President Joe Carrick called the regular meeting of the Residents’ Council [the Council] to order at 3:00 pm on Tuesday September 3, 2024. 93 residents attended including Residents’ Council members minus two. Staff members included Don Grove, Executive Director; Leslie Johnson, Associate Executive Director; Patti Santoni, Philanthropy Director; Jay Spivey, General Services Director; Ken Zahn, Dining Services Director; Dean Crawford, Medical Practice Administrator; and Karen Leighton, Resident Life Director. Additionally resident members on the Board of Directors Pat Kasuda and Dr. Stephen Schimpff attended.

Moment of Silence

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

Previously distributed minutes of the August 6 meeting of the Residents’ Council meeting were approved as presented.

Mission Moment

This month’s Mission Moment’s theme is “A Time to Plant and a Time to Uproot.” We are honoring Glenn and Betty Brown Young of Herbert’s Run, as well as the Invasive Plant Crew as the recipients of the September Mission Moment.

Glen and Betty are the creators of the very large, lush, well maintained flower garden which has delighted everyone for years who crosses the Shortline – Herbert’s Run Bridge. Besides beautifying the property outside their terrace, several years ago the Young’s chose to expand their plantings below their retaining wall. By planting beautiful flowers and artfully arranged rocks below the retaining wall they are helping slow down the erosion that occurs there.

The ongoing work of the volunteer Invasive Plants Crew around Charlestown is always noticeable. Recently they cleared the low-hanging tree branches and overgrown thorny weeds along the sidewalk around Cross Creek. They made the sidewalk passable for regular outside walkers again. This is just one of the many projects that the Invasive Plants Crew has undertaken to keep our environment safe and our campus beautiful.

Executive Team Reports

Joe Carrick, President
As we begin this new Council year, I am reminded how September is a starting point for many activities. As schools reopen families and neighborhoods experience a shift in daily routines, with increased focus on education and extracurricular activities. The same is true for the Charlestown community. We look with anticipation for the arrival of the ELLIC fall catalog, which will be available tomorrow at each of the front desks. Such learning opportunities provide a platform for us to connect with others, combating loneliness and fostering a sense of community. Whether through classes, workshops, or online courses, these activities can lead to meaningful relationships and a renewed sense of purpose. I challenge each of you to sign up for a ELLIC class.

September is a powerful time for individual renewal. A good way to restart yourself is to join your fellow residents in a Charlestown activity. MyErickson lists 170 groups and clubs. Most will be participating in the 2024 CGO (Clubs, Groups, and Organization) Expo. The Expo will be held on Friday, September 13 from 11 until 2 at the Cross Creek station and Conference Center. This is a perfect way to learn about the many clubs, groups and organizations at Charlestown so you can make an informed decision about joining them. So, my second challenge to each resident is to find a CGO that matches your interest and join them. What a great way to meet residents.

As the new President of the Residents’ Council, I challenge you to attend a committee meeting during the month of September. The Committee schedules are on CCIcharlestown and the bulletin boards. Committees are the lifeblood of the Residents’ Council. Committees do the work of the Council. Committees and their assigned administrative liaisons listen to concerns from residents, discuss and suggest possible solutions to problems. One recent solution was improving the campus for low vision residents. The more of you that join the committees, the more gets done for the betterment of our community. This year we have ten new committee chairs and/or co-chairs that could use your expertise.

Whether it’s finding an ELLC class, joining a club or organization or simply taking time to reconnect with other residents, September offers a perfect backdrop for personal transformation. This sense of renewal can bring clarity, motivation, and a fresh perspective, helping individuals navigate the rest of the year with renewed energy and purpose.

Connie Cooney, Treasurer

Balance – July 31, 2024                      $ 5,374.95
Expenses                                             $    429.55
Balance – August 31, 2024                 $ 4,945.40

July 2024 Expenses Details
Secretary                                             $     29.55 – Cardstock
Legislative/Political                             $   400.00 – Donation LWV
Total               $    429.55

Committee Reports

Benevolent Care, Virginia Antevil
A Benevolent Care Donor Reception (for donors $300+ annually) was held on August 28 with about 240 residents in attendance. The “Treat of the Quarter” was distributed at that event and to Lobby desks for those unable to attend.

