President Pat Rudolph called the regular meeting of the Residents’ Council [the Council] to order at 7:00 pm on July 5, 2022. 66 members of Residents’ Association attended. Visitors included Pat Kasuda and Naomi McAfee, members of the Board of Directors; Chandra Kumar, Executive Director; and Don Grove, Associate Executive Director.

The Council observed a moment of silence for those who have passed away.

The previously distributed minutes of the Residents’ Council meeting held on June 7th were approved.

Mission Moments
We recognize Anne Kredell, a resident of Courtyard Crossing. Anne has been decluttering the lawn while walking her dog. She noticed broken tree limbs and fallen branches. She gathered them and contacted the Grounds Department to remove them. Before they responded, Anne loaded at least 30 pounds of debris onto an old shower curtain and, singlehandedly, dragged the pile down to the driveway entrance. That’s concern turned into action for our beautiful campus. Anne is now conferring with the landscapers about future problematic branches. Like all of us, Anne enjoys and appreciates our lovely campus and took on the responsibility to help maintain the grounds. We applaud her!

If you see or hear about a resident who is taking action to help someone or support harmonious community living, let the Mission Moment Committee know by contacting Phyl Lansing at CR 403 or phyllansing@yahoo.com.

EXECUTIVE TEAM REPORTS
Pat Rudolph called on the following officers and committee chairs for reports.

Pat Rudolph, President
It is hard for me to imagine that I’m actually coming to the end of my year here as president. While we are going through a lot of State and Local campaigning, it is time to focus on the election here. The campaign includes the volunteers who are willing to run for positions on the Residents’ Council. You can get information about the candidates in a variety of ways: their pictures and bios are in the handout recently placed in your cubbies; there are display boards at the various eating venues; and you can watch their videos on 972. We invited them to be here tonight, and we will introduce them later. We have asked each candidate to wear a red ribbon on their name badge. If you see a candidate in the hallway, take a few minutes and to chat and get to know the candidates so that you can decide who you would like to vote for. I encourage everyone to vote.

Some people have asked why would anyone want to be on the Residents’ Council because they think that it never does anything. I don’t believe that’s true. We don’t have power; we don’t make the decisions. But we can advocate for residents, and we can provide education. And we think we do it rather well. We will take credit for one action, for example. In the new version Sunburst, the new residents’ list and memorials had been excluded. The administration has reversed this decision, and these lists will return beginning in August. I thank the Resident Life committee, and specifically Rosemary Eck. She surveyed 18 Erickson communities to find out what they did and found that 13 properties had recent move-in and memorials in their newsletter or newspaper. We are grateful to the Resident Life Committee and the administration for their flexibility.

Merci Izquierdo-Whitaker, Vice President
There was no formal report, but she encouraged all residents to get involved with committees because the only power we have is if residents serve on committees.

Mimi O’Donnell, Secretary
No report

Ron DeAbreu, Treasurer
At the end of May, we had $6,044.89 in the bank. The Council spent $604.40 in June and received $87.00 in dues. At the end of June our account balance was $5,537.49. If there is anyone here who has not yet paid association dues, they may do so at any time.

Ron DeAbreu, Chair of Committee to nominate Officers
The Bylaws require that each June, the President appoint a committee to prepare a slate of officers for the following year. The slate is: President, Merci Izquierdo-Whitaker; Vice President, John Remias; Treasurer, Mimi O’Donnell; and Secretary, Diana Dunaway. According to the Bylaws, the election of Council officers will take place at the August meeting of the Council.

Eugenia High, Chair, Benevolent Care Committee (Report read by Diane Lyons)
The Benevolent Care Committee met on June 22 with the Philanthropy staff. The scheduled speaker of Gladstone James was unable to attend, but he will be invited to the August meeting. However, his report stated that income for the past year was $480,000.00, due mainly to planned gifts. The Benevolent Care Fund received $24,440.00 in proceeds from the Tin Cup Golf Open and raffle. Seven of the 10 cars donated to the fund were sold for $9,400.00. The Summer Solstice raffle raised $550.00 for the fund. The next Treasurer Sale will be held from July 28th to July 30th. The 3rd annual telethon will be held in September; the theme is The Great American Road Trip. There are currently 21 residents receiving benefits. Stephanie DeAbreu reported her efforts to get florists to make a donation to the Benevolent Care Fund when someone mentions Charlestown while ordering flowers. Lord Baltimore Florist seems to be interested.

No July meeting is planned and the next meeting will be August 24 at 2:00 pm in Charlestown Square Room 116.

