Charlestown Retirement Community Residents > Council > Residents’ Councils by year > Council Members 2024-2025 > 20250401 Council Minutes

Last Updated on August 14, 2025

THE RECORD OF THE CHARLESTOWN RESIDENTS’ COUNCIL
(web version)

April 1, 2025
Residents’ Council Website: ccicharlestown.org

President Joe Carrick called the regular meeting of the Residents’ Council [the Council] to order at 3:00 pm on Tuesday April 1, 2025. 80 residents attended including Residents’ Council members minus two Staff members included Don Grove, Executive Director, Paul Edelman Dining Services Director, and Rachael Susio, Philanthropy Manager.

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

Previously distributed minutes of the March 3, 2025 meeting of the Residents’ Council meeting were approved as presented.

Mission Moment
This month, Phyl Lansing celebrates Barbara Turner and Susan Menke, whose kindness helped Phyl deal with challenges of vision loss. Phyl explains that coping with vision loss needs to become a habit, and I haven’t learned all the lessons yet. Having sold her car, Phyl needed to replace her driver’s license with a “REAL ID” card. After Phyl address the challenge of getting to a DMV at a General Services meeting, a woman Phyl did not know offered to take her to a DMV. When the women, Barbara Turner, drove Phyl to the Annapolis DMV, Phyl recalls, “I was totally overwhelmed with the unfamiliar apace, but the volunteer driver became my Seeing Eye person.” Phyl presented her documentation and had her photo taken very quickly. Phyl says, “I had the promise of a REAL ID card in about ten days, and I had a new friend, Barbara Turner!”

On another occasion, Phyl boarded the grocery store shuttle to buy some coffee without her magnifying glass, which she uses to check for the most current processing date on the coffee bags. Phyl’s shuttle seatmate, Susan Menke, offered to help. Sue steered Phyl to the right aisle, the correct brand, and the best processing date. Thanks to Susan Menke, concluded Phyl, Coffee was ready to brew the next morning!

Executive Team Reports

Joe Carrick President
It’s April fool’s Day! Have you been fooled or tricked  today? April Fools’ Day is a lighthearted celebration filled with laughter, creativity, and a little harmless trickery. Whether you’re the prankster or the one being fooled, April 1st is a reminder not to take life too seriously and to embrace a little fun and mischief!

What I am about to tell you is no joke, it is a request for residents to support our student servers. Currently Charlestown is supporting 91 active scholars. The 2025 class will add another 21 student servers to the scholars’ program. In 2024, 57% of the Charlestown Residents contributed to the scholar’s fund raising $250,242. This year we are hoping to raise even more. By now you will have your letter on the Scholars Program in your covey. I hope that each of you act upon on it.

April is the month when the trees and flowers start to bloom, and the grass becomes green again. This month the Council will try something new. Just like the flowers and trees the Council is blooming with committee meeting in a new location. We will be holding some of the Committee meeting for the next few months at Caton Woods.  It is just a short walk across the street so I am hoping that many independent living residents will take the time to walk across the street for these committee meetings. Health Services will be holding their April meeting at CW on April 8th. The next week, April 15th, Resident Life Committee will hold their meeting. While you are there visit an old neighbor or just take an informal tour of the building. The meeting room is to your right as you walk in the front door. I will be there and hopefully you will also.

Connie Cooney, Treasurer

Balance – February 28, 2025                                       $ 4,059.27
Expenses                                                                          ($ 477.98)
Deposit from Dues Collection                                      $ 4,152.55
Balance – March 31, 2025                                             $7,733.84

March Expenses 2025 Details
Treasurer:  Bank checks and supplies              $  30.65
Legislative & Political: Bus trip to Annapolis   $ 165.00
Safety & Security: posters & supplies            $ 282.33
Total                                                                    $ 477.98

Questions have been raised about what the dues are used for.  Each committee has some basic needs throughout the year. They need paper for printing minutes, agendas and updates to manuals, Posters for events such as OCG, Nature Fest and the Health Fair.  Here are a few examples from the last couple of years.

