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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-01-23 Council on Aging SummaryCOUNCIL ON AGING January 23, 1996 10AM Agenda Approval Minutes from Prior Meetin~ Old Business 1. Ready for Changes in Senior Program 2. Funding Levels 3. Smoking Policy/Council Agenda 4. 25th. Anniversary Celebration New Business 1. Pool Table Addition 2. Budget Proposals/Goals 3. Classification Change/Administrative Assistant Person Wanting to, be He~rd COUNCIL ON AGING JANUARY 23, 1996 MINUTES ROLL: Members Present: Al Pease, Sam Huddleston, Gene Seay, Roger Meeks, Lucille Billings, and Loretta Breeden Members Absent: Georgetta Funk and Joanna Hollier Others Present: Pat Porter, Linda Swarner, Marilyn Kebschull, and Betty Seay AGENDA: No discussion on agenda. Approved by unanimous consent. MINUTES FROM PRIOR MEETING: Sam Huddleston asked if anyone wanted the minutes read. Pat Porter stated that copies of the minutes had been supplied in the packets. Minutes approved by unanimous consent. OLD BUSINESS: 1. Ready for Changes in Senior Program Pat Porter asked if members had had an opportunity to read the information she had passed out at the last meeting and noted that the center needs to make changes. Porter advised she had attended a board meeting with a retirement group from Unocal. Porter stated she had let them know that the center was available and that if there were special classes they would like offered or would like to use the facility to let the her know. Roger Meeks stated he had not had an opportunity to read the information. Al Pease noted that there were a number of good suggestions that he felt should be explored and changing meal times once a week for variety may be a good idea. Council person Swarner asked if the center had had requests for meals at other times in the day. Al Pease noted he had heard comments about why the center offers meals only one time a day. Porter noted that when she met with Unocal and mentioned possibly offering an evening meal that she was told they would not drive at night. Meeks noted he and his wife had stopped driving at night unless they have to. Porter stated that the center is offering a bridge class and it is being advertised in the paper through Joan Hansen's column. Porter noted a couple people had came to the classes that have not been at the center for a long time. In addition, Porter noted that she had received a call from a lady who was not a senior and who wanted to know if she could attend the class. Porter stated that for the first time she had stated that she could attend the class as long as there was space available and she was not displacing a senior. Porter stated she felt that having a non-senior attend the center would be good P.R. and may even result in a new volunteer. Meeks agreed that it would be good P.R. Pease noted that turning people away can result in bad P.R. Meeks commented that he had been at Carrs and spoken to a couple people who did not realize they could get an AARP card at 50. They had thought they had to be 55. Porter stated she had considered offering a "55 Alive" driving course in the evenings at the center. Huddleston noted it may be difficult to get enough people for a class in the evening. Porter stated that on the next meeting agenda ideas could be listed. Lucille Billings commented that most people 55 are still working. Porter noted that the information she had provided noted that 70 year old seniors in 1 995 are different from those same-aged seniors from 20-30 years ago. That these seniors are more active and want to be more involved in activities. Porter reiterated that she had told the Unocal group to let her know if the center could offer a service to them. Porter was asked if that was the only group she had contacted and she stated the teachers have a group but that teachers retire at a much earlier age. Porter advised the group that Ward Cove Packing Company had donated $2500 to the center and had done so for the last ten years or so. Porter advised the group that she is in the process of purchasing a computer with a modem with the donated funds with the purpose that they will be able to access the internet. Note: Loretta Breeden arrived at approximately 10:10 a.m. Ms. Swarner advised that it may be necessary to set up time for use commenting that her father had gotten very excited about being able to keep up with the stock market. Swarner stated she had gotten excited about the prospect of getting the internet for the center after viewing a program on television that noted that seniors had requested a class on the internet. Porter commented that she felt it would be possible to ask boy scouts to teach the seniors how to use the internet. Porter Council on Aging Page 2 January 23, 1996 added that George Ward had shared with her that he had gotten a modem for his grandson and then discovered that his phone bill went way up. So, he eventually sent the modem home with his grandson. Porter advised the group that the request for the funds to be appropriate will be heard at the next city council meeting and that she is working with Computer Plus to get the system that the center will need. Seay commented that it is his feeling that it will probably get less expensive as time goes on. Kebschull advised the group that on Internet Alaska you can get unlimited access for $1 65 for 6 months. Huddleston noted that you need to learn to type before using a computer. 