Montgomery News

City of Gaithersburg Senior Advisory Committee met October 1.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

1. Call To Order

The Regular Session of the Senior Advisory Committee was called to order at 1:00 pm with Chair Carolyn Bass presiding.

Attendee Name; Title; Status; Arrived:

Carolyn Bass; Chair; Present;

Satya Agarwal; Member; Present;

Kathy Bennett; Member; Present;

Mary Hoferek; Member; Present;

Kevin McCarthy; Member; Absent;

Yvette Monroe; Member; Present;

Sarah Pope; Member; Present;

Marlene Shemelynec; Member; Present;

Staff present: Community Facility Manager Smith, and Administrative Assistant III Bastian. City Council present: Sayles

2. Approval Of Minutes

A. Regular Session held September 10, 2018

Motion was made to approve the above minutes.

Result: Approved [Unanimous]

Mover: Kathy Bennett, Member

Seconder: Yvette Monroe, Member

For: Bass, Agarwal, Bennett, Hoferek, Monroe, Pope, Shemelynec

Absent: Kevin Mccarthy

3. Discussion Topics

A. Community Facility Manager's Report

Membership FY’19 is 659 with a daily attendance of 145. Fitness Center membership is 133 with a daily attendance of 30. A new bus driver has been hired. Oktoberfest is on October 14th, Shemelynec volunteered to help staff at the booth. The Center is advertised on Ride on Buses and at the Ride On bus shelters.

Senior Advisory Committee Benjamin Gaither Center 80A Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20878

B. Presentation to Mayor & City Council

The presentation to Mayor & City Council is on November 26th at 7:30 p.m. Committee was advised to attend. Bass, Shemelynec and Monroe requested a template of the previous power point presentation and offered to draft one and present at the next Senior Advisory meeting on November 5th.

C. Discuss Tour of Senior Centers

Facility Community Manager, Smith scheduled a tour of Howard County and Rockville Senior Centers for Tuesday, October 23rd. We will leave at 9 a.m. for Howard County and get back around 1 p.m., to visit Rockville Senior Center and return to Benjamin Gaither Center by 2:30 p.m. A boxed lunch will be provided.

D. Discuss Agenda for future meetings

A revised copy of the brainstorming ideas will be emailed to the Committee. Hard copies will be made available at the front desk. Chair, Bass asked Committee to consider joining or leading a sub-committee.

Discuss budget, revenue, and staffing. A water bottle fill up station, submit a five-year plan, routine improvements, repair, painting. Center is scheduled to receive $50,000 for facility improvements, effective date of use will be announced at the next meeting.

Assess outdoor sitting area and access to the garden from the Center side.

E. Discuss Medicare Part D

Hoferek mentioned that the Lecture on Medicare, offered at the Center on September 17th was well attended. But Medicare Part D was not covered. Retirees have to go to Medicare Part D. Medicare Open Enrollment begins October 15th with new guidelines. Information is available at the National Council on Aging's ‘My Medicare Matters’ website on how to look for coverage, choose your coverage, and understand your choices.

F. For the Good of the Order

Pope suggested hanging 'Hello’ and ‘Welcome’ signs in different languages by the entrance or lobby area.

4. Adjournment

There being no further business, the session was adjourned at 2:00 pm

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