Communications, Dick Crebs, Co-Chair
Brittany Owens and Greg Johnson attended from the Charlestown Administrative Staff. Evergreen Topics is available to everyone on CCI-Charlestown. We encourage residents to include their photo in the directory. Next year is Charlestown’s 40th anniversary. Phyl Lansing made a pitch for a printed photo directory. “In memoriam” and “new residents” will be restored to the Sunburst with the August issue. Greg Johnson is working on identifying the owners of bicycles stored in public spaces which will need to be registered. Be advised, if there is a power outage, your “314” landline may not work. Check CCI Charlestown “Emergency Information” for details.
My EricksonMy Erickson is a resident portal. It is provided by Erickson Corporate and is managed by Charlestown staff, mainly Community Resources. See Portal. READ MORE outages should be reported to the IT desk. They record and monitor technology concerns. Notify Security of any safety issues. We discussed the use of security pendants. You may press your pendant to get help for another person.

Old Business.
1. Charlestown Computer Literacy Project [David Elder] Meetings will resume in September with a new focus. We may consider a name change to more accurately reflect project activities.

2. Walt reported on progress made on the campus communications strategy questionnaire. Pat will present the draft to Administration for comment.

3. Sunsetting of 3G wireless effects on Charlestown Residents. Committee members are encouraged to check with friends and neighbors using legacy cellphone equipment to assure it is still in service.

The next meeting will be on July 25th at 2:00 pm by Zoom following the Website subcommittee meeting at 1:00 pm.

Anna Marie Ciarrocchi, Chair of the Conservation Committee
No report

Ron MacNab, Co-Chair, Dining Services Committee
The Dining Services Committee met on June 28. Ken Zahn, Director of Dining Services, attended. Restaurant committee chairs were asked to poll their members to see if any would be leaving the committee and to fill any vacancies if that were to occur. The restaurant committees gave their reports. The committee recommends residents ask the waitstaff to read back their orders. This will help to prevent mistakes. It was noted that theme nights are not being promoted sufficiently.

Following dinner, restaurant managers and chefs appreciate hearing feedback. There are always things that go wrong, but there are even more things that go right. Ken reported that he is increasing the number of student servers as there is an expectation of departures in the fall. Some of the desserts will start to be made in house.

The next meeting will be held on July 18 at 1:30 in Charlestown Square room 116. No meeting will be held in August.

John Yoder, Chair of the Finance Committee
The committee met on June 28. Gladstone James was out of town but provided a report for the committee to review. The trend in Occupancy levels in Independent Living continues to edge up, standing at 92.9% as of the end of May. The Sales office reports strong activity in recent weeks, and there is confidence that this strong upward trend that will continue. In May, there were 19 settlements and 14 releases for a net gain of five. The Benevolent Care Fund supported 21 individuals during May. That is no change from the previous month. The fund has paid out almost $839,000.00 thus far this year.

The administration is currently working on the capital expenditure budget for the coming year. Gladstone James has asked that each committee of the Residents’ Council prepare and submit a prioritized list of needs from their areas to the Council President. The President, together with the Executive Committee, will consolidate and prioritize the list, present it the Council for review, and then submit the list to Gladstone and administration for consideration. The committee believes residents will be getting an invitation to submit their special requests or ideas as part of the planning process.

The next meeting of the Finance Committee will be on July 26th at 9:00 am in Brookside 1.

Mike Rose, Chair of the Grounds Committee
The committee met on June 28th and discussed the following topics: Brookside sidewalk repair; Nature Trail gravel, leveling of trail benches, tree trimming, lake access in emergencies, and repairs to the bridge at the lake; a fallen tree that was removed from the old stone bridge; St. Charles landscaping around the generator; lack of plantings and care at Caton Woods and Wilton Overlook; deer abatement; repair of garden plot beds; replacement of flowers outside the pool; and preparing the wish list for capital expenditures.

No meeting will be held in July. The next meeting will be on August 23rd at 11:00 am in Brookside 1.

Carol Kefford, Chair of the Health Services Committee
No report

Sebastian Petix, Chair of the Housekeeping Committee
The committee met in June with nine members. We discussed the continuing problems with dust, dirt, and debris contractors produce and how we can deal with this. We presented our concerns to Michelle Fenn, Manager of Housekeeping. Michelle reported that the department is understaffed by 10 people. As a result, things may not be as clean and tidy as you would like. That seems to be the main issue at this point. We talked about annual window washing rather than every two years. There was a report of mold in both of the locker rooms outside of the pool which was resolved immediately. A community-wide shredding event will take place soon. We are encouraging residents to use CCI work orders.

Our next in-person meeting will be September at 19th at 10:00 am in Brookside 1.

Pat Payne, Chair of the Legislative/Political Committee
On June 6, we held a candidates’ forum, via Zoom, for all of the persons running for County Council district one in Baltimore County. The candidates are: Democrats Pat Young, Paul Dongarra, Danielle Nicole Singley, and Republican, Albert Nalley. We thought it was very important to have the County Council candidates because, as elected officials, they are closest to us on a day-to-day basis as they consider water lines, roads that go past Charlestown, etc. One candidate, Danielle Nicole Singley, worked here as a student and was a Charlestown scholar.

