Burlington Seniors' Advisory Committee Meeting

Minutes

Meeting #:
Date:
Time:
-
Location:
Burlington Music Centre - Community Room
2311 New Street

1.
Members Present:
 

April Begg Goodis (Chair), Jim Young (Vice Chair), Robert Lovell, Wendy Moraghan, Carol Scanlon, Carmen Menard, Sarah Edgar (BPL), Sheila Burton, Kim Routledge

2.
Member Regrets:
 

Tom Carrothers

3.
Others Present:
 

Councillor Shawna Stolte, Mandy Newnham, Lisa Palermo (Clerk)

4.
Declarations of Interest:
 

None.

5.
Approval of Minutes:
 

6.
Delegation(s):
 

7.
Regular Items:
 

7.1
Communication subcommittee update
 

April provided the following update:

  • BSAC's presence at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre during the Footnotes performances was a success.  Members were able to make connections with the community and local business.  The Footnotes have invited BSAC to attend again next year.
  • BSAC has permission to continue to showcase Seniors' of Canada photo display in the community.
  • Care kits continue to be distributed to isolated seniors in the community - packages include information about BSAC, Lifeline, vials for medication list, financial information, etc.
  • Jim attended a meeting with Burlington Transit hosted by the Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee.  Transit staff relayed that more seniors are using buses as a result of the pilot project.
    ACTION: Lisa to invite Rob Hagley (Transit) to the October BSAC meeting to get an update on the progress of the free transit for seniors pilot project.
  • October 1st is National Seniors Day
    ACTION: Lisa to arrange for the National Seniors' Day flag to be raised on Oct. 1 and for a proclamation to be read at the Council meeting on Sept. 23. (Wendy and Jim will attend the meeting to receive the proclamation)
  • Wendy mentioned that June 15 was Elder Abuse Day and asked whether any information was disseminated from the city on this topic.  Committee will discuss early next year which days they wish to recognize and what events they wish to participate in throughout the year in order to better organize initiatives and committee member's time to attend events, and to better engage with staff to collaborate efforts on seniors matters.
  • BSAC members continue to discuss ways to strengthen the relationship and communication with city staff with respect to seniors' matters.
    ACTION: a motion will be brought forward at the Oct. BSAC meeting.  A draft of the motion will be distributed in advance for the committee's review. The motion will elaborate on the following statement: "that BSAC members will look for concrete actionable items to ensure improved collaboration between city staff and BSAC".

7.2
Advocacy subcommittee update
 

Sheila provided the following update:

  • BSAC provided Burlington Transit with feedback on the free transit for seniors pilot project advertising back in June.  Transit has relayed that bus passes are getting picked up and more seniors are riding the bus.  Riders also indicate the buses are on time more often. One of the biggest concerns relayed by the public is the connections between Burlington and Hamilton and Burlington and Oakville.
  • Transit will be presenting a service delivery review to Committee of the Whole - Workshop on Thursday, October 10th at 1 p.m. Members are encouraged to attend or watch the video online to keep apprised of transit updates.
  • Members relayed that social media information has dropped off related to free transit and that schedules are difficult to find and navigate.  Transit staff have relayed that they are developing guidelines and an App to help with routes.
  • BSAC suggests having ambassadors on buses to assist with routes, as well as offering route information in large font formats.
  • The city-wide parking changes are going to the Planning and Development-Public meeting and Council for final approval this month.  BSAC members already provided their input regarding the parking changes and were assured that no changes were being made to accessible parking at this time.  If staff consider any changes to accessible parking in the city, they will engage with BSAC and other advisory committees at that time.