Communications         Domain names and Zoom accounts
Conservation               Supplies for posters about recycling, info on conservation around campus
Health Services           Supplies for the Medication disposal program
Legislative & Political  Support for meet and greets with the Legislative leaders here at Charlestown and for Bus transportation for trips to Annapolis to support laws that help to protect and preserve our way of life here at Charlestown.
Nominations               Printing of the Posters for all the candidates, information booklets of candidates.   Ballots, materials for mail ins, badges, printing etc.
Safety & Security        Materials for the Thank You posters for the local Fire and police departments who service our community.
Secretary                     Transcription app, Card stock, paper, ink cartridges, office supplies
Resident life                Supplies for the Tapestry program and other welcoming programs.
Treasurer                    Printing dues collection envelopes, checking supplies, bank fees

In addition, in some years contributions are made to on campus activities that do not have their own dues paying members but need some support such as the Archives for supplies, Film and book library. Donations have been made to the scholarship fund, Staff appreciation fund, and Charlestown Benevolent Care.

Besides the Resident Council members, there are many dedicated volunteers here at Charlestown, putting in many hours of their time.  It should not be necessary that they also must fund supplies for the volunteer activities.

Your dues help support many activities around campus.

Committee Reports

Benevolent Care, Virginia Antevil, Chair

  • The committee welcomed Rachel Susio, who joined the Charlestown Staff as new Philanthropy Manager on April 1.
  • Committee participation in “Neighborhood Chats” has continued in order to raise resident awareness of the importance and opportunities for planned giving for benevolent care. The committee hopes to follow up with small group sessions to provide residents with further specifics on planned giving.

Next meeting: Wednesday, April 9 at 2:30 in Charlestown Square Room 116.

Communications, Larry Taylor, Chair

  • 2nd Quarter Technology Assistance Day (Tech Bar) – The next Tech Bar is scheduled for June 4 in the Chesapeake Dining Room from 10 AM to 12PM.
  • MyErickson Directory Updates – Community Resources is continuing to work on adding staff names, phone numbers, and photographs to the MyErickson directory.
  • Comcast/Xfinity – Gregory Johnson has made up a new script to follow to get through to Comcast/Xfinity. This script is being added to both MyErickson and Charlestown.org. One note is to please have your comcast account number and address available. Both are listed on your account bill.
  • Be aware of a Xfinity Scam, It reads: Important: Payment Update Required – Do not reply
  • Amazon Delivery – General Services is still encouraging residents to schedule their order deliveries Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM. This is insuring better service from Amazon.
  • IT Department – Reminder if you have any Network issues please call the IT Computer Service phone number. 1-800-677-0211. This includes:
  • Network disconnects on your iPhone, iPads and computer devices.
  • TV WiFi streaming issues, this is when you see a circular arrows spinning while you are connecting or while you’re connected to your TV streaming provider.
  • Printer disconnects issues and install problems. Note our committee has requested a procedure for installing Printers (Process) for each of the major Brands to our Enterprise Network.

Status Items:

  • Status on Shuttle Tracker iPads. Both Caton Wood and Wilton Overlook are installed. Fountain Hill is waiting for renovation to be completed, and Herberts Run is waiting on a new mount to come in. Brookside is waiting for approval and will also need the correct mount like Herbert’s Run.
  • WiFi in the new Refectory & Music room. The IT team is working with Erickson IT to get this equipment installed shortly.
  • Residents have asked if they can use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) in their apartments on the Erickson Enterprise Network. Per Network Services, residents may use a VPN on campus, however, as with using most VPNs they may notice latency as they are connecting to an outside server, then to our network.
  • We now can see our IT team’s photos and contact information in the MyErickson Department Directory.
  • CapEx Submissions for 2026 – the committee sent 3 submissions to Finance in this order
  • Auditorium Renovation
  • Mobile Phone Renovation
  • Network Infrastructure Renovation

I did emphasize the importance of mobile phone renovation in Independent Living as we all know is an ongoing issue in our Community.

Our Evergreen topics have been posted to ccicharlestown.org. Evergreen is recurring topics of interest for the community.

Our next Communications Committee meeting will be on April 28 at 2:00 PM via ZOOM.  Contact –  Larry Taylor at cherokee405@verizon.net for the Zoom link.

Conservation Committee, Mark Buehlman & Charles Robinson, Co-chairs
The Conservation Committee is working on several initiatives.

At our March meeting we had an update from our Recycling/Reuse Sub-Committee. Recycling efforts continue to run smoothly. Marty Tewksbury, the head of this Sub-Committee, reminded everyone that while glass is recyclable, broken glass isn’t. Nor should it be put directly into household trash. Broken glass should be wrapped in layers of newspaper, placed in a separate bag, and housekeeping should be called for proper disposal. This helps to protect housekeeping staff from potential injury. We are continuing to look for someone to work with Marty and eventually take over the leadership role. If anyone is interested, or if you know of anyone who might be interested, please talk to either Marty or me at the end of the meeting.

