Advisory Council Meeting

June August 914, 2007

Minutes

Held at 1501 Blue Spruce Drive

Fort Collins, Colorado  80524

 

Members Present:		Nancy Arthur		Roger Bailey		Paul BellJim Barlow
		Steve Budner		Cassie CastleberryMarcy Greenslit		Elnora McCloughanHelen Davis
		Rene DeMattei		Manfred Diehl		Marcy Greenslit
		Matt Jackson		Elnora McCloughan		Janet Montera
		Barbara Nuss Janet Montera		Mary Shultz Barbara Nuss		Earl Stevens Karen Reinhardt
		Barbara Tuttle Mary Shultz		Stan Ulrich Lloyd Spawn		Don Venneberg Earl Stevens
		Sharon Zamora Stan Ulrich		Don Venneberg		Sharon Zamora
Members Absent:		Rene DeMattei		Ellen Pihlstrom		Barbara Tuttle
Members Absent:		Ellen Pihlstrom
Staff Present:		Ruth Coberly Ruth Coberly		Tina Hugo Tina Hugo		Margaret Long Margaret Long
		Katy MasonKaty Mason		Lynette McGowan Lynette McGowan		Glen RathgeberGlen Rathgeber
		Laura Sutherlin
		Laura Sutherlin
Guests Present:		Randy Eubanks

CALL TO ORDER

Earl StevensElnora McCloughan called the meeting to order at 1:34 35 p.m.

INTRODUCTIONS

The Advisory Council welcomed the new County Commissioner, Randy Eubanks and new member, Manfred Diehl.

CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF July 12, 2007     

Laura Sutherlin asked for a correction to her announcement on page 3.  The Rosie the Riveter collection is for a museum, not a documentary.  Stan Ulrich asked for a correction to the spelling from Lyons to Lions Club on page 4 under Mary’s announcement.  Minutes were accepted with corrections.

CHAIR REPORT

Elnora McCloughan reported that the new committees are meeting and selecting chairs.  Elnora reminded the committees that she would like to have the minutes and goals of meetings sent to her.  Elnora noted that there was a memo sent out regarding West Nile Virus that included information on obtaining a speaker for meetings.  She also noted an interesting statistic from “Healthy Aging & Older Adults” that said in the year 2030 the older American population will be at approximately 70 million, or 1 out of every 5 people.

UPDATE ON OFFICE ON AGING

Margaret Long discussed an article from the paper regarding the Loveland Human Services Building closure.  Margaret assured the council that Glen Rathgeber and Ginny Riley are working on this issue.  Basically the county is looking at closing the Loveland building because the renovations are too costly.  The county hopes to have a building in the Midpoint area to move staff to.  The building at 1501 Blue Spruce is running out of space.  There is currently a plan to continue to have interview room space at a Loveland location for Loveland clients. 

 

Margaret reported on the discussions between the Office on Aging and the Foundation on Aging.  In the 4-year plan, we talked about the dwindling senior funding from United Way and the need to be able to pull in alternative funding for senior services.  Margaret noted that Roger Bailey is participating in this discussion with Foundation on Aging because of his extensive work with non-profits.  Other members of this discussion include Katy Mason and all of the Foundation on Aging Board Members.  Margaret explained that the Office on Aging would like to help the Foundation on Aging grow and become a solid funding source for all agencies and people including the Office on Aging.  Boulder County Area Agency on Aging has their own Foundation, which the Larimer County Office on Aging is not interested in duplicating.   The next step would be to contact key stakeholders in the non-profit world that serve seniors.  If all goes well we can create a funding source for seniors.  Roger Bailey stated that it is going to be very critical to raise money to enhance the Foundation on Aging and create a continual source of funding.  Margaret noted that this funding source will not be competing with other non-profits as the intent is to raise revenue for all senior services.

 

Margaret stated that she has gone to the first meetings for a few of the standing committees.  She commented that things are coming along and gave the members kudos for working out this process of change.  She is excited to see some new ideas percolating. 

CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF March 8, 2007    

No changes were recommended.  Minutes stand as presented.

CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES OF May 10, 2007     

No changes were recommended.  Minutes stand as presented.

CHAIR REPORT

Earl Stevens reported that the Executive Committee discussed possible changes to the committee format.

UPDATE ON OFFICE ON AGING

Margaret Long distributed an article from the Coloradoan about Earl Stevens.  Margaret presented certificates of appreciation to Paul Bell, Karen Reinhardt, and Lloyd Spawn for their service as council members.  Margaret also presented Earl Stevens with an appreciation plaque for being the Advisory Council chair for the past year. 

