President Wendel Thompson called the regular meeting of the Residents’ Council [the Council] to order at 7:30 pm September 4, 2018. The August 7, 2018 minutes were approved as distributed.

59 association members attended. Visitors included residents, Charles Denton, a member of the Board of Directors, and Nathan Blumberg, Associate Executive Director.  The Council observed a moment of silence for those who have passed away.

 

SECRETARY’S REPORT (Hope Tillman):

WORK SESSION AND RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION BUSINESS

1. NaCCRA

Since the motion to have the Council join the National Continuing Care Residents Association (NaCCRA) was defeated at the August 7 Council Meeting, the Council developed a series of steps that were necessary so that the Charlestown Residents’ Association could join.

During the August Council Work Session, three motions for this subject passed unanimously. They were:

1. That the Council declare its desire that the Charlestown Residents’ Association take out membership in NaCCRA.
2. That the Council declare its desire that, upon the affirmative vote of the Charlestown Residents’ Association to become a member of NaCCRA, the Chairman of the Residents’ Council’s Legislative/Political Committee serve as the ex officio point of contact for NaCCRA.
3. That the Council declare its desire that, upon the affirmative vote of the Charlestown Residents’ Association to become a member of NaCCRA, the Policies and Procedures Manual of the Residents’ Council, Supplement B: Acronyms and Organizations be amended to add “The Charlestown Residents’ Association is a member of NaCCRA.” at the end of the paragraph on NaCCRA.

During the Annual Meeting of the Charlestown Residents’ Association on August 13, 2018, the following two motions passed unanimously. They are therefore automatically adopted by the Council as well.

1. That the Charlestown Residents’ Association take out membership in the National Continuing Care Residents Association (NaCCRA).
2. That the Charlestown Residents’ Association agree that the Chairman of the Residents’ Council’s Legislative/Political committee will serve as the ex officio point of contact for NaCCRA.

There was no need for the Association to vote on adding the words “The Charlestown Residents’ Association is a member of NaCCRA”, because the “Policies and Procedures Manual” is under control of the Council. Since the conditions in the vote of the Council during its August Work Session were met, the above words will be added to the Manual. 

1. Change in Council Monthly Meeting time

Also, during the August Council Work Session, three motions for this subject passed unanimously. They were:

1. That the Residents’ Council declare its desire to change the starting time of the monthly Council Session from 7:30 PM to 7:00 PM.
2. That the Residents’ Council seek input from the meeting of the Charlestown Residents’ Association, because of its greater number of participants, about the benefit of the proposed change.
3. That the Residents’ Council declare its desire that, upon positive input from the Charlestown Residents’ Association, the Policies and Procedures Manual of the Residents’ Council, Section 3.H: A Typical Monthly Meeting (Outlined) be amended to change the time of the Residents’ Council monthly meeting from 7:30 PM to 7:00 PM.

During the Annual Meeting of the Charlestown Residents’ Association on August 13, 2018, the vast majority of the attendants favored the change.

1. Archives

At the August Council Work Session, three motions for this subject passed unanimously. They were:

1. That the Residents’ Council help defray the cost of maintaining Charlestown’s archives with an annual grant upon request, not to exceed $325.00, starting with the Council year 2017-2018.
2. That the grant is conditioned on the manager of the archives conducting the financial affairs of the archives through the Treasurer of the Residents’ Council under its customary procedures.
3. That the Treasurer of the Residents’ Council set up appropriate procedures to allow contributions to the archives from outside the Council be able to be deposited in the Council’s checking account and be disbursed to the Archives under the Council’s customary procedures. The Treasurer will co-mingle the outside contributions with the Council’s funds and report the net available funds on a pro forma basis.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Anne Erfle made the following two motions:

1. That the Residents’ Council change the time of the Residents’ Council monthly meeting from 7:30 PM to 7:00 PM. Approved.
2. That the Policies and Procedures Manual of the Residents’ Council, Section 3, H: A Typical Monthly Meeting (Outlined) be amended to change the time of the Residents’ Council monthly meeting from 7:30 PM to 7:00 PM. Approved.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

Anne Erfle made the following two motions:

1. That the Residents’ Council endorse the appointment of one or more members of the Residents’ Council to the Transportation Focus Group. Seconded by Jackie Graham. Approved.
2. That the Council approve changing the signatories for the Council bank account by replacing President Steve Harders with President Wendel Thompson and replacing Treasurer Al Davies with Treasurer John Murnane. Seconded by Hope Tillman.

 

REPORTS—EXECUTIVE TEAM

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS/ PRESIDENT’S REPORT (Wendel Thompson):

Mission Moment: We have three persons to honor for their care for neighbors. Charles Schreibeis visits his spouse in Butterfly Fields (Memory Care) every day. In addition to those visits he finds time to assist staff and other residents in Continuing Care. He recently took the initiative to convert planters on the Caton Woods patio to flower pots and vegetable pots.