2. Funding Levels Ms. Porter advised the group that United Way has notified the center that they will probably receive the same funding as last year. In addition, Porter stated she had heard nothing more about the 10 percent cut in federal funds and reminded the group that would amount to $1 2,000 for the Kenai Center. 3. Smoking Policy/Council Agenda Porter advised she had provided information in the packets regarding the smoking policy and noted that the city attorney had written a memo stating his opinion of the policy. Huddleston commented the attorney has the same idea that the council had had on the smoking policy. Meeks noted that if a tenant signs the agreement it is legal. Porter stated she had wanted the group to be aware of the status and that the information would be heard at the next council meeting on February 7th, 4. 25t~ Anniversary Celebration Ms. Porter shared that they had decided to develop a poster for the anniversary. Porter shared a sample but noted it was just a sample and would be larger, poster size, and that the drawing was just to give an idea of what was planned. Porter also stated that they wanted to place a quote on the poster and that they liked what Abraham Lincoln had said but no one could remember the quote exactly. Porter stated that it was something like, "You can judge a civilization by the way they treat their older people." Breeden asked what type of quote they wanted for the poster and Porter responded something like Lincoln's quote. Porter stated that Jenny came up with a quick idea and basically the poster would have spruce, fireweed, the cache, a quote across the top and then writing around the picture. The writing on the border would contain something like Kenai Senior Center celebrates 25 years. Breeden commented that they could use something like, "Alaska senior citizens are the history and love of our community." Porter stated that if anyone came up with an idea in the next two weeks to let her know and she Council on Aging Page 3 January 23, 1996 would write them all down. Then, they could look at all the ideas and decide at the next meeting. Breeden asked if there would be another other activities planned besides the poster. Porter noted that the celebration was in the initial stages of planning and that Sylvia Johnson and Betty Warren had been nominated at an earlier meeting to be on a committee to plan activities. Porter stated they had talked about holding activities once a month from May through November. Porter ~ noted that the actual anniversary was in November. Ms. Swarner asked if they had plans to sale the posters and Porter stated she felt they could. Ms. Breeden asked if it would be possible to add something to the agenda. Chairman Huddleston asked if it was old business or if it should be heard later. Breeden stated she was curious about the meeting they had had with Gary Davis and asked if they could give a report on what was talked about and if they asked for anything. Huddleston stated they hadn't asked for anything. Porter advised that they had asked them not to cut funds and told them about the services the center provides. Porter stated they knew that it seems like a lot of funds go to senior programs when they add up the money from the Longevity Program ($70 million), pioneer homes ($30 to $40 million) and the senior centers. Breeden stated she had heard they had recommended that the legislators look at other sources of funds like the senior citizen tax relief for their homes and the longevity bonus. Porter stated they had not said anything about cuts just that they not cut funds to programs currently being provided. Ms. Swarner commented that we ought to send them a box of cookies. Breeden asked who they had met with and Porter responded Gary Davis, Mike Navarre, Judy Salo, and a representative from John Torgenson's office. Breeden asked if they had gotten input from the board. Porter advised that what they had done was not controversial. Swarner asked who else attended. Porter advised they met with Lois Pillafont and Bill Reeder of the Soldotna center. They were the only four at the meeting. Breeden asked if there was a representative from the council there. Porter responded no. Porter advised they had received a letter from Gary Davis after the meeting and that Judy Salo's office had informed them she would be at the center for lunch on Monday. NEW BUSINESS- 1. Pool Table Addition Porter advised she had had a request from Bill Laughlin that he would like to see about removing the card tables and getting another pool table. Huddleston asked where the card tables would be placed. Pease noted moving the card tables would displace 1 2 to 1 5 people for the benefit of two to three. Meeks stated he had Council on Aging Page 4 January 23, 1996 talked to other pool players and they had told him the table they had was adequate and they were happy to have one. BREEDEN MOVED TO LEAVE THINGS AS THEY ARE WITH THE POOL TABLE AND THE CARD TABLES. MOTION SECONDED BY MEEKS. UNANIMOUS. 