive Driving Course which was offered April 3-4 at the Center. (5) The AARP Tax Service offered on Wednesdays until the end of tax season has been operated by volunteers Paul Ernst, Dick Guckel, and Allen Mossman. Seniors have been encouraged to call the Center and sign up for appointments. 4.., 080401 Minutes final 3/4 Dick and Paul addressed the issue of the Stimulus Package being offered to those who file their 2007 tax returns. Dick stressed that it is important that the seniors are made aware of the fact that they must file a 2007 tax return to receive this package. The concern now is that those who do not file tax returns need to realize that if they do not file, they will not receive this package. Due to this item, the men will leave the Tax Service open an additional day (April 16) for the seniors. When Tena asked about dependent seniors, Dick explained that any senior who is claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return may not apply for the Stimulus Package; only taxpayers will get this offer. The deadline for filing for the Stimulus Package is October 2008 and taxpayers must file a 1040A or 1040 form. GRACE was also contacted about the package and they contacted 124 seniors. There are many misconceptions about this package. Seniors need to be informed and should ask for answers if they do not understand the issue. (6) Dorothy reported that volunteer students from Grapevine Middle School were invited for a cover dish and bar-b-q dinner at the Center. Approximately 15-20 students attended. She also told of how many of the seniors have bonded with the student volunteers and complimented the success of the project. 6. To Do Dick informed the Board members that as of the end of May, he will be out of town and Co-Chairperson Tena Burrell will preside over the Board meetings until October 2008 when he returns. 7. Adjourn Moved to adjourned, seconded and approved. The meeting was adjourned at 3:10 PM. Respectfully submitted, 13, 10„,- Pam Price, Acting Secretary for Martie Chaplin, Secretary g-P Minutes approved by the Board on co----day of ki/yue„--- 2008 080401 Minutes final 4/4