Minutes
Bexar Senior Advisory Committee
Friday, January 10, 2003 – 10:00 a.m.
Members Present:
Sue Ackerman rep by Chris Alderete Norma Cheeves
Sharon Baughman Laura Cisneros Barb Dampman
Ray Foley Julia Castellano-Hoyt Oscar Garcia rep by
Maria Hernandez Santos Hernandez Mary D. Hernandez
Suzanne Huber Jan Jarosek Marcia Katz
Ida Kenny Yvonne Lozano Lewis Marshall
Tito Moreno Winn Murnin Sterling Neuman
Nancy Rheams Alicia Rodriguez Steve Saldana
Rev. Gene Sheppard Jimmy Toubin Dorothy Whitenack
Honorable Ruth Jones McClendon
Rep by Bill Heineman
Members Absent:
1. Call to Order – The meeting was called to order by the Chairman, Jimmy Toubin.
2. Roll Call – The roll call was taken by the Secretary, Alicia Rodriguez.
3. Consider and act upon approval of the Minutes of January 10, 2003 – Upon consideration, motion was made by Ida Kenny to approve the minutes as presented and seconded by Gene Sheppard. Motion passed.
4. Citizens to be Heard (Limit to Three Minutes) – Mr. Oscar Noriega briefed BSAC members that his law office in conjunction with “FutureCare Now, Inc.”, recognized 13 outstanding nursing home workers who had consistently provided superior service to San Antonio area nursing home residents.
5. Staff Report – Carol Zernial, Bexar Area Agency on Aging Director reported that she had received a call from several key staff with the Environmental Protection Agency and they are starting a new initiative “Aging in the Environment.” On April 8th, the Administrator from New Jersey will be here to hold a session, one of six in the country in an effort to look at what is the impact of the environment on the elderly, particularly indoor air, outdoor air, common household cleaners, etc. They are also looking at the impact of the growing elderly population on the environment, where are they retiring, etc.
Ms. Zernial further stated that there is a new program in the community, “Project Agua” that will assist with payment of water bills for primarily low-income seniors. The Joint City/County Commission is also holding listening sessions throughout the community regarding senior services and needs. Ms. Zernial commented that additional surveys were available together with a list of the upcoming sessions in the event anyone wanted to attend.
At this time, Ms. Zernial introduced Mr. Nick Monreal, Managing Local Ombudsman with the Bexar Area Agency on Aging. Mr. Nick Monreal presented historical information on the Nursing Home Quality Initiative program geared towards resident centered care.
6. Citizen’s Advisory Council Report – Julia Castellano-Hoyt, CAC Representative, reported that the Council had met in November and items had been presented to BSAC, i.e. the Texas Silver Haired Legislative Report priorities. However, their next meeting will be in February at which time additional information will be presented.
7. Chairperson’s Report – Mr. Jimmy Toubin introduced Al J. Notzon, III Executive Director of the Alamo Area Council of Governments.
Mr. Notzon welcomed all those presented. He further conducted the Installation of Officers, New Advisory Committee members and New BSAC alternates. At this time he thanked everyone for the work and representation that will be required of all.
§ The Chairman distributed the subcommittee sign up list and asked for members to sign up for their particular subcommittee of interest.
8. Subcommittee Status Reports
A. Access & Assistance – Ms. Suzanne Huber presented the following:
§ An update on appropriate housing loan information, civil service retirees and residential repair. No action required.
§ Approval of Vendor: Pathways Health Services to provide Homemaker- $9.13 per unit and Personal Assistance - $9.13 per unit. Motion passed.
B. Allocations and Monitoring – Mr. Sterling Neuman presented the following:
§ Update on Final FY02 Allocations – No action required.
§ Update on the guardianship program indicating that the program had been reinstated and Ms. Zernial added that representatives from United Way, Bexar County and AACOG are exploring other possibilities for the operation of the guardianship program.
§ Texas Department on Aging performance measure testing (PMT) is being conducted on two major providers.
§ Mr. Neuman asked for full BSAC Approval of USDA Allocation in the amount of $190,547 by the Bexar Senior Advisory Committee since these funds were received after the Allocations and Monitoring Subcommittee met. Upon review and consideration, BSAC members approved the funding distribution as presented (copy filed with official minutes). The following BSAC members / alternates abstained: Laura Cisneros, Sharon Baughman.
Mr. Neuman stated that according to the approved BSAC Bylaws, “Service providers shall not serve on the Executive and Allocation subcommittees’ in order to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
C. Family Caregiver Support Program – Mr. Steve Saldana informed that the subcommittee looked at available funding in order to make the necessary planning and the vendors that are to continue to receive funding.
§ Approval of Vendor: Casa De Confianza to provide Adult Day Care - $18.00 per unit (consist 3-6 hrs.) ($36.00 per day). Motion passed.
D. Information, Special Events and VISTA – Ms. Elsa Davis presented the following:
§ Update on Senior Day at the Capitol and are in the process of finalizing the details. At this time, there are 18 sponsored buses
§ Status on Vintage Arts Festival – Ms. Carol Zernial reported that there is a contract pending with the San Antonio Botanical Gardens for May 18th and staff continues to work with Ms Mary Ann Rodgers who assisted with sponsorship of the N4A Board Dinner at the Country Club. Ms. Rodgers is the Honorary Chair of the Vintage Arts Festival and additional community members are being sought to assist with the event.
E. Nominations/Bylaws and Legislative – Mr. Lewis Marshall asked for a vote on the following:
§ Article II – Activities – E. Require this Committee’s involvement in the on-going evaluation of agencies and programs that we fund. PROPOSED CHANGE: Require this Committee’s involvement in the on-going evaluation of agencies and programs funded by the Texas Department on Aging (TDoA) and all other funding sources. Motion passed.
§ Reminded BSAC members that if they have not selected an alternate, please do so.
At this time, Ms. Julia Castellano-Hoyt reported that during the last Senior Day event held in Austin, many legislators were not available to greet the seniors. Ms. Hoyt asked BSAC members to contact our Bexar County Legislators and inform them of our scheduled February 4th Senior Day event in an effort to have greater representation.
10. Informational Items – Mr. Bill Heineman reported that Representative Ruth Jones McClendon has filed HB86 to freeze all property taxes (homestead) for persons over the age of 65.
11. Adjournment – There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.