Town of Hampden
Regular Meeting of Council on Aging Board
9:00AM at the Hampden Senior Center
February 10, 2004
Approved: March 9, 2004
In Attendance: Brian MacLeod, Becky Muldrew, Rita Vail, Pat Clark, Virginia Schneider, John Shay, Al Ouimet
Absent: Arlene Fisher, Shirley Gouvan
Guests: Bill Olmstead, Ruth Haley, Jim Smith, Larry Smith
Brian called the meeting to order at 8:35 am
The loss of George Lavallee was acknowledged; the membership noted how much his presence will be missed. A thank you card from the family was received, thanking the council for the flower basket that had been sent.
The secretary’s report – minutes of the January 13, 2004 meeting were accepted with the exception of the last item involving the seminar “Your Government and You” – this was tabled for discussion later in the meeting.
The treasurer’s report was reviewed and accepted.
The Director’s report was reviewed and accepted.
-The Advisory Board meeting was an information gathering session at which we were apprised of a $465,000 difference between requested town budgets and available monies
-A request for an additional 3 hours of clerical funding was requested to cover the Tuesday office hours
-Brian will meet with George, Town Postmaster, to clarify the permit guidelines, which encompass “The Scribe” mailings and any limitations in asking for donations from advertisers
-A need for a computer monitor was presented and Bill Olmstead stepped forward to offer one.
Motion was placed to approve Ruth Haley to the Board, it was approved, also noted that Ruth will act as Secretary for the Council
The loss of George Lavallee leaves a position on the Council. There were 3 applications for the recently posted position, Linda Gaudette, Janet Plumb and Melissa Pearlman. They all have desirable qualities and it was agreed that we would interview them at the next meeting – Becky will set-up appointment times for them.
Pat Clark attended the January Agency on Aging meeting. There was a speaker from the Mass Senior Action Council addressing the Medicare Reform Act. They will be having a meeting again on Feb 27, with Richard Neal as a speaker, to discuss the pros and cons of the Act. Pat is planning on attending. She will keep us informed of information gleaned from this.
There was a long discussion among the members after Rita presented her concern over the article placed in “The Scribe” by Bill Olmstead. This was regarding the “Your Government and You” session that was to be offered at the Senior Center. At the last meeting this was presented as being created by individuals in the town who were non-partisan and were looking for a forum to inform interested townspeople in how the town government worked and how they could become involved. The issue of any involvement with any specific party groups was brought up at that meeting and the response was that some members of the Democratic Town Committee were involved but that it was a group of individuals and totally non-partisan. The article published in the Scribe stated that the program was being sponsored by the Democratic Town Committee. This caused concern among many people. Bill Olmstead apologized to Rita, who had fielded many phone calls, Becky and the Council as a whole for the misrepresentation that occurred.
It was voted that without prejudice the offer for use of the building would be withdrawn.
The need to monitor “The Scribe” for any future printings that may be of concern was also addressed. And the immediate need to provide a disclaimer for “The Scribe” will be addressed.
It was noted that Mr. Klitsas is continuing in his endeavor to provide the Senior Center with a sign.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 am
The next meeting will be held at 8:30 am on Tuesday March 9, 2004
Respectfully submitted,
Ruth Haley