2. Budget Proposals/GoalS Porter advised that writing the budget is in progress. In addition, Porter stated she expects to receive a grant proposal in the mail for the two year state program. Porter stated this is usually a very extensive proposal and is due April 15t~. Porter advised that if anyone knew of any changes or equipment that may be needed to let her know so that it could be included in the grant proposal. Breeden asked the status of the automatic doors. Porter advised they were being taken care of by Public Works. Swarner stated they were approved at the last council meeting. Porter clarified that the council had approved the doors for Vintage Pointe and the doors for the senior center had been put on the list for next year's budget. 3. Classification Change/Administrative Assistant Porter explained that the city had investigated employees and their positions and whether or not employees were being fairly compensated for their position. Porter asked Swarner to explain it further. Swarner noted that council had felt they may be inequities within the employee compensation so they had appointed an employee committee to look into the situation. The committee had gone through job descriptions and recommended that some positions be upgraded to compensate the employees fairly for their jobs. Council decided to address the recommendation during the next budget session. Swarner stated it is her personal opinion that the recommendations will be followed as this item has been discussed for several years. Porter added that for many years the city manager had not allowed any range changes during the budget even though there were employees whose jobs had changed since they were initially hired. Porter noted that one of the recommendations was for the Senior Citizen's Center's administrative assistant, Mary Ellen's, position be upgraded from a 7 to a 10. Porter noted that with the housing project next door the position has changed. In addition, Mary Ellen supervises others and even acts in Porter's position when she is gone. Porter noted this would be approximately a $3000 year change to her salary. Breeden stated that the recommendation was for additional part-time employee or reclassification. Porter stated another employee would cost more and that her recommendation would be for reclassification. Swarner stated she felt they would reclassify Council on Aging Page 5 January 23, 1996 employees and not hire new employees. Porter commented that she had provided the board with the information so that they would be informed of what was happening and how the decision had came about. Meeks asked if the extra money for the salary could be taken from the housing project. Porter advised that was possible and that one-fourth of her salary is taken from the project. Pease noted that it would be up to council. Meeks stated he was sure it was going to happen but wondered where the funds would come from. Porter stated she felt the center would be okay especially since last year when one-fourth of her salary was taken from the housing project. Breeden asked what the hourly rate would be. Porter stated she didn't know. Meeks felt it would be from around $15 to $1 6.50 or so. Porter stated she thought it was approximately $266 per month. Meeks said he knew it was important to keep good employees. Breeden commented that she is against government employees getting raises while other people are getting laid off and others are paid minimum wage. Swarner noted that is one reason why they wouldn't recommend additional employees because of the additional costs. Breeden commented that government employees getting wage increases versus what is happening in the economy doesn't seem right. Porter commented that the recommendation was based on a comparison of city employees and whether or not an employee supervised others, etc. The city was trying to equalize the pay for equal job descriptions. Breeden stated they could lower salaries instead of raise some. Porter stated that for ten years the problem has not been allowed to be addressed. The recommendation only effects 1/10t~ of the employees. Meeks again stated that he wonders where the money will come from. Porter stated that in today's world if you don't compensate individuals for what they are doing, they have justification for a law suit. In addition, it is almost impossible to fire anyone. Breeden stated they have a right to go get a job somewhere else if they are not happy with their pay. Porter stated people don't do that anymore. Swarner reiterated that the recommendations would be addressed during the next budget. Meeks commented that he knows Mary Ellen probably deserves the raise but wonders where the money is going to come from and hopes they don't consider taxing more. Meeks noted that it all adds up and that these recommendations would cost the city approximately $50,000 total. MEETING ADJOURNED AT APPROXIMATELY 1 1 A.M. Respectfully Submitted: M~r,l~r~ Kebschull - Administrative Assistant Council on Aging January 23, 1996 Page 6