President, Merci Izquierdo-Whitaker, called the regular meeting of the Residents’ Council [the Council] to order at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, June 06, 2023. 86 association members attended including Council members, Pat Kasuda and Steve Schimpff Resident Directors on the Board of Directors and Naomi McAfee, ex-officio Director, respectively. Also, Executive Director Don Grove, Maintenance and Engineering Manager Kevin Crawford, Chris Caldwell, Maintenance and Engineering Teal Leader, Resident Life Director Karen Leighton, Security Manager Craig Nelson, and CTV 972 Coordinators Amber Fisher and Kevin Hartka.

The Council observed a moment of silence for those who have passed away. Minutes of the May 2, 2023, meeting were approved

Mission Moment: Action Through Acting

Justine Parezo, Chair of the Residents’ Council Safety and Security Committee, recommends several members of the Little Theater Company (Chris Buppert, Dick Crebs, Eugenia High, Rick Jones, Stephanie Leddy, Ron MacNab, and Dawn Strumsky) for their contribution to the Safety and Security Committee’s project promoting the use of safety pendants. We asked the Little Theater group to collaborate with us to make televised skits to demonstrate some of the many circumstances in which activating a pendant will bring a swift professional response to a call for help. These individuals responded enthusiastically to the request. They were under no obligation to participate in the task, but they gave freely of their time, talent, and expertise to benefit their fellow residents. Ron and Rick wrote scripts for the skits. They all took parts, practiced, and filmed the skits under the guidance and expertise of Tom Moore and his team. With wit and humor, they showed their commitment to the safety of their community. If you missed the original showing of the skits, they can be found on 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 by scrolling down through Community Videos to General Services and finally to Safety Presentations. Three short videos are there to inform and entertain all Charlestown residents. Their effort demonstrates values of integrity, teamwork, responsibility, friendliness, and enthusiasm.

If you see other examples of Erickson values in action, please let the Mission Moment Committee know. Contact Committee Chair Phyl Lansing, whose contact information is in the Resident Directory.

Old Business

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EXECUTIVE TEAM REPORTS

Merci Izquierdo-Whitaker, President

Thank you to those who worked so hard to make the 40^th Anniversary Celebration a success. Congratulations to those 123 employees, residents and vendors that have worked and lived here for 25+yrs! Those with the longest time doing so are vendors Dr. Nicholas Molinaro &

Jackie Carroll (40yrs); employee Gwendolyn Megginson (35yrs); & resident Rachel Wynn (31yrs). The Residents’ Council gifted John & Nancy Erickson with a plaque and a certificate of appreciation accompanied by a donation in their honor to the Benevolent Care Fund.

Kudos to the Janel Douglas Archives team for the outstanding display of Charlestown’s history! We are so very blessed to live in such a vibrant, and caring community. Please complete a “Reflections on Charlestown’s 40^th Anniversary” sheet to be added to the time capsule for the 50^th anniversary. Sheets are available at Community Resources & lobby front desks.

34% of IL residents completed the Communications Survey. Thank you to the 573 who replied. The results are being reviewed and the Council will identify action strategies in response to the verbatim comments.

Stay informed! CCICHARLESTOWN.ORG — your resident-run website.

John Remias, Vice President,

JOINT COUNCIL DIB UPDATE

Good afternoon, I am John Remias, Co-chair of the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Joint Council of Residents and Staff. At our last meeting we adopted our Mission Statement. Our goal is: “To create and preserve a diverse and harmonious community of residents and employees where all feel safe, valued, and welcome.”

We are really looking forward to sponsoring this year’s PRIDE WALK. Resident Donna Martin and Joint Council co-chair Greg Mazzeo will make some introductory remarks in the Cross Creek Lobby and Taneika Herman, Corporate Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging will make

some closing remarks at the Terrace Café patio. Please join us on June 23rd as we recognize and support our residents and staff that are part of the LGBTQ AND ALLIES community at

Charlestown.

