Burlington Seniors' Advisory Committee Meeting

Minutes

Meeting #:
Date:
Time:
-
Location:
Centennial Pool, Community Room

1.
Members Present:
 

April Begg Goodis (Chair), Jim Young (Vice Chair), Bob Lovell, Sarah Edgar (BPL), Carmen Menard, Sheila Burton, Tom Carrothers, Kim Routledge

2.
Member Regrets:
 

Carol Scanlon, Wendy Moraghan

3.
Others Present:
 

Councillor Shawna Stolte, Mandy Newnham, Georgie Gartside (Clerk)

4.
Declarations of Interest:
 

None.

5.
Approval of Minutes:
 

6.
Delegation(s):
 

6.1
Burlington Transit update on free transit for seniors pilot
 

Rob Hagley, Marketing & Customer Service Coordinator at Burlington Transit, provided the following update:

  • free pass for seniors 65 plus was initiated in June.
  • 35 outreach events were held for seniors with 3 different types of events – learn to ride, learn to tap and information events.
  • there was a line-up prior to the first event at Burlington Mall so doors were opened early.
  • it only took one minute to push past the barrier for seniors on how to ride a bus.
  • 2,000 transit passes were distributed at events and from the downtown transit terminal between June and August.
  • have heard from drivers that older adults are getting on the bus, travelling for 1 km and then getting off the bus.
  • in June and July there was double the older adult ridership.
  • additional advertising will be undertaken in November and outreach/events will be scheduled next year.

ACTION ITEMS:

  • Mandy to coordinate Burlington Transit's attendance at any planned city events during Seniors' Month in June 2020 and for National Seniors' Day on October 1.
  • Rob to send the committee updated promotional material when it is available.
  • BSAC to create a list of locations where promotional material would be useful.

6.2
City of Burlington Official Plan downtown policies
This item has attachments. 

1.10-21-19 Official Plan presentation to Seniors Advisory Committee.pdf

Thomas Douglas, Planner with the City of Burlington, provided a presentation about the downtown policies in the Official Plan (presentation attached). 

ACTION ITEMS:

  • Advocacy Subcommittee to draft a letter on behalf of BSAC providing input into the Official Plan. The letter will be shared at the November meeting for the committee's approval.
  • Committee members to email Sheila with suggestions for the letter.

7.
Regular Items:
 

7.1
Communications subcommittee update
 

April provided the following update:

  • Oct. 1 National Seniors' Day – BSAC had a table at the Seniors’ Centre and it was a very successful event. 
  • National Seniors' Day proclamation was presented to BSAC at the Sept. 23 City Council meeting.
  • a flag was purchased and raised at City Hall on Oct. 1 and the Brant Street Pier lights were gold.
  • BSAC to consider having a table at the Burlington Farmer's Market next year.
  • BSAC's brochure was added to the reading nook at the Seniors' Centre by Councillor Stolte.

Kim shared:

  • upcoming event hosted by Partnering Aldershot's Assistance to Seniors in Aldershot Committee called "What's Up Aldershot Social" on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Aldershot Arena.
  • a wellness fair took place at Wellness House on Oct. 3. BSAC should be involved with this event next year.

Councillor Stolte has been working with Burlington Seniors' Community Inc. (BSCI) to get outdoor equipment for seniors into a city park. BSCI has the funding for the equipment, but there are infrastructure requirements that the city would need to install first. Equipment was proposed to go into Tansley Woods Park, but there were some accessibility concerns related to the distance from the parking lot, so the group will be looking to install the equipment in another park that will be undergoing renovations.

7.2
Advocacy subcommittee update
 

Sheila said that the last subcommittee meeting was held on Sept. 23 and the next is on Oct. 28. The subcommittee is currently doing a survey on four city parks to see how senior-friendly they are. Sheila shared concerns that parks are too focused on children and not on every age group and pointed to a current city survey directed towards children and playgrounds.

7.3
Staff update
 

Mandy shared the following update:

  • a full staff team is in place and on-boarding underway.
  • the change in city program registration provides members with the ability to register for programs in the current session as well as the following session which has made it so residents are able to participate in programs with expired memberships. Staff are working to rectify this.
  • day trips and events have been very well attended.

7.4
Roundtable stakeholder updates:
 

a.
Burlington Public Library
 

Sarah provided the following update:

  • BSAC is welcome to participate in the Partnering Aldershot Information Session on Nov. 5. Burlington Age-Friendly Council will be participating. Other non-profit organizations are invited as well. There will also be a December event in a larger venue which will allow for-profit companies to participate.
  • Food for fines, Oct. 20-27 – library fines can be paid with non-parishable food items (one non-parishable food item equals $1 worth of fines).
  • Drivers safety for older adults, Oct. 22 from 10am-12pm at Central library.
  • Wills, Powers of Attorney & Probate, Central library on Nov. 7, 10am-12pm; Tansley Woods on Nov. 28, 7-8:45pm.
  • Cognitive care kits will be rolled out to other library locations for pick-up soon.

b.
Canadian Association for Retired Persons (CARP)
 

Tom shared the following:

  • BSAC is invited to have a display at a future CARP meeting.
  • currently focusing on long-term care and on supporting hospices. There is a potential hospice being developed in Milton and CARP has been assisting with awareness about it.
  • received a provincial grant for an activation program.
  • also received a Burlington Foundation grant to develop a third book. Two books have been written already (Caregiver and Slice of Life). The new book will include short stories and poems.

c.
Burlington Ready
 

No update.

d.
Burlington Inclusivity Advisory Committee (BIAC)
 

No update.

e.
Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee (BAAC)
 

At the Oct. 10 BAAC meeting, Sheila said the committee discussed concerns about parks going to a natural focus due to accessibility limitations. There were also concerns raised about getting to bus stops. There is an upcoming annual joint meeting for all Halton accessibility committees on Nov. 19 at the Burlington Art Gallery.

f.
Integrated Transportation Advisory Committee (ITAC) 
 

Tom said the next meeting of ITAC will take place on Monday, Oct. 28. The current focus for this committee is the Integrated Mobility Plan and city transportation staff held a workshop with the committee during its September meeting to get feedback into the plan.

g.
Halton Older Adult Committee (OAAC)
 

Georgie advised that Jim Thurston would attend the January BSAC meeting to provide an update on the Halton Older Adult Committee. The committee's first meeting is scheduled for Nov. 12.

8.
Other Business:
 

8.1
Advisory Committee Review
 

Georgie said the review has been completed and a staff report will be presented to the Nov. 4 Committee of the Whole.

ACTION ITEM:

  • Georgie to email a copy of the report once the Nov. 4 agenda is available

9.
Adjournment: 12:10 p.m.
 

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