The committee reminds all that the primary election is being held on July 19, and is a very big election because we have no incumbent candidates for Governor, Attorney General, or Comptroller. July 19th is also the primary election for United States Senator and Congressional Representative, County Council, and our Legislative Delegation. As a result of redistricting, we have a new configuration for our Legislative Delegation. We want to remind you that you can vote early, by mail, or via a Dropbox. You can also vote at the Charlestown polling place in the Conference Center on Election Day. The League of Women Voters prepared a Voter’s Guide. Copies are available at the lobbies or by contacting Phyl Lansing.

We have an inquiry from a state senator who would like to know how to do electioneering here at Charlestown because with redistricting, Charlestown is one of the biggest blocks of voters in our new district.

The next meeting of the Legislative/Political Committee will be on July 13 at 10:00 am in Brookside 1. Our key agenda item will be preparing for the candidate forums for the general election.

Gordon Piché, Chair of the Maintenance & Engineering Committee (Presented by Co-Chair, Ken Parezo)
The committee met on May 24 and discussed projects scheduled for 2022: Brookside renovations which are underway; air conditioning update for Maple Terrace; interior signage; and terrace level awning replacements. Centerline striping on the roadway and crosswalks from near Caton Woods up to the chapel and down the road to St. Charles have been completed.

A decision on the interim usage of the Refectory space is in process. The return of the Refectory as a dining facility is expected to be three or more years away. The Herbert’s Run/St. Charles Bridge support foundation needs to be repaired. Many air conditioning bridge units are still not working or are in the process of being repaired by General Services. Caton Ridge building support renovations will take place this summer through the end of the year.

A number of projects are scheduled for 2023: the replacement of the elevator in Charlestown Square; renovations for Herbert’s Run; and upgrading the auditorium stage. Scheduled roof replacements for buildings eight and nine have been deferred.

There are items of concern that need attention and new issues. Some of the Erickson Way wooden guide rails are in bad condition. An incremental approach for a replacement is being reviewed. Lighting issues at the crosswalk at the east end of Brookside are being reviewed. A recommendation to build a covered walkway from building one Medical Center entrance to the parking lot is under consideration. There are gutter downspout problems at Brookside and St. Charles. The original buildings are experiencing window and exterior operational issues and need repair.

The next meeting is scheduled for July 26th at 2:00 pm in the General Services Conference Room.

Rosemary Eck or John Remias, Co-Chairs of the Resident Life Committee

Rosemary Eck, Co-Chair, presented the following report.
Guest speaker Casey Jaekle, Charlestown’s Homecare Administrator, shared information about the services performed by the staff of 90 bonded and insured nurses, licensed aids, and flex staff for residents who require in-home assistance.

The CCI time capsule created in 2003 will be opened in May 2023. A committee is being formed. Mary Evans described the events of the Summer Solstice event on June 10.

Rosemary Eck reported the recent controversy surrounding changes to the Sunburst, specifically deletion of the names of new residents and death notices, at the direction of ‘Corporate.” Thirteen of 16 Senior Living campuses were polled and responded that none of their newsletters had changed. We are working to have this change recinded.

The last meeting of the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (or DIB) subcommittee was held on June 17th.

John Remias, Co-Chair, presented the following DIB report.
We approved the distribution of a letter to 42 Charlestown groups asking them to partner with us, as DIB activities will relate to their purpose, during the coming year.
Eugenia Hill told us about the variety of DIB activities that she prepares and presents, using other residents as readers whenever possible, on 972 as part of her Did You Know program. Some of these programs have covered Black History Month, Asia American and Pacific Islander heritage, native American history, Pride, race relations, and many others.

Our new Executive Director, Chandra Kumar, was our guest speaker. Chandra shared with us her own heritage, coming from India to America when she was two years old. She also shared with us that her passions are civility, understanding and respect within a communal living environment. She emphasized her desire for our residents and staff DIB committees to work closely together in our future DIB efforts. She was asked for the rationale behind the decision not to display any more banners, of any type, at the front entrance to the community. She did say that she did not know but would get back to us with an answer. We have since found out that the main reasons include the increasing costs of these many banners and their slight distraction to our community entrance sight lines.

Both the Conservative Voices and LGBTQ + Allies groups were thanked for their Pride related programs during June.

We have organized a DIB Consortium of 15 Erickson Senior Living communities, nationwide, to share ideas about what we are doing at our individual places to promote and support DIB events. We believe that this sharing will be of real benefit to all of us. Our first productive meeting was held on June 22nd.

Our next Charlestown DIB meeting will be on July 15th at 1:00 via Zoom.