Next is Seldra Funk who took a resident who needed extensive dental treatments at Exit 26. This kind act saved money and shortened the wait time which would be stressful while in pain and bleeding from the dental work. Seldra took her to her dental appointments and picked up her prescriptions at the pharmacy PLUS an ice cream milk shake. Seldra checked on her after each painful extraction.

Tom Hall volunteers weekly at Butterfly Fields (Memory Care) enjoying the residents in memory care where there is no confrontation about behavior, right or wrong. He laughs about absurd actions that might be suggested but will never be carried out. He enjoys the moment and helps residents feel the joy, too.

Announcements: We have an Archive here at Charlestown to save our history. The Council has committed itself to providing on going funding to the Archives to help Janel Douglass in her excellent work in making the Archives a useful resource for us. You’ll hear more details in our Treasurer’s report.

Betty Jackson is here with her book “Inside Charlestown: Our Home for Life.” You can see her after our meeting to see the book and to buy one for $3.

VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT (Anne Erfle):

There are two events coming up that give the council opportunities to inform residents what the council does and to get them interested in participating in council activities.

First, we have a table at Fruits of Our Labor on Friday, 9/7 from 11 to 1:30 in the Conference Center.  Volunteers are Jack Murnane, David Douds and Bill Tilles.

Then we have a table at EXPO on Friday 9/14 from 9 to 1 in the Fireside-Pub-Gallery area.  This event is an opportunity to tell prospective residents about the Council and to answer their questions.  Volunteers are Bill Tilles, Lois Kimber and Seldra Funk.

TREASURER’S REPORT (Jack Murnane):

During the month of August five (5) checks were written, one deposit of $2.00 made, no bank charges incurred, and all but one check has cleared which, taken into account, gives the Council a balance that matches the PNC Bank September 1, 2018 balance of $4,294.25. The Archives $325 grant for 2017-2018 was made.  The Archives $325 request will be considered with the Council Budget for 2018-2019.

 

REPORTS–COMMITTEES

BENEVOLENT CARE (Jean Eichenlaub)

The meeting opened with Patti Santoni, Emily Fowler and Lisa Zehring from Philanthropy.

The Donor reception was well-received, and testimonials were filmed that will run on 972 in short segments. There will be other commercials run to promote BCF month.

There was much discussion about plans for the Gala such as how to display the Yellow Bricks, the balloon decorations by Robbie Furman, and how volunteers will help. Lisa has a great idea for a commercial for the Gala.

Plans discussed about engaging the staff in support of BCF. The Legacy Tree is just about finished in the new area at Cross Creek.

We discussed the response from the BCF tables from the first couple days. Decided to change the table times to it a better traffic time at the restaurants.

Patti will again present an ELLIC program in September.  Pam Stiner and Patti will also re-do the Financial Assurance presentation on September 25^th at 1pm in the Auditorium.

The next Treasure Sale is Oct 25-27 and there will be the Ladies Coat Sale September 28^th.

The next meeting is September 26,2018 CTS116

 

COMMUNICATIONS (Walt Howe):

The Communications Committee did not meet in August 2018, but it did produce four skits promoting monthly Residents Council Committee meetings, now airing, with the help of the Little Theatre Group and Channel 972 staff. The next meeting is 24 September at 2 pm in CTS 116, preceded at 1 pm by the Website Committee.

CONSERVATION (Bill Tilles):

There was no Conservation Committee meeting in August 2018.

 

DINING SERVICES (Bob Caulfield):

The Dining Committee did not meet in August, but the restaurant Coffees with their managers did meet. A total of 160 attended these Coffees.

The outgoing chair wants to point out the activities of the past year: Signature Dining in the Atrium, Fireside, and Chesapeake is now completed but this has taken a lot of patience and adjustments. Lots of dining room and kitchen changes and safety measures have taken place, including adjustments with staffing.

This has been a busy year with lots of changes and recruitment with new training programs in “service” technology, food quality, consistency and menu knowledge about dietary issues residents may have. Our Dietary Focus Group has had a dietician and two doctors speak to their group which is very important. The dietician needs to be heard in more public venues. The dietician is available for consultations for a fee to independent residents.

The Menu Focus Groups meet every three months in the restaurants to give residents the chance to contribute their ideas for the next menu. They are well attended, and their ideas are used. These groups have met this August to give suggestions for Fall menus. Having this group has provided strong communications.

To get feedback on dining experiences at a restaurant we encourage residents to immediately contact the managers at dinner. We also encourage them to fill out comment cards at each restaurant. It is important to attend the monthly Coffees with the restaurant managers to get questions answered and to give positive feedback to them and their staff. In September, the Managers from all the dining rooms will be auditing other dining rooms to improve service. Change is constant and we all must be patient.