Pride Walk for residents and employees

• Friday, June 23rd
• 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
• Starting at Cross Creek Lobby
• Ending at Terrace Café patio area▪

Other Pride month related events

• Pride flag will be displayed at the front gate
• A banner will be located in the Patapsco building (HR) area

Diana Dunaway, Secretary

No report

Mimi O’Donnell, Treasurer

• April 30, 2023 Balance $ 9,233.11
• Revenue from Dues Campaign $ 00
• Expenses $  (566.34)
• May 31, 2023, Balance $ 8,771.77

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Benevolent Care, Carol Kefford, Chair

No Meeting in May
Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 28, 2023, 2:00 PM CTS 216

Communications, Larry Taylor, Co-Chair

• The SECOND quarterly Tech Bar has been scheduled for Thursday June 28th from 10-12 in the Gallery at Charlestown Square. A planning Meeting for this event held on May 30th was well attended by Staff and Residents’ Council members.
• Our Staff Liaison Gregory Johnson began the meeting with an extensive presentation on updates he is obtaining from Erickson Corporate on the exact offerings by ComcastThe Charlestown Comcast bulk service contract provides basic HD television in the apartments. Address your concerns to General Services. See more information about apartment television and television connections. READ MORE/Xfinity for Resident TV services and additional He reported back the following information he received from a Comcast Representative:
• They want our residents to refrain from requesting a new cable She said if the residents ask for a new cable box, the agent will automatically charge them for an upgrade. ($100)
• They would like for the residents to:
  • Call Comcast Bulk Services at638.2855
  • Tell the agent that they are having ongoing cable box
  • They ask that all residents request a service
  • The Comcast Tech will come out and assess their cable box, determine if they need a replacement, and give them one if needed. NOTE, this information is provided by a COMCAST/Xfinity Rep and may not represent the totality of the Charlestown/ESL Contract with Comcast. Waiting to hear back from ESL.
• Hope Tillman went over the results of the Communications Survey which was run during the month of April. This information will be shared with the Executive Council and Charlestown administration.

• Brittany Owens provided Charlie Eichenlaub with an update on the Resident Data Issue: “We talked about an update coming to My Erickson where residents’ information will be updated including deceased/move-out residents will be automatically removed. IT has confirmed with Charlestown that work is underway to automate the process so that if someone is marked as inactive in My Unity, it will flow to My Erickson in the coming weeks. They also mentioned George Krause was manually removed today.
• If a resident needs their information updated, such as phone numbers, they will need to call Deanna Booker to have that information updated into My Unity. My Unity will then update My Erickson. My Erickson posted an update on JUNE 2, 2023, announcing a planned System Outage for an update on June 10th.

Next Meeting: Monday, June 26, 2:00 pm. In person and via ZOOM Contact David Elder at thephonebarn@gmail.com for zoom link.

Conservation, Mark Buehlman Chair

At our May meeting we had two guests. Michele Fenn, Charlestown Housekeeping Manager, discussed the financial and environmental benefits from General Services’ new recycling material compactor. Mike Rose, the Grounds Committee Chair, talked about some of the grounds projects that have been completed around Campus and some of the future projects they will be working on.

The first five months of the year were active ones for the Committee. After Marty Tewksbury provided an update on the Recycling and Reuse Subcommittee, we took time to review what was accomplished. We actively followed proposed Maryland Environmental Legislation, had four displays at the Nature Fest, completed the Nature Trail Engineering Study, were involved in the Resident Advisory Council Retreat and have been working with Food Services on reusable food ware.

Our June meeting will be primarily a brainstorming session, talking about potential new guest speakers and the sustainability projects we will focus on for the remainder of the year.

Our June meeting will be Tuesday, June 20th, at 2:00 pm in BR1. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.

Dining Services, Mary Lee Seaman, Chair

The Chairs of the restaurant subcommittees continue to meet monthly with their GMs and Ex. Chefs. Overall things are running smoothly. There are still some issues with the scanners. The Atrium patio is scheduled to open soon. Small plates at the Chesapeake is going well.

Tent Cards/QR Code: New comment cards with QR codes have been rolled out in the full- service restaurants. The QR codes are restaurant specific and are anonymous. Ken and Don will receive feedback daily. Residents are encouraged to use the QR code or the comment cards.

Restaurant staff can help you with the QR codes if needed. The QR code can be found on the Table Tent Cards; for carry-out they are on the boxes.

Weekly Specials/Healthier Choices: Beginning with June menus the specials will be on Tent

Cards only and the “healthier choice” items will be at the top of the menu.

Signature Dining Re-launch: Erickson Living is formally relaunching Signature Dining. Corporate partners will be here in June to look at the program as a whole.

Erickson “spice mix” will be available by the end of the month.

Ken is moving forward with a variety of focus group, date to be determined. Committee members acknowledged the improvements Ken and the Dining Services Department have brought to Charlestown.

