Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-10-07 Regular Meeting GRAPEVINE SENIOR CITIZENS ADVISORY BOARD Cpv MEETING AGENDA Tuesday, October 7, 2008 — 3:30 PM Grapevine Senior Activities Center 421 Church Street Grapevine, TX 76051 817-410-8130 1. Call to Order 2. Welcome Guests-Shannon Salinsky 3. Consideration of minutes for August 5, 2008 meeting 4. Citizen Requests 5. New Business a. Welcome new members; Mr. Carey Miller, Roy Stewart, City Council Representative, and Joetta King, Housing Ex Officio b. Update member's contact information c. Housing Authority update — Joetta King d. GRACE update— Pat Frosch e. Senior Activities Center update 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 3rd OF October 2008 AT 5:00 PM. Ka)e leirayso Director GrapeVine Senior Activities Center GRAPEVINE SENIOR CITIZENS ADVISORY BOARD tir Minutes of Tuesday, October 7, 2008 Meeting Grapevine Senior Activities Center 421 Church Street Grapevine, TX 76051 817-410-8130 1. Call to Order The Grapevine Senior Citizens Advisory Board met at 3:40 PM on October 7, 2008 at the Grapevine Senior Activities Center. The following members were present: Dick Guckel — Chairperson Tena Burrell — Co-Chairperson Pam Price, Secretary Carey Miller Pat Frosch — Ex-officio, GRACE Joetta King — Ex-officio, Housing Authority Dorothy Kritz— Ex-officio, Grapevine Senior Activities Center Others present: Kaye Grayson, SAC Director Cp, Chris Smith — Recreation Superintendent— Parks & Recreation Roy Stewart— City Council Member Liaison Those Not Present Paul Ernst R. Bruce Walters 2. Welcome Guests Shannon Salinsky, Regional Director of Marketing for Trisun Healthcare - owner of local Lone Star Corp Co. 3. Consideration of minutes for August 5, 2008 meeting Carey Miller moved that the minutes be approved as read. Dorothy Kritz seconded the motion. The motion was approved. 4. Citizen Requests There were no citizens' requests to discuss. 5. New Business a. Welcome new members: Carey Miller, Roy Stewart, City Council Representative, and Joetta King, Housing Ex Officio. b. Update member's contact information 2008 10 07 minutes Page 1 of 4 Chairperson Dick Guckel said that he would update the contact information of the committee members. c. Housing Authority update — Joetta King Joetta King stated that money has been allocated to increase the number of parking spaces in the housing area. Currently there is not sufficient room for 1 car per housing. Replacement of the windows, cabinets and flooring are being made as the apartments become available. Landscaping improvements are scheduled for Starnes and Brewer. The wrought-iron fencing between the Housing & the Botanical Gardens has been tabled. The irrigation system has been improved with the sprinklers running appropriately. d. GRACE update— Pat Frosch GRACE provides financial aid, food, clothing, transitional housing, and a medical clinic for its clients. On Wednesdays, GRACE delivers supplemental food. Partnering with the Women's Division of the Chamber of Commerce, GRACE sets up an "angel tree" at the Grapevine Community Activity Center (GCAC). Senior citizens will be interviewed by both organizations to determine what their "wish lists" for the "angel tree" will contain. Along with the "angel tree" gifts, baskets containing miscellaneous supplies and a Walmart gift card will be given to the senior citizens. Pat stated that GRACE has approximately 100 clients who will participate in this program. Rusty Thigpin, the food pantry manager, gives out milk, eggs and meat each month to clients at GRACE. With the increase in economic difficulties, GRACE has seen an increase of 25% in their list of clients. This is an increase from 360 to 510 persons. Attributing to this need has been the high prices of gasoline, utilities, and food. The Christmas Cottage gives out new toys. In 2007, about 1,350-1,400 children were involved with this program; in 2008, there is expected to be an increase in the number of children participating. The site for this program is on Industrial Blvd. Many seniors were assisted with their high electric bills this past summer. On October 25, GRACE will have its fundraising gala at the Gaylord. Trisun Healthcare, for whom Shannon Salinsky works, will help with this function. e. Senior Activities Center (SAC) update Kaye Grayson reported that there has been an increase in the number of seniors who participate in the lunch at the SAC. Approximately 50 persons each at the SAC daily. There are about 70-80 seniors who are in the SAC each day. Members are given cards and their emergency information is kept at the front desk. There are a total of 593 seniors listed in the SAC database. 