Justine Parezo, Chair of the Safety & Security Committee
The committee met on June 14th. One topic was tornado warnings. Charlestown is working with Baltimore County to try to sync our alert system with the county’s weather alert system. If your phone tells you to go to a room, follow the advice. The importance of balance training and balance awareness was discussed. But accidents do happen, and they can happen no matter how cautious we try to be. The committee asks all of us to pay attention to the offerings that are here through the Fitness Center.

Jason Spivey stressed the importance of all residents wearing their name badges and emergency pendants. We are working on a pendant awareness program for all. It is important that we all get used to having them on us all the time because if a resident has an accident, this is the best way to get a response from the Security team and help them identify the person needing help.
The next meeting will be on July the 13th at 1:00 in Brookside 1.

John Yoder, Chair of the Nominating & Elections Committee
The committee is committed to presenting a strong slate of candidates. We present nine candidates:
Peg Buehlman
Joe (Carl) Carrick
Jim Fitzsimmons
Paulette Hammond
Kathie Hendry
Bonnie Lomonaco
Loree Lough
Nancy Meier
Jean Tribulski

Each candidate in attendance stood when his or her name was called. The election will be on August 3rd. If you want to request an absentee ballot, please contact Sherry Stewart at Sharon.Brooker.Stewart@gmail.com. by July 20th. Be sure to submit the absentee ballot by August 3rd.

Administrative Comments
Chandra began her comments by complimenting the residents for the collaboration she has been experiencing and thanking residents for the volunteering work they are doing.

Chandra and Don Grove presented updates on various topics:

COVID
Chandra reported that there are five COVID positive residents in Independent Living and one in Continuing Care with one positive employee in Independent Living and one in Continuing Care. The epidemic will continue and while numbers in single digits is good, we strive for zero cases.

Flooding
Don commented on the PVC pipe that broke in Brookside which resulted in flooding. The General Services team began working immediately; some residents were moved to guest rooms. The causes appear to be high temperatures. A vendor was called to do clean up. Follow up efforts to help residents is continuing.

A couple of areas had flooding: one in the hallway of Maple Terrace, between Buildings 2 and 1; the other Arborside. Both were the results of very heavy rain and blocked drains. General Services responded quickly and we contacted our vendor to help with remediation. The social workers are available to respond to resident needs.

Caton Ridge Foundation
Construction work is scheduled to begin on July 20th. In preparing for this work, several residents and first floor services have been relocated and a door has been put in to prohibit access to the construction area. We are trying to minimize disruption to resident parking and access to nearby apartments. The work will be noisy. As needed, earplugs and noise cancelling headsets will be provided as well as information about other places for residents to use during the day.

State Infection Control Inspection
Representatives from the State visited to conduct a State-required infection control inspection. They focused on our processes. The representatives made some recommendations, but we did not receive any citations, which are more serious problems. Kudos to our teams that work to make sure residents, staff, and visitors are safe.

Capital Expenditures
We are developing a list of projects to include in capital expenditures for coming years. We are working with the Residents’ Council to identify specific areas which could provide enhancements to the resident experience.

Staff Planning Retreat
The Executive team will be meeting offsite on July 7th for teambuilding and planning work for the balance of 2022 and moving into 2023.

Celebrations
As of the end of July, Sales reported 100 settlements. Many residents walked in the Catonsville July 4th Parade. Everyone seemed to have a great time with lots of spirit. It was a great promotion for the community.

Town Hall Meetings
Going forward, we will be holding regular monthly meetings in the Conference Center. The next one will be on July 21st. This is in addition to the Neighborhood Chats.

Long term planning
Chandra mentioned that her team will be planning initiatives for the next five years and longer range. She commented that Charlestown is different from other ESL properties because of the multiple buildings which were constructed at very different times. This leads to a lack of uniformity in materials, construction techniques, and required maintenance.

Staffing
Staffing has been one of the struggles across the nation and, probably, the world. Erickson provides measurements, on a dashboard, of how we are doing on various parameters. We can tell that we are almost fully staffed in dining. The vacancy rate is hovering around 8%, which is not unusual. We are continuing to recruit using a variety of techniques including regular job fairs and streamlining the hiring process.

Resident Questions/Comments
A resident asked if Charlestown is insured for the flood damage.
Response from Chandra Kumar indicated that Charlestown is insured. The deductible is $500,000 which is typical for Erickson properties. She went on to state that the deductible has ballooned over her years with ESL. The higher deductible helps with a lower monthly premium, but there is a constant fiscal balancing act.
A resident complimented the contractors’ efforts to keep the work areas free of dust and debris during the renovation work in Brookside.
A resident complimented Ron MacNab, Chair of Dining Services, for the article he wrote for the Sunburst.

The meeting adjourned at 8:17 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Mimi O’Donnell
Secretary