Minutes 01-22-18 MINUTES OF THE SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING HELD AT
THE SENIOR CENTER, 1021 S. FEDERAL HIGHWAY, BOYNTON BEACH,
FLORIDA, ON MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018, AT 2:00 P.M.
PRESENT:
Janet Harris, Chair Brent Rolle, Recreation Supervisor
Marsha Bionta
Margaret Newton
Jennifer Gomez, Alternate
I. Call to Order
Chair Harris called the meeting to order at 2:17 p.m.
II. Pledge of Allegiance
The members recited the Pledge to the Flag.
III. Attendance — Review Renewals
Chair Harris took attendance. A quorum was present. Chair Harris explained she will
contact the City Clerk about receiving an updated members list. It was possible some
members did not reapply.
IV. Approval of Agenda
1. Additions, Deletions, Corrections
Ms. Newton moved to approve the agenda adding a Healthier Boynton Beach update
to New Business. Ms. Bionta seconded the motion that unanimously passed.
2. Adoption
V. Approval of Minutes (for October 2, 2017 meeting)
There were no objections to the minutes.
VI. Unfinished Business
A. Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics Training
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Brent Rolle, Recreation Supervisor, explained all the members have to take the class.
There are links the members can use to take the training at home or at the Center. The
training is about an hour. Member acknowledgement forms must be turned in to the City
Clerk.
B. Senior Center New Programs
Mr. Rolle had previously provided a list of new programs to the members. He advised
another program, a free American Sign Language (ASL) class will continue on Tuesdays
until the end of the month from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. The free class was offered through
a grant obtained by the City's ADA Coordinator, which pays for the instructor. The Center
hosted a luncheon for over 40 members of the deaf seniors. Mr. Rolle noted deaf
residents are underserved. Staff provided them with a tour of the Center and extended a
warm invitation to join in an attempt to reach out to the community. He apprised the
members it was a good experience.
Mr. Rolle announce he was in the process of interviewing personal trainers that would
like to join staff and teach classes. There are other requirements the trainers would
have to meet and they would have to be willing to accept a salary the Center can offer.
Staff was trying to offer new activities at the Center. He upgraded the weight room and
added a stepper, a balance ball and he got a quote to start the process to replace some
of the equipment. Funds will be needed.
Another new program was the Thanksgiving Dinner. It was something he had always
wanted to do. Mr. Rolle pointed out some members cannot fellowship with their family
and the Center was filled to capacity. The price was minimal and there were food
donations. The Dinner was held the Wednesday just before Thanksgiving. He also
announced free tax preparation starts February 5t", provided by AARP.
VII. New Business
A. SAB Member Update & Introduction of New Board Member(s)
New member Jennifer Gomez introduced herself. She has lived in Boynton Beach, on
and off for 20 years. She is an Attorney practicing elder law and estate planning and she
explained her membership would further her ability to help people. She regularly holds
lectures and speaking engagements, and more recently, she spoke at the Library in West
Boynton.
B. Sponsorship for the Boynton Beach Senior Center
Mr. Rolle explained sponsorship dollars were about the same as last year. Texas
Roadhouse had provided the meal for the aforementioned luncheon and staff is
constantly looking for new sponsors. The Center has five different levels of sponsorship,
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with yellow diamond being the most exclusive. The Recreation Department has a person
to help seek sponsorships.
C. Outreach and Advocacy to Special Senior Population
Mr. Rolle hoped with the help of the Advisory Board, they can broaden the scope of issues
the Board gets involved in. He reviewed other Senior Advisory Boards from other cities
and what they are involved in. Employees are apolitical and staff cannot be involved in
any aspect of politics, but there are going to be tax and probate issues affecting the senior
community in 2018. Staff cannot talk about those issues, but they can allow someone to
bring issues to the Board so the Center can disseminate information. There are issues
such as senior housing, tax law, transportation and what is available to seniors the Board
does not know. He hoping the reach will extend past the Center into the community. He
hoped when other seniors learn they got information from the Center, it will increase
membership.