The Benevolent Care monthly campaign, held each September, is now underway. Donation materials have been distributed, and several activities and special events are planned, including:

• Information tables in dining areas
• Weekly raffles
• September 23 “Get the “Scoop” session on planned giving.
• Testimonials on Chanel 972
• September 25 ELLIC presentation entitled “Benevolent Care—That’s a Fact”
• September 30 “Value for Price Paid” presentation hosted by the Charlestown executive and finance teams to review key considerations in Charlestown’s “Home for Life” program.

It was noted that in 2023, care was provided for 21 residents at a cost of $1.1 million dollars. This was 100% funded through donations from residents, employees, Charlestown’s Board of Directors, and vendors. It is hoped that in 2024, the full cost of benevolent care can be provided through donations.

The theme for the coming year is “Leave Your Legacy” with an emphasis on planned giving.

Next meeting: Wednesday, September 25 at 2:00 in Charlestown Square RM-116.

Communications, Larry Taylor, Chair
The Communications Committee did not meet in August.  Most of the following Bullets are from July’s 2024 Committee Meeting.

• Tech Bar or Technology Assistant Day – August 14th was a remarkable success with the highest-attended event this year. The team had 58 attendees and 14 follow-Ups.

• Shuttle Tracker Display Issues – Residents would like to see smaller monitors instead of iPads in Lobbies, like the Monitor that’s currently placed in Charlestown Square.

• Amazon Deliveries – Gregory Johnson expressing concerns about the timing of deliveries and suggesting that residents should be provided with a slip to make complaints if the deliveries are not made to their apartments.

• Ongoing Power Issues – When talking with Jason Spivey he said most of our outages have been caused by BGE and were outside of the Charlestown complex.

• Planned NetworkA network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order to share resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic communications. The computers on a network may be linked through cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams. See also... READ MORE Outage – This is to install new Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)An uninterruptible power supply or uninterruptible power source (UPS) is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source fails. It is supposed to kick in when there is a power outage. A UPS is typically used to protect hardware such as computers, data cent... READ MORE or Back Up units. This will take place tonight, Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024, from 10 PM until 5 AM.  During this time Erickson IT and a Contractor will be working in the following buildings: Brookside, Maples Terrace, Fountain Hill, Edgewood, Chapel Court, and St. Charles. Note – there will be a phase in process for the remaining buildings to follow in the coming weeks. Per IT after this is completed NetworkA network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order to share resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic communications. The computers on a network may be linked through cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams. See also... READ MORE and Phone Service will no longer be brought down when power outages take place.

• A New Improved Process for Technology Service – (Just a reminder) as you may know Erickson IT started this new service on August 1, 2024. Instead of giving you a two-hour appointment block when you called the Erickson Resident Computer Services (ERCS) hotline at 800-677-0211, the Erickson Senior Living IT Service Desk team member will now assist with initial troubleshooting by phone.  If you need an in-home service visit, your request will be sent directly to our local IT team for help.  Your local IT Team will prioritize all resident requests and reach out to you as soon as possible, typically within one business day or sooner.

Next Committee meeting will be on September 23 at 2:00 preceded by the Website Committee at 1:00 via ZoomAI Companion is a generative AI-powered assistant from Zoom (for those with the paid version). It uses large language models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta, and has also trained itself by listening in on thousands of meetings between Zoom employees.  Some of its uses include:
• Summarizing... READ MORE. Contact Larry Taylor at cherokee405@verizon.net for the ZoomAI Companion is a generative AI-powered assistant from Zoom (for those with the paid version). It uses large language models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta, and has also trained itself by listening in on thousands of meetings between Zoom employees.  Some of its uses include:
• Summarizing... READ MORE link.

Conservation, Mark Buehlman
My name is Mark Buehlman and I’m Co-Chair, along with Charles Robinson, of the Conservation Committee. First, I would like to introduce Charles and welcome him to the Committee. We look forward to his leadership and fresh ideas.

