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Home My WebLink About2009-12-01 Regular Meeting . L • GRAPEVINE SENIOR CITIZENS ADVISORY BOARD ‘wMEETING AGENDA Tuesday, December 1, 2009 — 3:30 PM (kw 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 October 6, 2009 meeting 4. Citizen Requests 5. Old Business 6. New Business a. AT&T Pioneers Safe Surfing presentation-Flo Kierig (iv b. Housing Authority update — Joetta King c. GRACE update— Shonda Schaefer (iv d. Senior Activities Center update 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 25th OF November 2009 AT 5:00 PM. K647/K Kaye ayson, irector Grapevine Senior Activities Center (kw GRAPEVINE SENIOR CITIZENS ADVISORY BOARD Minutes of Tuesday, December 1, 2009 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 December 1, 2009 at the Grapevine Senior Activities Center The following members were present Dick Guckel — Chairperson Tena Burrell — Co-Chairperson Pam Price, Secretary Paul Ernst Carey Miller R. Bruce Walters Joetta King — Ex-offico, Housing Authority Dorothy Kritz-Ex-offico, Grapevine Senior Activities Center Shonda Schaefer— Ex-offico, GRACE Idell Bowker— Ex-offico, GRACE Others present Kaye Grayson, SAC Director Chris Smith — Recreation Superintendent—Parks & Recreation 4, Roy Stewart — City Council Member Liaison 2. Welcome Guests Tonya LaBerge and Flo Kierig, AT&T Pioneers Safe Surfing presentation Debra Wells, Grapevine Housing Authority Director Ken Anderson, GSAC Computer Program Coordinator 3. Consideration of minutes for October 6, 2009 meeting 4. Citizen Requests — none 5. Old Business 6. New Business a. AT&T Pioneers Safe Surfing presentation by Tonya LaBerge and Flo Kierig. This is a volunteer organization comprised of AT&T employees, retirees and families. They bring their presentation to various organizations such as schools, senior citizens, and Habitat to Humanity. This program emphasized how the internet is a powerful tool of communication connecting people with their world. It also stresses the importance of being protected from virus, identification theft, and other compromising concerns that come with the internet. Hints of how to protect oneself are integrated into the presentation. It also encourages people to check their credit report each year giving the names of the three credit report agencies. Information regarding 1/4 4 who to connect with once a person has become a victim of identity theft is offered. 0' b. Housing Authority update — Joetta King, Ex-officio Joetta stated that there are currently 2 vacancies (a one bedroom unit & a two bedroom unit). There are 85 Grapevine residents on the waiting list. The total number of applications for housing is 555. SECTION 8 HOUSING: Total # of vouchers - 83 (average cost per unit is $515.) There are 133 GPV residents on the waiting list. The total number of applications for Section 8 was 946. The following is a follow up to questions asked at the last Board Meeting. Debra Wells, Grapevine Housing Authority Director, was invited to attend today's meeting to answer any additional questions by board members. (1) What percentage of residents in the low-income housing units are seniors? About 80% (age 62+). 85% of the units are designated for senior & disabled persons. Priority is given to Grapevine residents who are elderly, disabled veterans, veterans & employed persons. (2) What percentage of Section 8 are senior citizens? 10% would be an estimate. Most seniors prefer the low income housing units as opposed to living in apartments. (3) How are the number of Section 8 Vouchers issued in Grapevine determined? The City has determined that 83 vouchers would be appropriate in the City's goal to "doing our fair share." (4) Why are there vouchers being used in Grapevine that were issued by other cities? When a voucher is issued, that client has "portability" anywhere in the US. (5) Was the very large number of applications for housing received this year normal? No. Typically, there are about 200 applicants. The increase is probably due to the current economy. GHA will not be opening the waiting list (Section 8 for sure) for at least a couple of years or more. (6) Where are the Section 8 voucher applicants housed in Grapevine? There are 7 apartment complexes and a few houses and duplexes that accept 'fair market rents.' (7) Why continue accepting applications if you have a large waiting list? The applicant's financial situation may have changed by the time that housing is available. C. GRACE update— Shonda Schaefer, Executive Director, and !dell Bowker, Asst. Program Manager Shonda updated the board on the changes in the