Senior Advisory Committee

Thu, April 11, 2024

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Meeting summaryAI-generated

Senior Advisory Committee — April 11, 2024

*Note: These minutes are from the March 14, 2024 meeting, submitted to the committee on April 11, 2024. One member, Patricia Souza, was absent. A planned presentation on the Bike2Bike Trail by Bruce Hagen of SafeStreets was cancelled due to a family illness.*

Approval of February Minutes

The committee unanimously approved the minutes from the February 8, 2024 meeting.

Vote: Moved by Cheryl Jern, seconded by Railey Album — unanimous approval.

Report on Senior Center Needs

Staff Liaison Iya Josephmenard and Chair Nickola Frye presented a verbal report on a safety review of the Senior Center conducted by Drake Cunningham of Rebuilding Together Petaluma. The report included a walkthrough of proposed repair and improvement projects identified during the review. No additional details about specific projects or their costs are captured in the minutes.

Vote: Moved by Cheryl Jern, seconded by Railey Album — unanimous approval of the report and proposed items.

Chair Report

Chair Nickola Frye provided brief comments on several items. No questions or further discussion are noted in the minutes, and the specific items are not detailed.

Ad Hoc Committee Update: Physical Health, Well-Being & Senior-Friendly Infrastructure (Senior and Active Adult Playgrounds)

Chair Frye provided a verbal update on the work of the Ad Hoc Committee focused on improving physical health and senior-friendly infrastructure, including the ongoing effort around senior and active adult playground facilities. No further specifics are recorded in the minutes.

Committee Members' Comments

Several members raised topics for future discussion:

Cheryl Jern renewed her request to send a letter to the City Council asking that the age requirements for Senior Advisory Committee membership be reconsidered. Staff noted this item has been discussed multiple times previously and has been rejected by the SAC. Jern nonetheless asked that it be placed on the next agenda.

Don Forman was encouraged by the committee to continue his efforts to advocate for accessible public restrooms in downtown Petaluma.

Railey Album expressed interest in inviting guest speakers to future SAC meetings, suggesting possible representatives from the Senior Health District, AARP, or an Alzheimer's-focused organization, though no specific speakers were proposed.

Staff Comments

Staff Liaison Iya Josephmenard encouraged all committee members to read the Senior Center's monthly newsletter and to participate in upcoming events and special programming days.

Key Takeaways

The Senior Center received a safety review from Rebuilding Together Petaluma, and proposed improvement projects were unanimously endorsed by the committee — though specific project details were not recorded.

The age-requirement membership debate continues: Cheryl Jern is persisting in her request to revisit the issue with the City Council despite the SAC having previously rejected the idea, and it will appear on the next agenda.

The committee is exploring bringing in outside speakers on senior health topics such as Alzheimer's care and AARP resources.

Don Forman's push for downtown public restrooms received committee encouragement to continue.

A planned public presentation on the Bike2Bike Trail was cancelled and will presumably need to be rescheduled.

AI-generated summary from voice-to-text transcript. Not the official record. Verify important details with the source documents linked above.

Agenda items (4)

Public Hearing

1Public HearingReport on Senior Center needs – Iya Josephmenard and Nickola Frye

City staff will present findings about what the Senior Center needs in terms of resources, facilities, or services.

2Public HearingChair Report – Update – Nickola Frye

The Senior Advisory Committee chair will provide an update on recent activities and developments.

3Public HearingAd Hoc Committee Updates - Improve Physical Health and Well Being & Senior- Friendly Infrastructure - Senior and Active Adult Playgrounds – Update.

An ad hoc committee will report on efforts to improve seniors' physical health and create age-friendly public spaces, including senior-focused playground equipment.

4Public HearingRequest for letter to city council regarding age requirements for SAC members – Item has been discussed numerous times and has been voted down. – Cheryl Jern COMMITTEE MEMBERS’ COMMENTS: STAFF COMMENTS

The committee is requesting a letter to the city council about changing the age requirements for Senior Advisory Committee membership, reviving a proposal that has been rejected multiple times.

Additional votes recorded in minutes

Approval of Minutes for February 8, 2024

aye 4 · absent 1

Cheryl Jernaye

Don Formanaye

Nickola Fryeaye

Patricia Souzaabsent

Railey Albumaye

Approval of Senior Center Needs Report and Project Proposal

aye 4 · absent 1

Cheryl Jernaye

Don Formanaye

Nickola Fryeaye

Patricia Souzaabsent

Railey Albumaye

Verbatim transcript available

2 transcript segments indexed

____________________________________________________________________________ DATE: April 11, 2024 TO: Rachel Beer, Iya Josephmendard, SAC Members FROM: Nickola Frye SUBJECT: Minutes – March 2024 MINUTES – MARCH 14, 2024 CALL TO ORDER – by Chair Nickola Frye at 9:00 ROLL CALL - Railey Album, Nickola Frye, Patricia Souza - absent, Don Forman, Cheryl Jern STAFF LIAISON - Iya Josephmenard, Rachel Beer GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT During General Public Comment, the public is invited to make comments on items of public interest that are within the Senior Advisory Committee’s subject matter jurisdiction and that are not listed on the current agenda. Public comments are limited up to three minutes per person. Depending on the number of persons wishing to address the Committee, time will be allocated in equal shares totaling no more than twenty minutes, subject to the Committee’s discretion (Cal. Gov’t. Code §54954.3(a), Petaluma Rules, Policies and Procedures, III). PUBLIC COMMENT PRESENTATIONS – Bruce Hagen, SafeStreets will share a slideshow and discuss Bike2Bike Trail – cancelled due to Bruces wife’s illness.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Approval of Minutes for the meeting of Thursday, Feb 8, 2024. MSP: - Cheryl/Railey Approval: unanimous PUBLIC HEARINGS AND MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION: 1. None COMMITTEE COMMENT 1. Report on Senior Center needs. – Iya and Nickola. Report on Safety Review by Drake Cunningham, Rebuilding Together Petaluma and project proposal walk through. Verbal report by Iya and Nickola on proposed items – M/S Cheryl/Railey – unanimous approval 2. Chair Report – Update. – no questions, comments by Nickola on several items. 3. Ad Hoc Committee Updates - Improve Physical Health and Well Being & Senior- Friendly Infrastructure - Senior and Active Adult Playgrounds – Update. – update by Nickola COMMITTEE MEMBERS’ COMMENTS: - Cheryl would like to have a letter regarding asking the council to change are requirements for member os SAC – Update given that this item has been been discussed previously and been rejected by SAC. She would still like it on the next agenda. Don was encouraged to continue his pursuit of downtown bathrooms. Railey would like to have a discussion about speakers for the SAC meeting, but she did not have any suggestions regarding specific speakers, perhaps someone from the Senior Health District or AARP or someone regard Alzheimer’s. STAFF COMMENTS – Iya encouraged everyone to read and review the SC monthly newsletter and to attend events and special days. ADJOURNMENT – by Chair Nickola Frye at – 10:15