We did not meet in August, but we have a busy new Council year planned.

Our committee has one standing Sub-Committee, Recycling & Reuse, Chaired by Marty Tewksbury. At our September meeting Marty will update us on recycling here in Charlestown and provide direction for some of the new or more problematic recycling items. We will also have an update on aluminum can recycling from Andy Kochis, who facilitates those teams.

Early in the year we worked closely with the three Sustainability Working Teams, Transportation, Dining and Grounds. With their final reports now published, we will continue the work they have done, and at our September meeting we will form a Sustainable Dining Working Group to try and implement some of their recommendations.

Our committee works very closely with the Nature Trail Club. Last year we offered a joint presentation on general erosion and runoff control at Charlestown that was well received. This year, on Tuesday, October 15, at 1:00 in the Auditorium we will be offering a joint presentation to the Community entitled “The Nature Trail 2024, Maintaining and improving a Charlestown Treasure”. It focuses on the current state of the Trail, will take you on a virtual tour of the Trail, and highlights some existing problems and proposed and ongoing solutions. If approved by the Committee, this presentation will take the place of our October meeting.

Next meeting: Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at 2:00pm in Brookside Classroom 1.

Dining, Catherine Stevens and Stephanie Leddy, Co-Chairs

No August meeting was held.

We are planning to focus on the following items in the coming year:

• QR Codes – We will keep encouraging residents to use QR codes when meals are wonderful and when they are not and that includes all of you here today. We know that the QR codes are viewed and taken seriously.
• Sound Panels Study: Sound panels have been studied at Windcrest in Colorado and those studies are being looked at for how we can best improve the sound control and lessen the noise levels here. The Fireside is the first restaurant to be considered for sound panels.
• Sunday Buffets: We will continue to look at the menus of the buffets and respond to the feedback of the residents.
• Vegetable variety: The variety of vegetables has increased thanks to the work of Dietary Focus and My Nutrition committees. More variety is still needed, especially those vegetables that are healthier for us.
• Consistency: That is a refrain heard both within each restaurant and across the restaurants. While it generally has improved, we will continue to look at it.
• Sustainability: we will look at the recommendations of that committee and see how we can work to make a difference.

Next meeting: Monday, September 16 at 1:30 still in Brookside 2. In October we will move back to CS 116 for the duration

Finance, Art Johnson
Status of Budget

As reported in July, Charlestown expects to close out the fiscal year with a balance that is “unfavorable to budget”, driven almost equally by higher than anticipated costs and lower than expected occupancy in Continuing Care. Several actions have been taken to better control costs, especially in Continuing Care.

The expectation is that our financial status will be stable for the rest of the year.

Charlestown’s cash position remains strong with cash on hand, more than doubling the minimum requirements.  Charlestown is very pleased to have once again received an A- rating from Fitch, which reinforces the fact that Charlestown is financially sound

Capital expenditures for the current year likely will be below the budgeted amount, but all projects are moving forward. The shortfall in expenditures is not due to financial concerns, but due to timing.

Staffing is a current issue receiving more focused attention. Many of our open positions are in the dining area. Nevertheless, committee members noted that understaffing is noticeable in that certain services and tasks are not being provided or fulfilled which has caused resident concern and comment. oweverHiHowever, Charlestown is not holding positions open due to the financial issues.

We invite YOU to join the Finance Committee, especially if you have previous experience – Charlestown’s Finance Director meets with the Committee monthly and responds to questions that arise from a committee with 4-5 past presidents of the Council as members. Lively, informative, and frank discussions characterize our meetings.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 9:00 in Brookside 1

Grounds, Dick Voelkel Chair
Grounds Committee did not meet in August

Hydro-raking and bridge pier stabilization will be delayed until later this year. This is due to the county dragging their feet on approvals.

I spoke to the head of the Bow Hunting Firefighters of MD, who was vacationing in the Caribbean last week. He said they would start the deer hunts in cooler weather.

Next meeting will be a week earlier on September 17 at 11 in Brookside classroom 2 because I will be on a cruise on the regular date.