Upcoming Events:
Open House, Wednesday, June 7th 2:00-3:00 p.m. at all restaurants
Chef’s Table, Wednesday, June 21st, 5:00-7:00 p.m., The Gallery (Reservations Required) Next Meeting, Monday, June 19th, 1:30 p.m., CTS 116

Finance Committee, John Yoder, Chair

Patti Santoni, Director of Philanthropy met with Committee Scholars Fund information

There are 119 scholars who qualify for scholarships. Each scholarship is for $4,000 per year and the commitment is for four years. The total commitment is approximately $1.6 million. $200,000 per year is paid out to eligible scholars. When current scholars get a raise so do all of the existing scholars. Consultant’s report on fundraising said we should focus on planned giving

Year to date Occupancy

• Independent Living 1%
• Continuing Care8%
• YTD settlements are above budget and releases are less than
• YTD Income is above budget, Expenses are below budget leading to Operating Income above budget.
• 15 residents are on Benevolent Care compared to 24 a year

Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 27, 2023, at 9:00 am in BR 1

Grounds Committee, Mike Rose, Chair

• Dogwoods at Herbert’s Run were replaced with other flowering
• Leveling of the patio at BR T03 is the solution for a water
• Overgrown trees at Edgewood will be trimmed once
• Dog damage, a continuous problem
• New residents of patio apartments are asked not to plant any ground covers or perennial flowers.

• The algae on Lake Charles are related to the droppings of the Canada Planting native water grasses and adding blue dye may help.
• The damaged handrail along the nature trail will be replaced after tree
• The trash problem is being worked
• The construction trailer will be removed

Next Meeting: Tuesday, May 23, 2023, 1:00 pm. Brookside Classroom 1

Health Services, Jean Tribulski, Co-Chair

It was suggested for the Library for Assistive Devices and Procedures, that a first step should be a database that is electronically available. In each county in the state of Maryland a loan closet is available where a person can borrow items such as hospital beds, wheelchairs, [walkers, metal crutches, lift chairs, reading aids] etc. An option for us is to provide a relatively small, but informative listing which could be placed in the main library here and in the “outpost” libraires.

It was brought forward that Braille Menus were needed in the restaurants and Braille plaques were needed outside of the elevators. Some residents get off the elevator on the wrong floor and they need to know what floor they are on. All the elevators in Independent Living were checked and on the outside door frame there are plaques with both Braille and a raised Arabic number. The printing of menus in Braille requires special equipment and personnel and needs further investigation.

The issue of privacy screens (in case of falls and other medical emergencies) in the restaurants was presented to the appropriate committee chairs and department heads. The idea is in process.

Residents frequently ask about collection points for old eyeglasses and hearing aids. A box sponsored by the Lions Club is available for eyeglasses at the entrance to OLOA Chapel, but few are aware of this.

It was also mentioned that hearing aids all have a serial number that residents should keep so when a hearing aid is turned in to security the resident can give them the information for a speedier return.

Next meeting: June 13, 2023. 11:00 am, Brookside Classroom 1

Next Medication Disposal is July 17, 1-3 pm at both Cross Creek and Fireside lobbies.

Housekeeping, report by Merci

No meeting in May. See something not in order? Take a picture and report the issue

To: CCIWORKORDERS @ERICKSON.COM, Copy: joysib@aol.com For follow up to your request. Thanks to Management for timely response

Next in Person Meeting: Monday, June 19, 2023, at 10:00 AM in BR1.

Legislative/Political, Patricia Payne, Co-Chair

A Zoom meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 7, at 7:00 pm with Senator Charles Sydnor, Delegate Eric Ebersole, and County Councilman Pat Young. Proposed Questions for 44A and 44B Legislatives Delegations and County Council Member Pat Young for the June 7 zoom call include:

Council Member Pat Young

1. Can you provide an update on the status and schedule for repaving Maiden Choice Lane?
2. What is your current assessment of the Charlestown campus sewage overflow situation?
3. Has there been any progress on the Baltimore Circulator and its possible access to Charlestown?
4. Purchases at our quarterly Treasure Sales are put in see-through large plastic bags. Would these bags be covered under new legislation prohibiting the use of plastic bags in retail sales?
5. Would you agree to introduce legislation to increase the number of council districts in the county? How many more districts would you agree to?