 

Margaret presented the One-Year Plan for both state and federal funds for discussion and approval.  Margaret thanked Stacie Hougard for her work on the budget and Tina Hugo for inputting units of service.  Margaret reported that the Office on Aging completed the Request for Proposal process and has now incorporated those figures into the one-year plan.  Margaret explained that there will not be any changes in how the Office on Aging conducts business.  Due to the additional state funds, the Office on Aging will be able to continue funding contracts at the same level as last year, with a few exceptions.  The Wellington Senior Center’s funding will increase from $7,300 to $11,000.  This increase is due to the rising gas prices and the expansion of their transportation service.  The Family Caregiver Support Program will have some changes due to the Colorado Trust grant.  With the funding from the grant, the Office on Aging will be able to expand respite care and material aid grants.  Margaret is steadfast in keeping the current level of staffing for the Office on Aging.  In order to do this the Office on Aging will need to use more federal funds.  If there is no increase in state funding there will not be enough money to fund the B services at current levels.  levels as internal costs are forecasted to go up, particularly the cost for employee health benefits.Therefore, the council must continue their efforts and be diligent in advocating for increased funding. 

 

Roger Bailey questioned the administrative budget; where does the money come from to pay salaries?  Margaret replied that there is $80,000 in the Federal Title III funds for Administration.   Some of these funds are reserved for program development.  In addition, some funds come out of the Caregiver and Ombudsman programs to pay for Margaret and Tina’s salaries.  Margaret went on to explain that there is also money for administration in the state funds. The ombudsmen, family care giver support program and outreach programs are funded out of Federal Title III B. Margaret stated that the County money is used for match.  Margaret reported that the county also funds two programs strictly out of county general fund dollars, $10,000 for four rural senior centers, and $20,000 for the Senior Tax Work-off Program. 

 

Karen Reinhardt asked if the Office on Aging has plans to pursue additional grants.  Margaret replied that yes, the office does plan to continue to look for grants, but must be very careful to not compete with our community partners.  Margaret stated that the Colorado Trust grant was perfect because the Office on Aging is basically the fiscal agent. Allowing our partners to expand their efforts in providing support to family caregivers and our office the opportunity to maintain and even increase our support with respite care vouchers and material aide.

 

Karen Reinhardt moved that the council accept the financial forms for both the Federal and state funds, Paul Bell seconded motion.  Motion was passed. 

COUNCIL MEMBER BIOGRAPHY:

Karen ReinhardtBarbara Tuttle gave a brief autobiography.

 

SENIOR ADVISORY REPORTS

Fort Collins Senior Advisory Board Report

Marjorie McTaggart was not in attendance.  Matt Jackson who is also on the board gave a few updates.  Matt reports that the board received the Parks and Recreation plan for next 10 years.  Matt noted that there is a lot of interest for an indoor recreation facility that offers more than what the senior center does.  Matt announced that this year’s Chili Cook-off is on September 23^rd from 10–5.  There will be a Western arts sale and dancing. 

 

Loveland Senior Advisory Board

Earl Stevens reported that the board is working in cooperation with the City Council.  They are currently working on deciding what committees or boards the Senior Advisory Board should be working with.  Earl reminded the council that this weekend is the Loveland Invitational and Sculpture in the Park.

 

Foundation on Aging

No report given.

 

Larimer County Commissioner

Randy Eubanks stated that he has been in close contact with Karen Wagner regarding all of the committees she was involved in.  He noted that the Office on Aging Advisory Council was definitely one he wanted to continue in the liaison role. 

 

Human Relations Commission: 

No report given.

 

Commission on Aging: 

No report given.

COMMITTEE & STAFF REPORTS

Community Outreach & Education Committee

Mary Shultz is the new chair.  The committee plans on starting an action plan at the next meeting. 

 

Media & Public Relations Committee

Janet Montera is the new chair.  Janet reported that the committee discussed how to get media coverage for senior issues.  Janet feels that it is so important to get the word out on what the Office on Aging does.  On August 17th the committee will define and discuss an outline on how they will work.  Janet asked the committee members to come to the meeting with four ideas to discuss.

 

Planning, Funding & Partnership Development Committee

No report given.

 

Pubic Policy & Advocacy Committee

Stan Ulrich is the new chair.  It was decided that Matt Jackson will be the transportation representative.  Rene DeMattei and Stan will monitor local and state legislation.  Stan made a request that Margaret keep the committee informed on national legislation. 