GRACE staffing commenting that Pat Frosh has left GRACE and applications are being taken for her position 2/4 as Project Manager. GRACE fulfills needs in these areas: emergencies, direct services, and commodities. The Christmas Cottage was held December 10th There has been a 30-40% increase each year in recent times. There has been (kw an exceeding record number of families who are using the Food Pantry. GRACE is applying to the King Foundation for funding to expand their outreach to senior citizens and disabled persons, and others who are in need of long-term subsides. More volunteers are needed at GRACE to handle the increase in clients. (dell said that in November 2009, they had many donate money and checks rather than turkeys to accommodate their Thanksgiving dinners. At Christmastime hams rather than turkeys were distributed. Many of the clients at GRACE meet the approved guidelines for assistance. Many are 60 years and older while there some who are younger being assisted because they are disabled. The Women's Division of the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce is an important partner with GRACE. The organization provided for 105 Senior Citizens by providing Christmas gifts that were delivered on December 12th. As GRACE prepares for 2010, they are interviewing seniors at their homes. The third Wednesday of every month, Seniors get food, household goods and toiletries. This project of the Women's Division is ongoing at Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Many of these who need assistance live in the Senior Housing area. d. Senior Activities Center update — Kaye Grayson, Dorothy Kritz (1) The SAC won 1st place again in the Walk Across Texas competition this year. Over 62 seniors from Grapevine participated this year which ended with a celebration party on November 16th at the Colleyville Senior Center. Grapevine, Colleyville, and Bedford senior centers all participated in the event. Dianne Hall, Recreation Specialist at the SAC, coordinated the program and did a fantastic job! The traveling trophy (Cowboy Boot) was shown to the Board members. This project is active for seven weeks from September to November. They accumulated a total of 576.5 miles for activities such as walking, attending various exercise programs at any location, and doing physical tasks such as raking their yards. (2) On Nov. 3rd we had a slide show presentation on our upcoming trip to South Dakota in May. We have partnered with Collette Vacations to provide a variety of travel opportunities to seniors. Deposits are due by January 13th and the final balance is due by March 14th. Please contact Kaye Grayson at the SAC for more information. (3) On Saturday, November 14th, we took a group of seniors out to DFW to meet and greet the troops. Around 20 seniors went that morning and had a very memorable experience. The group is interested in going back more often so we will be planning additional trips in the future. Each person getting off the plane was handed a flag. There were Boy Scouts in their own uniforms participating. 3/4 (4) Participation has increased in many of our programs...especially for our lunches. We have averaged around 55 for our daily meals in October and November. We also have started back offering breakfast on Thursdays from 8:00-9:30. Both meals are offered through our partnership with Senior Citizen Services of Tarrant County for a suggested donation of$2 per meal for any senior age 60 and older. There is a $6 charge for seniors under the age of 60. Those who choose to eat at the SAC must sign up prior to the meal being served. (5) Our Holiday Party and Dinner is set for December 10th. The party starts at 2pm at the SAC and then starting at 4pm we board the bus to head over to the DFW Hilton for our dinner. We will have door prizes and entertainment at the party and also live entertainment at the Hilton. We have over 100 seniors that will be attending this event. The bus will run from 3:30-4:00 p.m. and the dinner will be served at 5:00 p.m. (6) We have a Christmas lights bus tour set for December 15th from 6-9pm. Sign up at the front desk soon...seating is limited! (7) Our December dance is set for December 12th from 7-9:30pm. The Gary Lee Orchestra will be playing and we will have door prizes. We also provide an entree for the Holiday dinner that starts at 6pm. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. The cost is $7 per person at the door...sign up by Dec. 9th. 7. Adjourn - The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Pam Price, Secretary Minutes approved by the Board on ?JP day of ,iy.,/ V,c4 , , 2010. U 4/4