A successful shredding event took place last Saturday in the Cross Creek parking lot. While we stress recycling and reuse, documents with sensitive personal information should always be shredded or destroyed. If you shred documents in your personal shredder, the shredded paper is not recyclable and should go out with household trash.

We heard a report from our recently formed Sustainable Dining Sub-Committee. We continue to work with the Administration on recycling at the bars. In the upcoming months we will have display tables at the dining venues focused on reducing the use of takeout containers and takeout paper bags.

The Nature Festival this year will be on Thursday, April 24, from 11 am to 2 pm at the Conference Center, and our display will focus on the less traditional recycling items like aluminum cans, textiles, and printer ink cartridges.

At our April meeting we will begin a series of presentations and discussions on environmental ethics, exploring the moral relationship between mankind and the environment.

Next meeting: Tuesday, April 15, at 2:00 pm in BR1.

Dining Services, Stephanie Leddy and Cathy Stevens, Co-Chairs
Paul Edelman informed us that residents can now order a starter as a side dish with their entree. It was noted that Wilton Overlook residents cannot get fresh fruit. Additionally, the taco salad could be ordered with only chicken, salmon, or tofu, but not the ground beef mixture that is typical of taco salad. Paul will investigate that.

Residents have complained about not getting an email confirmation after reserving dinners online. Paul said that there is no way for residents to confirm their reservations online. He suggested that we call Angel Carey for confirmation.

At the Shortline, people ordering soup for a dine-in meal are served with paper cups instead of a ceramic bowl. For sustainability purposes, ceramic bowls should be used. Paul will investigate that as well.

Sliders for chairs are in and will be placed on chairs as soon as possible, starting with the Shortline.

Price adjustments will take effect in April but will not affect the meal-of-the-day cost. Also, in April, a kids’ menu will be added to the Short line and Chesapeake.

24 new servers have been hired and are currently being trained.

The Dietary Focus Group is working on a tip sheet advising residents when they can order substitutes, or order items without certain ingredients.

Restaurant reports:
– Atrium is very happy with Travis and Trey.
– Fireside would like a backup bartender more often and suggested more training for the hosts and leaders. Residents were very happy with the recent sous chef’s special.

Next meeting: Monday, April 21 at 1:30 at CS116.

Finance, Art Johnson, Chair
CapEX26 progress was discussed by the committee

Summary review of January 31, 2025 financial data included:

  • 17 Benevolent Care residents as of 1/31/25 compared to 16 in 12/31/24
  • 22 residents in spend down status as of 12/31/24 compared to 26 as of 1/31/25
  • $6 million carryover in capital expenditures from 2024 budget to 2025
  • As of 1/31/25 net operating income was positive compared to budgeted amounts for Independent Living and Continuing Care
  • Cost per “resident-day” was above amount budgeted as of 1/31/25 due mainly to snow removal.
  • Discussion of Power of Attorney and Long-Term Insurance care advice and committee agreed that how we share information about this topic deserved further discussion

Next meeting: Tuesday, March25, 2025 at 9:00 in Brookside 1.

Grounds, Dick Voelkel Chair

  • The contractor will meet with Grounds staff on Wednesday to discuss lake hydro raking permits.
  • An informative presentation by Grounds staff and CRTT is scheduled in the auditorium at 11am on May 6 to inform residents about the Shortline Trail work and new Charlestown fence.
  • The outside lighting problem between Greentree/Arborside and Edgewood has been fixed, but additional lighting is needed on the circle road between the sidewalks.
  • The Charlestown grounds department is considering paving the hiking trail around the lake. A CapEx proposal was submitted to help pay for the trail.
  • There are 5 CapEx proposals being submitted through our committee, ranked as follows: Holiday decorations, leveling of outdoor benches, Cross Creek and Brookside entrance lighting and landscaping, evergreen trees in front of motor pool fence and lake hiking trail.
  • The Grounds committee is planning to have a table at this year’s Nature Fest.
  • There have been several complaints about the observation deck on Erickson Way overlooking the lake. Railing deterioration could cause an accident.

Next meeting: Tuesday April 22 at 11am in BR-1.

Health Services, Marty White and Lois Eldred, Co-Chairs
Grab Bars!  Grab Bars have been installed in the Chesapeake bathroom next to the restaurant.   Looks like a good model (it works) and will be installed in other stalls.
Health Expo: April 9, 10 am-12:30-pm; Gallery and Fireside. There will be over 50 vendors and speakers and there are Posters around with details as well as in My Erickson and on CCICharlestown.org.
Continuing Care: Tanisha Mosley, the new Assistant Director for Nursing was introduced.  Action Plans to address the Resident Satisfaction Survey were addressed.