 

Regional Transportation Authority (RTA):  Roger Bailey gave a brief history on the RTA that was created for Weld and Larimer Counties.  He stated that a lot of issues were discussed.  Many of the jurisdictions decided not to participate which resulted in the dismantling of the RTA.

 

Staff Reports

Katy Mason reported that the provider site visits have been scheduled in the month of September.  Katy explained the background of the site visits to the new members of the council.  Katy asked each council member to attend two or three site visits and she distributed a sign-up sheet.  Katy will email a summary of the site visit results from last year and will send a packet to each member.  The packet will include the questionnaire that is sent to providers, a schedule, and a scope of service for each provider. 

 

Katy reported on the Bridging the Gap Networking Event and gave a brief background to the new members.  This year’s event will be on September 26^th at the Fort Collins Senior Center.  Manfred Diehl will be the keynote speaker.  Katy noted that she will be asking for table host volunteers at the next meeting.  Katy announced that Margaret has decided to pay for all council members registration fees this year.  If council members plan to attend, they will need to mail their registration form to Tina Hugo as soon as possible.

 

Katy stated that the Office on Aging has an automated voicemail system that doesn’t seem to be working well.  There are a lot of hang-ups.  Katy asked the council to call the main number, 498-6807 for suggestions on the voicemail system.  Please give us feedback at the September meeting.  The goal is to limit the number of hang-ups received. 

 

Lynette McGowan reported that she and Katy attended the Amazing Aging Event at the Fort Collins Senior Center. 

 

Lynette stated that the Caregiver Coalition met with a Colorado Trust Technical Advisor and discussed organizational capacity. 

 

Lynette announced that November is National Caregiver Month.  Last year we had press coverage on the Family Caregiver Pampering day. 

 

Laura Sutherlin gave a brief update on the progress of printing the Answers on Aging Resource Guide.  This year, the first printing will be for 25,000 guides.  Because of the increased size of the job, the Office on Aging had to put the printing job out to bid through the county purchasing department. It has been a learning process this year working with the county purchasing department.  Fuller & Associates won the bid and the Office on Aging will meet with them next Tuesday to work out the details for this year’s guide. 

 

Vote on Bylaw Changes

Katy Mason stated that Steve Budner brought up further suggested changes in the bylaws and called for a discussion. 

After discussion it was agreed the changes to the document are to be:

§  Page 3; remove B from Section 06 Representation.

§  Page 6; remove B from Section 02 Responsibilities.  Remove “the conduct of public hearings; representation of the interests of older persons and encourage the involvement of older persons,” from C, which becomes B.

§  Page 7, change A from Section 02 Notice to state, “Advance notice of at least twenty-five (25) days’ shall be given to each member of the Council before the meeting at which an amendment is to be considered.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Janet Montera distributed the Legislative Breakfast invitations. 

 

Lynette McGowan noted that the Senior Law Day will be on Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church in Fort Collins.

 

ADJOURNMENT

Elnora adjourned the meeting at 3:17 p.m.

 

 

ELECTIONS

Earl Stevens distributed the nomination ballot to the council members.  The ballot listed Elnora McCloughan for Chair, Nancy Arthur as Vice Chair.  Nancy Arthur declined to automatically be nominated for the Chair position next year.  Katy Mason collected and counted the ballots.  By unanimous vote, Elnora was elected Chair and Nancy was elected Vice Chair.

DISCUSSION/FINAL WRAP-UP OF COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

Janet Montera distributed a copy of the new committee structure that was recommended for the Office on Aging Advisory Council.  Janet opened discussion with the council.  Marcy Greenslit, Steve Budner, Roger Bailey and Katy Mason described the structure in detail. 

 

Stan Ulrich moved to vote on adopting the new committee structure and title changes.  Marcy Greenslit seconded and the motion was passed.  The new committees and titles are as follows:

 

          #1:  Public Policy and Advocacy Committee

          #2:  Community Outreach and Education Committee

          #3:  Planning, Funding and Partnership Development Committee

          #4:  Media and Public Relations Committee

 

Katy explained that the next step in this process is for council members to sign-up for the committees.  Sign up sheets for members, including the new members, will be available at the July meeting.  Each of the new committees will then establish a time to meet, and then discuss the goals, functions and activities of their new committee. 

 

Stan Ulrich moved to vote that during the July meeting, members will sign up, and select a meeting date to discuss goals, functions and activities.  Karen Reinhardt seconded the motion.   The vote was unanimous.

 

Margaret Long noted that she will begin the process of changing the bylaws. 

 

ADJOURNMENT

Earl adjourned the meeting at 3:29 p.m.