Health Services, Marty White and Lois Eldred, Co-Chairs
I am Marty White and with Lois Eldred I co-chair the Health Services Committee

There was no Health Services Committee meeting in August.

The new co-chairs met with Kristen Aybar and Capri White-Coleman, Administrator and Assistant Administrator for Home Care, with Max Mendelzon, the new Administrator of Continuing care, and with Dean Crawford, outpatient medical center administrator, to establish working relationships.

Max is working to improve the culture, and thus the resident and patient experience in Continuing Care.  An example is the institution of the KISS policy for staff, i.e. knock, introduce yourself, specify what you will be doing, and smile.  Additionally, ask if there’s anything else the resident needs before leaving.  Families of residents in skilled nursing, memory care and assisted living have reported to me noticeable improvements since these policies have been implemented.

The Wilton Overlook residents had an outing to the Olive Garden Restaurant, and a Coffee Chat was held on August 28.

In Caton Woods, a trip to Patapsco State Park is planned for September24, and families are invited. Teresa Reyman from the Fitness center will start coming weekly to hold floor exercises, and a volunteer visitors program began on August 14.  Visits from Pet ambassadors continue as well.

The next medication disposal event is scheduled for November 18 from 1-3 at both the Fireside and Cross Creek lobbies.  Residents are encouraged to bring out-of-date and no-longer needed medications for disposal.  Needles and other sharps are not accepted.  Bringing pills in clear plastic bags is appreciated.  Please be aware that pill bottles are recyclable, but the lids are not.

The next flu shot clinic will be held on September 11 at Cross Creek from 8-12 noon, and on September 18 at the Gallery and Fireside pub area, also from 8 to 12 noon.

Next Health Services Committee meeting: Tuesday, September 10, in Brookside Classroom 1 at 11:00 AM.

Housekeeping, Jean Williamson
“See Something; Say Something” is the motto of the Housekeeping Committee to encourage all residents to participate in speaking up when or if they see something that needs attention. This is your home/our home, so if you see anything of concern as you are walking around, whether it be stains on the furniture or floor, any kind of debris or dust as you are walking through the halls or in common areas, please don’t hesitate to report it to CCIWorkorders@Erickson.com, and, at any time, copy me at williamsonjp@comcast.net. But you can also just call General Services, ask for Housekeeping, and then report the issue. Either way, there is a record, and they will follow up.

As I have recently met with the Housekeeping Staff, as we have walked around doing inspections, they have emphasized, “Keep us Informed. Help us Help You!” Truly, it is by working together that we keep our “home” at Charlestown healthy, safe and clean.

We also have a committee, whose responsibility has been to walk assigned halls (usually just two or three) once a month to check and report any issues. Surely, this has been so helpful in coordinating with Housekeeping. But we would also like to extend this responsibility of “looking and reporting” to every resident. Surely, by working together it lightens the load and is a way to make a difference. Also, as we move into another year, I would like to encourage you to be a part of our committee, giving additional eyes, ears, ideas as we work with Housekeeping to address issues and, again, keeping our home healthy, safe and clean.

Finally, at the last meeting, concerns regarding dust in the Mechanical Rooms, which then affects the air you breathe in your apartments, and rodents, or mice, which have been observed throughout our community, were brought up by Committee members. We are in communication with General Services, Housekeeping and Administration, who are also aware of the situations and are working to resolve the issues – but we also all have a responsibility…such as not putting garbage and trash outside the buildings and not filling bird feeders where seeds drop near the building. However, if you have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to speak up! This is your Home!

Next meeting: Monday, September 16 at 10:00 am in BR 1.