  • Social Workers will be working with residents in implementing Advanced Directives. During the month of June, Health Care Decisions will be featured. There is a new staff directive focusing on customer service. It is ABC (A= Attitude, B= Body Language, C=  (Compassion).
  • There have been a large number of transitions from Assisted Living to Memory Care and Skilled Nursing Care recently, opening up more Assisted Living beds. This helps the Sales team reach out to those in Independent Living who are waiting for space in Assisted Living, which in turn opens apartments in Independent Living.

CDC Update

  • Measles: There have been 222 cases in 12 states, mostly in Texas and New Mexico, although now including Oklahoma. There have been two deaths; over 90% of cases are in unvaccinated people. In Maryland there have been two cases of measles in persons returning from international travel. This is not unusual and proper public health screening is in effect.
  • A killed measles vaccine was used in the United States between 1963 and 1967 but was discontinued because it was less effective than the live virus vaccine. CDC recommends a booster measles vaccine for those born between 1957 and 1967 unless they are known to have received the live virus vaccine.  Those born before 1957 pre-date the vaccines, are assumed to have natural immunity and do not need booster measles vaccines.
  • Measles is a serious illness in unvaccinated adults and can also be serious in children. Persons with Medicare seeking a measles vaccination should go to CVS or other pharmacy for the vaccine to be covered by insurance.

Parkinson’s Group
There was a Parkinson’s Sharing Meeting to discuss Emergency Preparedness.  It is recommended to put File of Life Forms in the car as well as on the refrigerator.  Persons with Parkinsons have a limited period after missing medication before symptoms may appear. Parkinson’s medications are often taken 4 times a day. Therefore, it is important to let the Emergency Room staff know that medication may need to be taken while in the Emergency Room. It may take hours to get a doctor’s order for medications already being taken so patients need to be vigilant in letting emergency staff know that medications are needed immediately.  It is also advised to take several days of medication when traveling or not at home.

EMV safety was discussed.  It was suggested that a primary care physician could write a prescription for Occupational Health to assess the efficacy and safety of using EMV’s.  However, it may not be covered by insurance.

The Resident’s Handbook has instructions for safe utilization of EMV’s. Health Services will reach out to the Safety and Security Committee about the next steps in educating EMV drivers as the number of them is increasing as of late.

The next Medication Take-Back will be. On May 19, 2025. 1-3 pm Cross Creek and Fireside

Next Meeting:  April 8, 2025; 11 am in Caton Wood Conference Center…Dr. Joe Gagliardi, new resident here who is boarded in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine- and has a wealth of experience in these fields will be talking briefly about Alcoholism in Seniors.

Housekeeping, Jean Williamson, Chair
As I talk about subjects that may be repeated from the month before, hopefully, it also allows me to reach others who perhaps just haven’t heard the message, either here personally or on 972, and that it will continue to help make a difference in all our lives here at Charlestown.
It is important that people not place seed in bird feeders that are placed close to the buildings. Again, this is only encouraging and drawing mice into Charlestown and affecting our lives as they run in the halls and, possibly, into an apartment.
As Jay Spivey mentioned, they are also starting to check all apartments throughout the community for any openings behind sinks, stoves, refrigerators, etc., just to ensure there are no openings and then to seal them, if necessary.

I think many of you are now already aware of the importance of not putting plastic bags filled with garbage onto the carpet outside your apartment. Rather, all plastic bags need to be placed in trash cans, which are supplied by General Services and Housekeeping. All you need to do is call General Services, request a can, and it will be delivered to your door!

I also wanted to share that I believe the efforts to reach out to residents is making a difference. On February 3 we delivered flyers, on the importance of placing plastic bags into trash cans, to all apartments in Parkview. Then, on February 26 we delivered them to all the residents in Greentree Court and Chapel Court. Following up to see if the flyers were effective, in March Jeannette Baugher and I walked the halls of Parkview on trash day at 7:30 a.m. In the whole building, only 6 residents had a plastic or paper bag filled with trash on the floor! That was a huge improvement! In upcoming weeks, we will also follow up with an inspection of Chapel Court and Greentree Court, hopefully with the same good results!

Then, as many of you are aware, we followed up last Monday with placing the Housekeeping Flyers in Harbor View and Caton Ridge! This effort will continue as we work around the campus!

