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Senior Advisory Board Meeting Wednesday, May 19, 2010 - Hopewell Valley Senior Center
Attending: Lawrence Mansier, Thomas DiMuzio, Virginia Silliphant, Nils Stout, Severino DiCocco, Joel May Call to Order: Chairman Mansier called the meeting to order at 2:10 PM. Notice was made of meeting the Open Public Meetings Act requirements. Minutes: Acceptance of the Minutes of the April 21st meeting moved by Joel May and seconded by Nils Stout. The motion was approved. Special Report: Chairman Mansier asked Doug Pszczolkowski, CEO of the Hopewell Valley YMCA for a up-date on the progress in obtaining financing and land for the proposed campus to be shared with a new Senior Center. Mr. Pszczolkowski began by reviewing the events leading up to the present. In the summer and fall of 2008, the YMCA conducted a marketing and community needs assessment survey which demonstrated the need and interest in a new facility. A number of architectural firms were employed to draw up plans for the building and the site. A construction management firm narrowed the field down to four and Clarke, Caton and Hintz was finally chosen, although the actual result is likely to represent a combination of the ideas of all the proposed plans. The result contemplates a 45,000 square foot YMCA, a 10,000 square foot Senior Center along with affordable housing and ratables in the form of retail establishments and/or office space. To date, the YMCA has received donations of $60,000 and $20,000 from two anonymous families, as well as $5,000 from the 2009 Pennington Day Committee and $16,600 from a Pennington Market promotion associated with their 50th anniversary celebration. Mr. Pszczolkowski estimated that $1.5 million will be needed for land acquisition, planning, design, and approval, and $10 to $20 million for the entire project. He projects a September 2011 deadline for purchase of the property (which must take place before the Mercer County grant can be applied for), but he has no target date for planning board and zoning approval. Questions were raised by the group about parking, allocation and ownership of space on the property, etc. and concern was expressed over uncoordinated fund-raising efforts by the individual groups (YMCA, Senior Center, and Teens) which could easily be perceived by the relevant public as competition. The Chairman and the group thanked Mr. Pszczolkowski for his presentation and invited him to come back whenever new information or activity on the project warrants. Senior Services Coordinator's Report: Administration: A meeting was held with a local girl scout troop leader regarding a potential Silver Award project at the Senior Center. Suggestions for summer projects include fund raising for new shrubs, replacing the outside bench, and paint touch-up. Also, Pennington Borough Public Works has addressed the fire safety issues. Events and Programs: A wrap-up Swing Into Spring meeting was held to discuss the future of the event. Over the years attendance has been falling. A larger committee will be formed to discuss the issue. Seventeen people of all ages attended the first Come Outside and Play event. The Center hosted two AARP Tax-Aide sessions during April. The Coordinator met with Artists' Choice facilitator, Bob Barish, and the Mercer County Library staff to plan for an art show in the fall of 2010. Finance: We are still waiting for the three municipalities to sign a shared services agreement for the Senior Services operating budget. Social Services: During the past month, the Coordinator helped residents eligible for food stamps to apply on-line and received information on Medi-Cool and the Farmers' Market Voucher Program. Volunteers: An invitation was sent to Bear Tavern volunteers for a end-of-year gathering at the school. Chairman's Report: Meeting of the Mayors of the Three Municipalities: At a meeting with Chairman Mansier, Bill Farmer, Abigail Waugh and Kim Johnson on February 24th, Mayor Mark Markulec of Hopewell Valley Township, committed to bringing together the mayors of Hopewell Borough and Pennington Borough to discuss providing municipal funds to match the available Mercer County grant of $1,500,000 and to continue to provide operating expenses for the new Senior Center. This meeting has not yet taken place. May 7th Brown Bag meeting at Pennington Presbyterian Church: The topic of the meeting was "Land, Money and Commitment: The Quest for a Hopewell Valley Senior Center" and it was well attended. Representation from the Advisory Board included Chairman Mansier, Virginia Silliphant, Severino DiCocco, and Nils Stout. The presentation used to explain the project to the three municipalities was updated to include information from the visit by Senator Shirley Turner and proved effective. Aging and the proposed NJ Budget: Chairman Mansier expressed concern over the possible impact of Governor Christie's proposed budget on the senior population of the state. He referred to an op-ed article by Senator Shirley Turner in the May 19th edition of the Trenton Times in which she uses increased property taxes, loss of property tax rebates, a new $310 annual deductible for prescription drug coverage under the Senior Gold or PAAD programs, and the doubling of co-pays on name brand prescriptions under the PAAD program. Committee Reports: Explorations: A total of 33 people attended the fall session of Explorations. Three courses -- "From the Parthenon to the Present," "Folk Etymology," and "Enjoying Shakespeare" were offered and two others "Amazing Women Characters in American History" and "Beginners' Sign Language" were canceled due to low registration. The tuition generated, $990, will be donated to the Hopewell Valley Senior Foundation. Fund-Raising: Tom DiMuzio, Advisory Board representative from Pennington Borough, was asked to provide his thoughts on the strategies for raising funds for a new Senior Center. He began by pointing out two current problems: the poor economy and the fact that three organizations (YMCA, Senior Center, and Teens) were all looking for money at the same time for what the public could conceive of as the same project. He emphasized that we need to anchor what we what to do. A prerequisite for major fund raising is confirmation of whether or not the existing building meets (or can be made to meet) our needs. In his words, "We can't move ahead (on a new building at a different site) until we can disqualify the current location." It is important that we determine what we MUST have in terms of programs and space, and justify those decisions, before we can approach potential major donors. Nils Stout agreed to talk to the zoning officer of Pennington Borough regarding how the current property might be used in terms of expansion of the building and parking. Because of his planned absence at the June meeting, he will turn the information over to Bill Farmer who will report on it then. New Business: Hopewell Township and Commitment to Teen Center: Hopewell Township was represented by Paul Pogorzelski at the Pennington Planning Board regarding the efforts to use the existing building on the Capital Health Services site as a temporary Teen Center. The township will lease the necessary land and building from Capital Health Services.
Chuck Potter, a member of the public, brought two issues to the attention of the Advisory Board: The meeting was adjourned at 4:18 PM. Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 2 PM at the Senior Center.
Respectfully Submitted,
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