Legislative/Political, Paulette Hammond and Richard Lee, Co-Chairs

• The Committee held no meeting in August.
• We are finalizing the TV972 Interviews for the federal Senate and House candidates.
• We will be planning for the Legislative Meet and Greet with our Senator and Delegates in November or December in preparation for the 2025 Annapolis Session.
• We will discuss the Committee budget.
• We continue to work with MaCCRA to facilitate proposed legislation for the 2025 session.
• We continue to work with the League of Women Voters, who will have their Voters’ Guide available before the election in November

Next Meeting:  Wednesday, September 11, at 10:00 in BR 1

Maintenance and Engineering, Rob Vickerman, Chair
I met with the manager of the General Services Department on August 22. The following were discussed:

1. The Caton Ridge Renovation project is on schedule.
2. The Chapel Court elevator replacement should be done by September 1. The State inspections will follow.
3. Herberts Run and Charlestown Square are next with the materials currently being ordered for the elevator replacements.
4. The erosion repair on the Herberts Run to St Charles bridge has not begun. The schedule has slipped.
5. The evaluation of the PVC pipe constraint versus pipe support issue is complete. There are no results of the inspection/survey yet.
6. Ten washing machines for the Chapel Court laundry room have been received. Dryers for Chapel Court are on order.
7. Low vison carpet and additional lighting for the stairs have been installed on the stairs at the Terrace Café. General Services is still awaiting delivery of the new snap-on high contrast elevator buttons. They have been ordered. The design of light shields is intended to improve the visibility of the elevator location lights when viewed from the elevator lobby is in process. General Services has determined that the painting of steps, sidewalks and curbs to make them more visible will not be done.
8. There is an ongoing investigation into the signage in the Charlestown complex to help people find their way.

Next meeting: Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 2:00 in the General Services conference room.

Resident Life, Bill Jones and Fred Sadler, Co-Chairs
There was no Resident Life Meeting in either July or August.

Bill and Fred had a very productive meeting with the previous co-chairs Margaret Vincent and Nancy Fayer. The previous chairs described all the subcommittee activities and potential for future involvement in other areas affecting residents. Their continued involvement is seen as a great asset while the new co-chairs acclimate themselves to their new roles.

The new co-chairs had their initial meeting with Karen Leighton and Mary Evans. Both Karen and Mary described their respective roles, as they relate to the Resident Life Committee, and were gracious in offering their assistance in any way it might be needed. When asked if they foresee some areas for future consideration, they mentioned both the need for more computer literacy and the need to monitor political activity on campus especially as we approach the upcoming election.

Both new co-chairs have started to schedule themselves to attend the several subcommittee meetings that fall under the auspices of the Resident Life Committee. Specifically, we will be trying to attend the groups that fall under the Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging area which are: Tapestry, Age/Ageism and the Low Vision committees. We will also attend meetings of the Welcome Subcommittees which are: Dine Together, Friendly Visitor and Dining Ambassadors groups. We hope this will give us a better idea of what each group is doing and how we can best support them.

Soon the co-chairs hope to look at new areas the Resident Life Committee might become involved to include providing support to the recently completed transportation study and to the Communications Committee as they promote better computer literacy among residents at Charlestown.

Next meeting: Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 2:00 in Brookside Classroom 2. All are invited to attend.

Safety and Security, Ed Appel
The committee had no August meeting.

Committee plans for the next year include:

• Collaboration with Security staff and other committees to identify & reduce risks, including impaired vision, dementia, mobility, falls, medicine take-backs
• Response to resident observations and incidents
• “Neighborhood watch:” See something, report it to Security
• Scam prevention – email, Web, cell phones, mail – Ed Appel’s January ELLIC class
• Work groups on guns, traffic safety, intrusion and theft prevention

Recently, Security staff, Baltimore PD and Fire prevented entry by barred person who had a manic episode, lying down in protest, then consented to hospitalization for evaluation and was transported by ambulance.  Her car was towed away.  This is another illustration of Security’s efficiency in handling unexpected incidents.

Next meeting is on Thursday September 12, 2024, at 1:00 in CTS 116.

Update from Don Grove

Larry Taylor talked about the power blips we’ve been having. It’s a little frustrating. As he described, these have been off campus events that we cannot control. We are working with BGE and are trying to make sure we stay in contact with them to avoid these situations. As Larry did share, we have the Uninterruptible Power Sources (UPS) that are going to be installed around campus which, when a power outage occurs, it will prevent the network from going down hopefully. So, we’re confident in that situation and so, those trying to hurry up. Myron and his team at MIT are coordinating that. So, fingers crossed that we’ll see progress there, and that these blips at some point become a thing of the past.