There are a number of people that put out food or gifts on their shelves, or tables in their lobbies. Putting out food only encourages and/or potentially draws mice; however, it is also important not to put out any food that is not securely wrapped. Definitely,  there should be no food that can be handled by someone, then left for others to eat. This is about protecting our health, as well as security! However, we also don’t want “giftaway” items left on shelves or on hall tables. Recently, someone had scissors, fingernail clippers and files, some which were very sharp, on their shelf. This should not happen as you have no idea who may pick them up, get hurt – someone who just isn’t aware, or even children. It is really about our safety! And, particularly, for items you would like to share or gift, there is always the Treasure Sale, which benefits us all!

Finally, if there are any opportunities to participate in a General Services “chat” regarding Housekeeping concerns, we encourage you to participate. It is not about complaining; rather, it is about sharing an idea that will help improve our community. We would love to hear from you!

Next meeting: Monday, April 15 at 10:00 in BR 1.

Legislative/Political, Paulette Hammond and Richard Lee, Co-Chairs
There was no meeting in March due to Illness and travel. We will hold another Legislative Wrap up with our elected officials  in early May. Watch for details.

The session in Annapolis has not ended, so nothing to report on final bills. Come to the committee meeting next Wednesday to get an update.

Next meeting is April 9, 2025 at 10:00 in BR 1

Maintenance and Engineering, Rob Vickerman, Chair
Sink Overflow: It was decided that a video addressing the sink flooding by residents was not necessary, therefore the project is closed. General Services is investigating the making and distribution of “refrigerator” magnets to remind people not to leave their sink with the water running.
Outside/parking area lighting:  All outside lighting has been completed. Except for Brookside.
Low Vision: There was a concern about four items that I presented to General Services.

  1. The yellow paint on the curbs is fast disappearing. Can you get them repainted?
  2. The black stairs strips on the chapel steps need to be finished. You just need to paint the top of the step, not the vertical. Permission was granted to paint the step top edge black.
  3. The Brookside parking area lights are being destroyed by trucks running over them. Is there a fix for this?
  4. There was a concern about the carpet edging at Charlestown Square. Are you waiting for a life cycle rehab?

Next meeting: Wednesday, April 22, at 2:00 in the General Services conference room.

Nominating and Elections Committee, Nancy Meier and Connie Cooney, Co-Chairs
I am Nancy Meier and co-chair the Council’s 2025 Nominating Committee with Connie Cooney. I am pleased to report that we currently have a strong group of Residents running, but we are looking for a few more people to round out our slate of candidates. We will be accepting potential candidates up until the end of this month. If you, or any of your neighbors or friends might be interested, please let Connie or me know. Our contact information (with photos) is in the MyErickson directory.

Resident Life, Bill Jones and Fred Sadler, Co-Chairs

  • The Tapestry Leadership team has completed their March 2 and April 1 sessions. Both sessions were very well attended and participants enjoyed discussion of their ancestry and how it contributes to who they are now.
  • The Ageism and Ableism group met on March 24 with Don Grove, Executive Director, and Jason Dennis, Asst. General Services Director and discussed ESL accessibility standards and how we might support universal design of apartments. The discussion was very productive, and the group feels much progress will be made in accessibility upgrades of apartments.
  • The Dine Together Program saw 27 people participate in March consideration is underway to expand the program to the Café on Main once construction is completed. The next dinner will be next Monday, April 7 in the Shortline Cardroom.
  • The Friendly Visitors Program saw 56 new residents contacted in the past month. This continues to be a very worthwhile effort to engage new residents in the community and to provide support as they become acclimated to Charlestown.
  • The Transportation Sustainability group is examining parking issues, in cooperation with the Charlestown Security and Transportation Departments, and is examining alternative transportation options for residents other than personal vehicles. We will be investigating potential future presentations by Mobility Link as well as Uber and Lyft services.

Next meeting: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 2:00 at Caton Woods.

Safety and Security, Ed Appel, Chair

  • Parking Review by Administration is Underway to Optimize Availability
  • 2025 Security Improvements: Card Key Access to Outside Doors
  • Committee Supports Improved Cell/IT Infrastructure
  • Remember to Shelter in Place Fire Protocols – Residents’ Handbook
  • A Pull Cord to Summons Security is at the Pickle Ball Court

Next meeting: Thursday, April 10 at 1:00 in CTS 116

Update from Don Grove
Unfortunately, due to a technical issue, your secretary did not record Don’s words as she usually does. Therefore, this section of the minutes is not included. I apologize for this mistake.

Respectively submitted,
Nancy Meier, Residents’ Council Secretary