2008 10 07 minutes Page 2 of 4 The seniors will participate in the "Be A Santa To A Senior Program" sponsored by Home Instead Senior Care. Home Instead is providing ornaments with a senior's name (first name only) and a gift request to the SAC and the seniors will be purchasing gifts and will hold a gift wrapping party on November 25th. Silver Sneakers, an exercise program, meets in the afternoons on Mondays and Wednesdays and in the mornings on Fridays. Janie Harris and Eileen Hinson of the SAC lead the 45-minute exercise regimen of chair exercises. Approximately 20-25 seniors participate in the local program. In the spring of 2008 there will be an open house. Some in the program have specific insurance plans that allows them to continue the Silver Sneaker program in other areas of the country while on vacation. If the senior citizen is a member of the SAC, then he or she may participate in the local program without a fee charged. MindFit began in 2007 and continues to be a popular program funded by Friends of the Grapevine Senior Activities Center (FOGSAC). Participants must put down a refundable $50 deposit. If they finish at least 48 of the 72 lessons, they are refunded their deposit. This is necessary as once a senior begins a session the license is considered used, and if the senior does not complete at least 48 of the sessions, another license must be purchased to replace the original license. The City of Grapevine supplied one of the two computers used only for MindFit; the second computer was furnished by FOGSAC. This program was noted for its importance when it recently won the DEW Metro Area Park and Recreation Directors' Association 2008 Innovation Award for Programming. This award confirms the growing awareness that a healthy mind is of paramount importance to an aging population. A MindFit demo is available at the SAC. The SAC has many field trips planned including several trips to the State Fair of Texas in October, the Greek Festival in the area, and an all inclusive tour to San Francisco/Lake Tahoe July 10-16, 2009. Both the Red Hat ladies and the Fraternal Order of Plaid Shirts men continue to participate in field trips sponsored by the SAC. The knitting group meets for two hours on Wednesday mornings. They knit caps and booties for the babies born in John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. Kaye delivers the basket of knitted gifts to the hospital; so far at least 6-7 trips have been made. At one time the group knitted these items for the premature babies here in the local Baylor Regional Medical Center in Grapevine. GRACE also has clothes and items for babies. Shannon Salinsky volunteered to help Kaye transport items to John Peter Smith. Friday October 31 and Friday November 7 from 10:OOam-2:OOpm flu shots will be given at the SAC. Participants are encouraged to call the front desk and make reservations for their appointments. The Diabetic Support Group meets once a month at the SAC. 2008 10 07 minutes Page 3 of 4 Paul Ernst continues to teach the AARP-sponsored Defensive Driving 2-day class. He and Dick Guckel and Allen Mossman volunteer with the AARP Tax Aide program. This year they extended their time to help seniors fill out the Stimulus packets. The deadline for filing this is October 15 for those who participate in this program. Roy Stewart, City Council liaison, asked about grant money used for funding the SAC. FOGSAC, a 501(c)(3) organization, said that FOGSAC was responsible for the upgrading of the new computers. Annually FOGSAC receives a $1,000 grant from IBM, a $1,000 grant from Walmart, and a $1,000 grant from Sam's Club. Among the items that have been added to the SAC because of FOGSAC include the flat screen television in the library, improvements in the kitchen and the craft room where four cabinets were added for storage. A listing of the items attributed to FOGSAC can be found on a plaque in the front hall near the grandfather clock. The City recently replaced the SAC's old bus with a new bus and replaced the old mini van with a brand new van. Our mid-size bus is only a few years old. Jean Dyer who had worked at the SAC since it opened in 1978 was given a retirement reception on September 30th. She had been a bus driver for the school district and also drove the bus for the Center. f. Shannon Salinsky, Regional Director of Marketing for Trisun Healthcare - owner of local Lone Star Corp Co. told the board that they were considering an opportunity to take residents to DFW International Airport to welcome the home- bound troops. Her dad, Don Noble, is one of the ambassadors out at the airport. She mentioned that groups wait in Terminal B at Baggage Area 35 and Terminal D to welcome home the soldiers. The DFW Airport fire trucks provide a "water salute" for every plane carrying the troops. Shannon said that people can call 972-874-0392 to find out the daily arrival times and gates for when the planes touch down. It is possible to check both day and night time flight schedules. She asked if the seniors at the SAC might want to be a part of this welcoming group. 6. To Do No report. 7. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 4:35 PM. Res ectfully su mitted, C'�vriLt,e—e.) Pam Price, Secretary n4 Minutes approved by the Board on � day of , 2008. 2008 10 07 minutes Page 4 of 4