The committee serves as liaison between concerned residents and the Dining Service administration, relaying compliments and questions. The current Dining Services Administration is very energetic, and people are more aware of the increasing communication between administration and residents.

The outgoing chair thanked her Co-chair and her committee for attending the monthly meetings and to the residents for coming to the Coffees, Focus Groups and the Dining Town Hall meetings this past year.

FINANCE (Gil Fisher):

The Finance Committee met on August 28 with Pam Stiner, Finance Director. The Chair introduced Joan Green, who will be Assistant Committee Chair in the 2018-2019 Resident Council year. The Committee also recognized the departure of Colleen Stafford, Assistant Finance Director, who has been promoted to Finance Director at Oak Crest.

Pam presented the July Occupancy Rates and Financial Reports. Occupancy Rates for July were very strong (over 96%) for each of Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care. Skilled Nursing Care was down slightly to 84 %.  Relative to occupancy, Pam said that 8 residents are temporarily housed in skilled nursing care while they wait for beds to become available in assisted living or memory care.

The July Financial Reports for operating revenue and operating income were good, both slightly higher than budget projections. Operating expenses were $18,000 lower than budget projections.

For non-operating income, investment income experienced a strong month (around $2.3 million). Overall, Charlestown finances are good.

Turning to restricted funds, 15 residents received assistance in July for benevolent care. The expenditures were around $83,000. This level of expenses has remained fairly stable in the last three months.

The Committee also began a discussion requested by Management about the cost of living and how resident monthly fees might be affected. This will be on the agenda for the next meeting. The next Committee meeting will be September 25 at 9 am in Brookside 2 Classroom.

 

GROUNDS (Ted Durr):

At the August 28 meeting attendance included members, Kevin Crawford and Ryan Truitt of the Grounds Department and 7 guests.

Regarding so-called Lake Charles, it was observed that the shack was repaired with a new roof and the racing mark buoys were repaired so the Black Swan Yacht Club can paint them for better visibility.

The algae problem has been especially bad this summer because of large amounts of rain.

The plans and needs for work on Lake Charles were discussed. An engineering report is due in September. The Grounds Committee requests to see that report since based on that report and the availability of funds, priorities will be set.

In the butterfly garden, where milkweed has been planted, six caterpillars of the Monarch butterfly were observed. A photograph of some of them was shown.

HEALTH SERVICES (Louise Dempsey):

The Health Services Committee did not meet in August 2018. The next meeting of the Health Services Committee will be on September 11th at 11am in HR142.

HOUSEKEEPING (Diane Lyons);

The Housekeeping committee did not meet in August. Next meeting will be on September 21 at 2pm in HR142.

LEGISLATIVE/ POLITICAL (Seldra Funk):

The committee did not meet in August.  Our next meeting will be Wednesday, September 12, at 10 AM in Brookside 1.

MAINTENANCE & ENGINEERING (Jackie Graham):

The Committee did not meet in August 2018.

RESIDENT LIFE (Sam Cushman):

Our committee did not meet in August. Our next meeting will be held on September 12, 2018 at 2:00 pm in HR142, the Council Office.

SAFETY & SECURITY (Janet Allan):

The Safety and Security Committee did not meet in August. The next meeting of the Committee will be held on September 25 in Brookside Classroom 1.

 

WORDS FROM MANAGEMENT (Nathan Blumberg):

The ribbon-cutting for Cross Creek and Flexible Fitness Center was held Tuesday, August 28, and the opening for the Shortline Café is on schedule for mid-October with a soft opening in early October.

The Conference Center /Chesapeake / Cross Creek Game Center and Library renovation will start in early January 2019, with no reservations being taken for the Conference Center January-May 2019.

The life cycle renovation of Herbert’s Run and Brookside has begun. The St. Charles elevators are on schedule to be completed by Thanksgiving.

The Resident Satisfaction (Holleran) Survey will begin September 17. It will be delivered by Security the night before. It will run through October 12.

The Value for Price Paid Town Hall will be held September 18 at 10 a.m. in the Conference Center.

On September 17, Reyn Giese, the new Director of Security, will start at Charlestown. He will have a 30-day onboarding program.

The parking lot striping at Cross Creek, Herbert’s Run and Brookside will begin in a few weeks.

Lake Charles algae has already been treated once. There will be a second treatment again this week.

Reservations for the Gala are ongoing. Get your tickets soon. This is Benevolent Care Fund month. The goal is to increase overall participation this year.

Nathan encouraged residents to come out this Saturday, September 8, 2018, to support Charlestown staff, including Nathan, who will be participating in the Dragon Boat Races at the Inner Harbor, supporting Catholic Charities.

 

President Thompson adjourned the formal meeting at 8:15 p.m.

Sherry Stewart, Residents’ Council Secretary
Hope Tillman, Residents’ Council Assistant Secretary