7.3
Staff update (Mandy)
 

Mandy provided an update on seniors' initiatives/programs for the city:

  • a full time recreation coordinator and a half time programmer have been hired to support programs for seniors in Burlington.
  • Seniors programs experienced the highest registration for a single season.  The new registration tool is working well but still requires testing and improvements.
  • Transit discount pass giveaways have had a good uptake at the Seniors' Centre.
  • The city's Live and Play Guide will be going paperless however a limited amount of paper copies will be available for those without access to computers.  Adult programs remain available in paper format.
  • Throughout the last 6-8 months the START pilot project has been in progress. (Services Targeting Adults Roundtable). The pilot project has been a success to date and is still in progress. Roundtables were facilitated by staff and solutioned by the community members that participated.  The participants were given the 'calls to action' outlined in the Age Friendly Initiative for discussion - the pilot project focused on Centenarian Recognition.  For the pilot, participants were approached to participate but in future volunteers will submit their intent to participate via the volunteer portal. BSAC members expressed that one of their members should have been included in the pilot and that they wish to be kept informed of the status of the roundtables underway.
  • Mountainside Community Centre has been identified as a place for service expansion for programming for the 55+ community.
  • There is a survey currently underway by the city to gather information about splash pads.  This presents an opportunity for BSAC members and 55+ members of the community to provide their input on how older adults access outdoor spaces.
  • The Food For Feedback event held at Central Park was very well attended and well received by the community.
  • Digital TV's are being installed at the Seniors' Centre.  Mandy will advise when they are available and how they can be used to relay information. (BSAC would like to use the TV's in community centres across the city to provide information about BSAC)

7.4
Roundtable stakeholder updates:
 

a.
Burlington Public Library - Sarah
 

  • BPL continues to work through the Burlington Community Foundation Grant to offer programs in partnership with the Burlington Age-Friendly Council this fall.
  • Cognitive Care Kits are being rolled out to the branches as they are currently loaned from Central only. Customers must attend an introduction to cognitive care kits information session before they can be borrowed.
  • Fall programs for seniors include:
    • Introduction to Cognitive Care Kits (allows customers to borrow them) – Sept 18, Oct 15 & Nov 21 at Central Library
    • It’s Not Right (elder abuse) – Sept 18th 10:00am at Aldershot (with Burlington Age Friendly Council)
    • Understanding Dementia with the Alzheimer’s Society – Thurs Oct 3rd 7-8:30 at Central, Wed Nov 20th 1-2:30 at Tansley Woods
    • Driver Safety for Older Adults with Keith Black – Tues Oct 22nd 10-12 at Central
    • Affordable Housing Panel with BAFC – Wed Oct 9th 2-4 at Central
    • Wills, Power of Attorney & Probate with Richard T. Howitt, Q.C. – Thurs Nov 7th 10-12 at Central, Thurs Nov 28th 7-8:45 at Tansley Woods (with BAFC)
  • BPL is working to pilot a video streamed program for seniors during the dreary and poor weathered winter months. More information to come.

b.
Canadian Association for Retired Persons (CARP) - Tom
 

Tom was not in attendance.

c.
Burlington Lighthouse Project - Wendy
 

  • The name of the project is officially changed to Burlington Ready.  This aligns with the naming in adjacent communities.
  • A city staff representative and Fire Department representative are on the committee.
  • The next meeting will be held Sept. 17 so a more fulsome update will be provided at the next BSAC meeting.
  • Roll out of the program is planned for Feb./Mar. 2020.

d.
Burlington Inclusivity Advisory Committee (BIAC) - Jim
 

  • The next meeting will be held Sept. 17 so a more fulsome update will be provided at the next BSAC meeting.

e.
Burlington Accessibility Advisory Committee (BAAC) - Sheila
 

  • BAAC continues to set up a table at the local Farmer's Market each month (Jun. - Oct.) as a way of engaging with the community.
  • BAAC will be promoting accessibility at Halloween by providing signage to homes that offer an accessible experience for trick or treaters.

f.
Integrated Transportation Advisory Committee (ITAC) - Tom
 

Tom was not in attendance.

g.
Halton Older Adult Committee (OAAC) - Jim Thurston
 

An update from OAAC will come at a future BSAC meeting.

8.
Other Business:
 

9.
Adjournment: 12:04 p.m.
 

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