Legislative Delegation

1. The legislation on creation of the Baltimore Regional Water Governance Task Force has been passed and is on the Governor’s desk. What are the next steps for implementation? Will any of you be serving on the Task Force?
2. (Question for each member of the Delegation) Share with us your assessment of the 2023 General Assembly What went well? What did not? Positives/Negatives? Sine Die stalemate. What are the implications for the next session of the General Assembly?
3. There is interest and support among Charlestown residents for ranked choice voting (RCV). What is the temperature in the General Assembly for this? We note that the Montgomery County proposed legislation did not get (ELLIC will provide a class on RCV in its fall curriculum taught by Nick Miller, retired UMBC professor.)
4. We also noted that gun control legislation was particularly controversial. Please share with us what you know about how the final compromise was reached, including how it managed to get approved.
5. What are your highest priorities for next year’s General assembly? It will be an election year. Do you expect that this will change the dynamics of the Session? How can we help?

6. What is the next step in securing drug coverage for retired state employees?
7. What do you know about why the bill to study wait times for emergency room access did not pass?

The Committee will hold an “in person” Meet and Greet this fall with our elected officials. The next meeting of the Legislative/Political Committee is June 7 by zoom

Maintenance/Engineering, Gordon Piche’

• Interior Signage Project, Updated key locations signs have errors not used
• ST Charles to Harbor View Bridge support washout awaiting County Approval
• 3 large trees to remove
• Wooden walking bridge on the trail to be moved and
• Black and Silver top bridge A/C units need updating
• The noisy A/C unit in Courtyard Crossing awaiting test results
• High noise level for a HVAC unit at Chapel Court still not solved
• Exit doors by the Terrace do not always work
• Dust in apartments from various situations needs to be solved

Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 27, 2023. 2:00 PM General Services Conference Room

Nominating and Elections Committee, John Yoder and Sebastian Petix, Co-Chairs

Introduction of Candidates

• Ed Appel
• Peggy Carey
• Connie Cooney
• Jerry Donaldson
• Betsy Granek
• Nancy Fayer
• Arthur Johnson
• Stephanie Leddy
• Jacquelyn Lucy
• Catherine Stevens
• Margaret Vincent
• Richard Voelkel

Resident Life, Nancy Meier, Co-Chair

Our guest speakers this month was Gladstone James, the Finance Director, who discussed the satisfaction survey question on value for price paid. Charlestown residents rated this lower than previous years and it was also lower than the average score for the combined other Erickson

retirement facilities. Discussion focus on what is included in the monthly fee such as 24-hour security, 24-hour maintenance, grounds, and housekeeping services, as well as a medical staff on site. Mr. James mentioned the following:

• Charlestown is a $100 million dollar a year operation that the Board of Directors, the Executive Team, and Erickson Senior Living ensure those funds are spent wisely.
• Charlestown leadership is aware of other retirement facilities and how Charlestown compares very favorably to those other retirement facilities.
• James mentioned that his office as well as the Council needs to market the benefits of living at Charlestown to residents better to understand what they are getting for their monthly fee.

Resident Life members mentioned the increase cost in sedan service, amenities that were removed over the years such as ambulance service as reason for the decrease in this survey question. A member asked if comparing Charlestown to other facilities limit management to excel. Mr. James said it did not, but this gave Charlestown leadership a measurement on completion.

John Remias, the Chair of the DIB Sub-Committee, provided an update on forthcoming DIF events. They included another Tapestry event on June 16th. This event will be held at the Continuing Care facility. Project Ageism/Ableism is planning an event in July, more to come on this event. DIB members will participate in the Charlestown Pride Walk on June 23rd.

Joe provided an update on off campus transportation to include the possibility of Catonsville being the next community to receive the Loop, a free bus service that will enable residents to have a means of transportation throughout the community. Baltimore County will soon begin a feasibly study. Joe also mentioned that Zip Car Service is available in the Catonsville area. This service is for license drivers who need a car for an hour, a day, or a week. Zip provides a car and insurance for as little as $12.25 an hour or $86.25 a day.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 21 , 2023 2:00 pm. in Brookside Classroom 2

Safety and Security, Justine Parezo, Chair

• Hyundai and Kia vehicles are still hot
• Precinct continues to
• The pendant system is state of the

Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 13, 2023, 1:00 pm. Brookside Classroom 1

COMMENTS FROM GUESTS:

Merci introduced Don Grove, Charlestown Executive Director, who gave an administration update.

President Merci Izquierdo-Whitaker adjourned the meeting at 4:00 pm

Respectfully submitted, Diana Dunaway
Residents’ Council Secretary

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