Mr. Rolle has started to use social media to reach out to seniors and children of seniors
to help apprise them about the Center. Not all seniors in the community are aware of the
Center. He also posts information about activities on social media. There were 42 people
at the line dancing class and one woman was blind. They spoke after the class and they
put the information on the Center's Twitter and Facebook Page to advertise what they are
doing. Hopefully it will result in increased membership. Staff would like the Board's
assistance on issues of concern to seniors at large
Margaret Newton advised she is a part of the City of Boynton Beach Healthier Boynton
initiative sponsored by Palm Healthcare. The City received a large grant to work with
caregivers in the area as their major educational thrust. She explained Boynton residents
chose caregiving as the topic training based on a poll. She announced the Fearless
Caregiver Conference, at the Carolyn Sims Center, on February 8th. The event is free to
any caregivers, but attendees have to register online. There may be a nominal fee for
non-caregivers. Copies of the flyer will be at the Center. There will be several activities,
some of which were listed on the flyer. Ms. Newton explained this is a five-year plan. Mr.
Rick Petty is in charge of the Boynton Beach initiative and the meetings are held on the
third Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. at the Sims Center. It is a steering committee
meeting, but the public is welcome to attend and learn more information about the group.
There is a lot of money invested in this activity in Boynton Beach and the Committee was
trying to give out as much information as they can. She hoped all would come.
Ms. Newton explained another county-wide activity by Palm Healthcare is Train the Brain.
Individuals can go online and the site is on the second page. She hoped everyone would
participate so Boynton Beach would win this year. The City came in second to Delray
Beach last year on the fitness challenge. This is all geared towards making all as healthy
as possible as a community. She inquired if organizations such as Morse Life can be a
center sponsor and learned they could. She explained Morse Life is a very vocal part of
the group. There are other organizations as well.
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Mr. Rolle explained the City is in partnership with Palm Healthcare. Ms. Newton explained
they were targeting young people in the community that are caregivers and many
caregivers they are unaware of. Often caregivers are characterized as people taking care
of mom and dad who are bedridden, which is a small part of the initiative. Healthier
Boynton Beach is just one of a cadre of cities within Palm Beach County, Lake Worth
adopted behavioral healthcare as an initiative. Delray Beach did the same. Jupiter chose
diabetic care. Boynton Beach was the only City that adopted caregivers as their focus.
Mr. Rolle wants to expand and a give people a better of idea of what a caregiver means.
It is not just for someone who is employed to give care as there are many others.
Ms. Newton explained The City is not getting residents to participate, but was getting
many people from big companies that serve the population. She has a sin with a medical
condition and she mothered him not realizing she was a caregiver. She noted many
people do not wish to identify themselves as caregivers.
Mr. Rolle announced Senior Expo March 5th in Delray Beach. Event flyers were available
and they have 95 exhibitors.
D. New Agenda Procedure for the Advisory Board
Mr. Rolle advised he speaks to the Recreation and Parks Board, the Education and Youth
Advisory Board and would like to be able to gather information and send out reminders a
month in advance to the members advising them of the date of the meeting. Members
will be sent an email and then asked if they have information they want placed on the
agenda. Two weeks prior to the meeting, staff would incorporate the changes and all will
be ready to discuss the topics at the meeting and the agenda will be final. Mr. Rolle
thought it would make it easier for people to come prepared for the meeting items to be
discussed.
Chair Harris thought the agenda was the Chair's responsibility. She noted she had two
strokes and they could have discussed this before the meeting, but she thought it was a
good idea. On a different note, she noted the board membership got mixed up. She
noted some members were told they were no longer a member. She advised she would
contact the City Clerk to straighten it out.
Chair Harris asked if the members had any questions or items they would like to discuss.
None were received.
VIII. Amy Blackman — Q & A
Ms. Blackman was not present for the meeting
IX. Next Meeting: Monday, April 2, 2018
Chair Harris announced the next meeting as above.
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X. Adjournment
Ms. Gomez moved to adjourn. The motion was duly seconded and unanimously passed..
The meeting was adjourned at 2:56 p.m.
Catherine Cherry
Minutes Specialist
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