2 4 6 8 10 12 14 SENIOR PROGRAMS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING MINUTES Munson Center PRESENT: Chair Pleddie Baker (District 4 Representative), Judith Chavarria (Member-at-Large), Marcie Loven (District 2 Representative), Sharlene Wittern (District 3 Representative), Sarah Kinglow (District 6 Representative); Fred Cantonwine (Benavidez Center Representative), James Gibson (Munson Center Representative), Bill King (Frank O Brien Papen Center Representative), ABSENT: Secretary Felix Vega (Eastside Center Representative), Inez Benavidez (District 1 Representative), 16 18 GUESTS: Sonia Saldana, Senior Programs Administrator; Elizabeth Vega, Assistant Management Analyst; Lajos Kiss, Guest; Guille Carranza, Recording Secretary 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 CALL TO ORDER: Chair Baker called the Senior Programs Advisory Board meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. on, at the Munson Center, 975 S. Mesquite Street, Las Cruces, NM. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Board members had no conflict of interest with any item of business on the agenda. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: F. Cantonwine moved to approve the November 13, 2014, Board meeting minutes. J. Chavarria seconded the motion. Vote: 8 Ayes; 0 Nays. Motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENTS: No public comments SENIOR PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATOR S REPORT: Sonia Saldana, Senior Programs Administrator, reviewed the Parks and Recreation Department s November monthly report. J. Gibson moved that the Senior Centers reports continue to be provided on a monthly basis. F. Cantonwine seconded the motion. Vote: 8 Ayes; 0 Nays. Motion carried. Nutrition and Long Term Care Services Programs reports will continue to be provided on a quarterly basis. The Senior Programs Advisory Board open Action items list was reviewed. S. Saldana reported Risk Management conducted Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machine training for staff on Wednesday, November 26, 2014. She recommended this action item be closed. There was Board consensus to close action item number 1 AED machine training.
Page 2 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 Senior Programs received good feedback from the recreation program survey conducted for seniors 50-59 years of age. Survey results revealed that information and education on topics such as Alzheimer s, caregiving, and family support systems were very important to this age group. Individuals in this age group are still employed but will attend evening activities. As a result, staff will introduce an evening activities calendar targeted to attract the younger seniors between 50 to 59 years of age. The activities will be held at various locations. The instructor availability will determine the location, date and time of the classes. S. Wittern added the accident rate is very high between the hours of 5:00-6:00 p.m. Staff may want to consider scheduling classes after 7:00 p.m. which is the time that the heavy-traffic period has subsided. Security concerns were also discussed. Senior Programs is in process of establishing a partnership with NMSU to work on a couple of projects. A group from the nursing department will work with Senior Programs in the spring of 2015 to provide services to home-based clients. The case manager will identify the clients that need assistance in the home, and the students will work with those individuals to provide additional support, resources, and educational information. Another partnership that is being created is with the NMSU Office of Research and Compliance to lower the risk of falls. This would be based on an individual s willingness to participate in the research. The possibility of NMSU providing physical therapy services to homebound clients was also discussed. S. Saldana stated that there are endless possibilities that can be explored with NMSU. A third partnership is being established with Adult Protective Services to conduct training on an annual basis beginning in 2015. Board members encouraged staff to pursue the partnership opportunities discussed. The posting of the Senior Programs Participant Code of Conduct and the game rules will be posted in English and Spanish by the end of December 2014. Discussion followed regarding the translation of the Senior Programs newsletter. The Long Term Care staff is working on translation of the document. The central kitchen project was discussed. Board members questioned the efficiency and cost savings of the central kitchen project. Liz Vega has been unable to locate a comparable project. At this point only the projection figures of the cost savings to be realized, which was provided at a previous meeting, are available until construction is initiated and the design has been developed. S. Saldana stated that the purpose of the central kitchen project is to allow the City to prepare and serve more congregate meals. However, this year there has been a 20 percent decrease in the number of congregate meals served and an increase in the homebound meals. The reason for the decline in
Page 3 88 90 92 94 96 98 100 102 104 106 108 110 112 114 116 118 120 122 124 126 128 congregate meal services is due to various factors. People are gravitating to other services offered by other agencies. Discussion followed regarding shifting the priority of the central kitchen project to the purchase of replacement vehicles for the home delivered meals program. The shifting of priorities is due to the increase in demand for home delivered meals. Elizabeth Vega, Assistant Management Analyst, reported the cost of a hot shot vehicle is $42,000.00. Of the eleven vehicles, four vehicles need to be replaced. However, Senior Programs will be receiving funds from the State Legislature to replace these vehicles. After further discussion Chair Baker stated he is not convinced that a central kitchen is needed at this time because during the Munson Center closure there were no issues in accommodating the Munson Center congregate diners at the other centers. After further discussion, J. Gibson moved to close action item 11 Collect and validate data, develop talking points and develop plan for Board to promote and support the central kitchen project. B. King seconded the motion. Vote: 8 Ayes; 0 Nays. Motion carried. E. Vega stated that in the next bond cycle in 2017 Senior Programs will be requesting funding for the drawings and construction of the central kitchen. F. Cantonwine moved to add action item #12--to promote the bond issue to get funding for the central kitchen design. B. King seconded the motion. Vote: 8 Ayes; 0 Nays, 1 abstain. Motion