A follow up on the plumbing project: we’ve had lots of discussions over the last year, year and a half, about plumbing situations and challenges around campus. We had committed to the residents that we would be doing an apartment-by-apartment review of the HVAC closets and apartments. The HVAC closets very susceptible to pipes being bumped or opportunities for leak or cracking to happen. We thus far have gotten through 1100 plus apartment homes checked out the HVAC inspected. And of those 1100 about 300, we have recommended some follow up work be done to make sure that the pipes are protected. We expect to be through all apartments, so every part will have been seen and reviewed, and they will just have the process of catching up with all these work orders that have been identified and submitted. The inspector can’t necessarily fix it right there. His real role is to go and look and just sort of capture what the condition is, and then submit a work order so that the maintenance teams can go back and follow up with each department that has concerns. We’re moving through that relatively quickly to stay ahead of the problem. We committed to being done that by the end of the year.

I think there was some confusion about staffing. There is no freezing of any positions or stop. We have been a little bit short in some areas, and we’re addressing those with the HR team. There has been no halt on hiring any positions. There are always certain positions that will run a little bit slower or more openings right now such as dining. As we transition to the fall, the student change, but I know they had a great hiring event going on right now, and they had 48 or folks for last week for a hiring event. So, we’ll get plenty of students coming in. Get them up to speed. Also housekeeping and grounds are two areas where we’ve been a little bit slow finding the folks we need. They are harder to find than usual, but we are on top of that, and the recruiters are staying aggressive there. Always in continuing care we must stay on top of. It’s its own animal as far as hiring positions, but we’re in a pretty good place. We typically have about 8% of our positions in the community open at any given time. What we aspire for is have only 8% of positions open, and we’re right about that level, or a little bit below.

I just, I wanted to draw your attention to a couple other good things going on around here that I want to make sure everybody’s aware of. One was the preserving independence series last week. Really good presentation. I thought it was a team set out to do something related to memory, a memory discussion from everything from forgetting your keys to do I have a greater concern? So, we are going to air that presentation on television 972. I really suggest that you see that it’s something helpful, maybe for you, maybe for a family member. I was not able to attend, so I’m looking forward to seeing that broadcast myself. Another event I want to call out and draw special attention to last week. Was it last week beers and burgers? I was calling it burgers and buns, beers. It was an event we had at Caden woods. And it was great to see 77 folks from independent attend this event. And great fun. Many residents have never been over to Caton Woods and Wilton Overlook. This was one of the series of events that will be coming up where we’re inviting folks to come over and look and see what it’s about. Because this is by no means your mother’s or your grandparents’ experience. It’s very different, and it really feels like home over there. And so, I want to make sure folks are getting over there to see it. The Residents’ Council, for example, has been good in helping us draw a connection to continuing including assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care buildings. As an example, last year they helped with their satisfaction surveys and we hope they will do so this year. There are at a lot more opportunities to link all our community together whether you choose to volunteer or just go over and visit and learn what it’s about. Max Mendelzon, the new director of continuing care has been a wonderful addition to that team. Our director of nursing, Mohammed Jalloh, has been a wonderful addition as well. And so really a change over there. I want you all to make sure you’re a part of that so that people sort of my appeal is to you know, what’s your connection with continuing care, and can you go visit volunteer or attend one of these upcoming events?

I will add one challenge. The employee engagement survey was completed so employees, this is where they give feedback on what it’s like to work at Charlestown, we got 82.9% of our employees, which is wonderful. It will soon be your turn to participate in the residents’ survey.

Question from a St. Charles resident: I know you’re looking at the loop line water breaks and all that good stuff. Are you also looking at the hot water heaters I know of two that sprung leaks in the past month and did cause floods? Jay Spivey stated that they are looking at the hot water heaters. Next, we’re also doing the inspections on the loop. So yes, are you going to be replacing them at 10 years, like we used to do in our houses. So, there isn’t a blanket rule of 10 years, but we do review it. We look at the maintenance schedule and how long it’s been in place.

Respectively submitted,
Nancy Meier, Residents’ Council Secretary