carried. F. Cantonwine moved to pursue ongoing congregate meal services at Sage Café. J. Gibson seconded the motion. Vote: 8 ayes; 0 nays. Motion carried. S. Saldana announced Senior Programs will be serving a congregate dinner at Sage Café on January 22, 2015. On that day there will be entertainment and transportation services available. If there is a good turnout, then there is a possibility that Senior Programs will pursue the congregate meals concept at that location. It was suggested that Councillor Sorg be contacted and invited to the dinner. It was also announced that in an effort to increase meal participation at the other centers, the Nutrition Program will be conducting a promotion for congregate meals called, Refer-a-Friend. If a participant refers a friend then the participant and the friend are entered into a drawing to win prizes. J. Gibson reported that a at previous meeting D. Dollahon, Community and Cultural Services Director, stated that he was going to talk to council members about the central kitchen project to see who was interested in supporting the project. J. Gibson stated that no one seems to be listening to the Board s recommendations and/or concerns. S. Saldana asked specifically what issues have not been resolved. J. Gibson stated that the issue with money box at Munson Center has been resolved. The lapidary room lighting has been ordered and received. The lapidary class participants have requested additional lighting in the lapidary and jewelry classroom. As a result, additional lighting
Page 4 130 132 134 136 138 140 142 144 146 148 150 152 154 156 158 160 162 164 166 168 170 has been ordered. However, there is an issue with the noise level in the classroom. The students cannot communicate with each other when the machines are running. He inquired if something can be done to reduce the noise level in the classroom. S. Saldana stated there have been concerns voiced regarding the use of the lapidary equipment. Is the lapidary room being used by seniors to create personal items or are the items being created for a personal business? J. Gibson commented that the lapidary room-use fees tripled. S. Saldana stated it is expensive to repair, replace and maintain the lapidary equipment. The fees were presented to the participants during the Senior Programs public hearings, but there were no concerns raised at that time. CHAIR AND BOARD MEMBER REPORTS: J. Gibson reported the hospitality of the Eastside Center participants during the Munson Center closure was terrific. He did not hear any complaints from the participants. He recommended a letter of appreciation be sent to the Mayfield High School principal thanking the teacher and the students who assisted with the serving of Thanksgiving meal on November 20, 2014. The students were very polite, did a great job and visited with seniors. A total of 229 meals were served that day. A Sage Café Promotion Committee meeting was scheduled for December 18, 2014, at Munson Center. The committee consists of Chair Baker, S. Kinglow and J. Gibson. J. Gibson voiced a concern stating the Dial-A-Ride transportation service changed the pickup time for the participants of Munson Center from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and no explanation was provided to the participants. He has heard complaints from the participants stating there has been no communication about the pickup time. S. Saldana stated it is the participant s responsibility to schedule their own return trip. S. Saldana will follow up. Another concern was that there is no feedback from staff about the participant comments received in the suggestion boxes. S. Saldana will contact S. Schutte. There have been participant complaints regarding the Benavidez Center. The Center opens at 10:30 a.m. and the participants are being dropped off earlier than 10:30 a.m. They have to wait in the cold weather until the doors open at 10:30 a.m. S. Saldana will follow up with this concern. Munson Center modifications are on schedule. The Long Term Care Services and admin staff will return to Munson Center at the end of December 2014. The completion date of the billiards addition is February 2015. L. Vega, will be scheduling a meeting with the Department of Transportation to request authorization to install directional signage on the interstate for the Sage Café.
Page 5 172 174 176 178 180 182 184 186 188 190 192 194 196 198 200 202 204 206 208 210 212 NEW BUSINESS: Roger Bishop, Nutrition and Meals Services Manager, has been conducting research on the buffet-style meals program. Staff will be conducting a site visit to the Belen Senior Center to see the operation of the program. R. Bishop is of the opinion that there will be food wasted. M. Loven recommended that the group that will be traveling to Santa Fe to attend Senior Day at the Legislature, stop to have lunch at the center. Wednesday, January 28, 2014, will be Senior Day at the Legislature. As soon as the Senior Day agenda is finalized, it will be forwarded to the Board. S. Saldana is looking into the travel costs for the group. S. Kinglow stated that if the buffet-style meals do not work for Senior Programs would it be possible to provide two meal options to congregate diners. The Board conducted an election of officers. Chair Baker presented the slate of officers as submitted by the Nominating Committee at the November meeting. Chair Baker stated he received a nomination for Felix Vega, Jr. for office of Chair. There were no other nominations received for the office of Chair. All were in favor of accepting the nomination for Felix Vega, Jr., for the office of Chair. Vote: 8 Ayes; 0 Nays. Nomination unanimously approved. Inez Benavidez was nominated for the office of Vice Chair. There were no other nominations received for Vice Chair. All were in favor of accepting the nomination for Inez Benavidez for the office of Vice Chair. Vote: 8 Ayes, 0 Nays. Nomination unanimously approved. Sarah Kinglow was nominated for the office of Secretary. There were no other nominations received for the office of Secretary. All were in favor of accepting the nomination for Sarah Kinglow for the office of Secretary. Vote: 8 Ayes, 0 Nays. Nomination unanimously approved. Board members were encouraged to attend the Christmas meal to be held on December 18, 2014. UPCOMING MEETINGS: The next regular Senior Programs Advisory Board Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 8, 2015, from 9-11:00 a.m. at Frank O Brien Papen Center, 304 W. Bell Avenue, Las Cruces, NM 88001. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned at 11:06 a.m. Submitted, Felix Vega, Secretary Toni Flores, Transcriptionist
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