President Larry Taylor called the regular meeting of the Residents’ Council [the Council] to order at 3:00 pm on Tuesday September 1, 2026.  Seventy-three (73) residents attended in addition to Don Grove, Executive Director; Laura Rye, Associate Executive Director; Paul Edelman, Director Dining Services; Jason Dennis, General Services Director and Jill Clippinger, Resident Life Director.

Moment of Silence
The Council observed a moment of silence for those pray for all those who are sick, suffering, or in need of comfort or healing.

Minutes
Minutes of the August 4, 2026 meeting of the Residents’ Council meeting were approved.

Mission Moment
No Mission Moment this month.

Executive Team Reports

Larry Taylor President
Larry Taylor said his theme for the year is working together as a community. This means listening to one another, sharing responsibilities, and using everybody’s ideas to make a positive change. When people cooperate, we can solve problems more efficiently and create a stronger sense of belonging. Our council last year had over eighty accomplishments, and he hopes we can have the same amount this coming year. The council committees have now been assigned and will start making life better for our Charlestown community. One way to make this happen is for us residents to stay informed. Take the Resident satisfaction survey, make specific comments, suggest corrective actions, and management evaluations. This year’s survey will start in October. Please attend committee and resident council meetings. Our schedule is posted on the bulletin board monthly and in myErickson and on CCIcharlestown.org.

Pat Whittier, Treasurer

Balance – July 1, 2026                      $8,502.84
Income                                                   $00.00
Expenses                                               $839.25
Balance – August 25, 2026              $7,663.59

Expense Detail:
Communications Committee          166.25
President                                             23.22
Safety and Security                          215.18
Legislative & Political Committee  434.60.

Committee Reports

Benevolent Care, Lois Eldred, Chair

• Thank you To Sandy Mack for Chairing Benevolent care for the Resident Council last year.
• In terms of Planned Giving, Philanthropy received 4 new planned gifts in August.
• August was Benevolent Care Month. As part of this effort Rachel Susio presented Philanthropy Fridays on Channel 972 for the month. A particularly poignant segment was presented by resident Marianne Reichelt whose father benefitted from Benevolent Care at Charlestown a few decades ago.  The total amount raised in August was $183,000 which is more than last year; 42% of residents participated year to date in benevolent care donations.
• The August 26th Paint Day was attended by about 45 people and raised $919 for Benevolent Care
• Upcoming events include the following:

Financial Planning/Planned Giving Seminar – September 10th, 1 p.m., AuditoriumSEC Investing for Older Adults: October 28th 11 am Auditorium.

Fall Memory Walk.  October 6th.
Fall Fest: 50:50. Raffle.  October 16: 3-6 pm. We will be selling raffle tickets Oct 13,14 and 15 in various lobbies.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 23rd, 2:30 p.m., Room 116, in Charlestown Square

Communications, Betty Elder and Ann Densler, Co-Chairs
The Communications Committee did not meet in August
Community Resources

• CGO Expo will be held on September 18 from 11 – 2 pm.

General Services

• Personal Carts – carts sale is ongoing. Residents can call Greg at General Services to order. Greg will announce the next cart sale when it has been planned with Peg Buehlmann.

IT
    Independent Living Mobile Phone Upgrade

• Cabling installation continues while the project awaits DAS radio and head-end equipment delivery.
• IT is working with vendors from Sept 1-4 to start moving to the new vendor for cell coverage. The Historic District may have interruptions to their cell service.

Tech Bars

• Q3: August 19, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM, Refectory
• Q4 (Tentative): December 1, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM, Wilton Overlook Meeting Hall

Other Topics

• CCICharlestown.org –  Check the Evergreen topics for up to date information
• The Signage Subcommittee is looking at the Evacuation Route sign package.

Our next Communications Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 28th on Zoom at 2:00 pm followed at 3:00 pm by the Website Subcommittee meeting

The Conservation Committee, Jack Flood & Gary Rogers, Co-Chairs

• Electric Conservation
• Water Conservation
• Plastic Bag pickup in Laundry Rooms
• Aluminum Cans
• Solar
• Food Scraps
• Hybrid Vehicles

   Next meeting: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 – 2PM – Br1

Dining Services, Cathy Stevens and Joe Gagliardi Co-Chairs.
Charlestown Square and the Fitness Center are closed 
The Square will reopen in mid-November. No word on how long the Fitness Center will be closed .

• The Atrium dishwasher must be replaced. It will take a few weeks to do so. Meanwhile, it’s chaotic and serving time is very slow.
• The Crab and Go is becoming more popular, serving 225 – 260 meals a day.
• Dining services is dealing with cyclosporine as follows: all leafy green gave their outer layers removed, are then washed twice in an antimicrobial wash and then spun dry.
• The Secret Shoppers plan is going very well. Any resident who wants to be a secret shopper can get in touch with Cathy Stevens. A form will be sent to the resident who then gets carryout from the restaurant of his or her choice, then completes the form critiquing the food and service of the restaurant.
• Residents would like the servers to tell them which ice cream flavors are NSA or non-dairy.
• Simply Prepared is a pilot program allowing residents to choose from specific menu items and have that item prepared without sauces, spices or other accoutrements. Each menu will specify which items can be Simply Prepared. This will be available soon at the Chesapeake, Terrace, and Atrium

Restaurant Reports:

• Atrium – chaotic since dishwasher broke.
• Shortline – lines still too long. And, there are four or five lines to get individual items. By the time you get the last line, your food from the first line is cold.
• Terrace – side dishes are cold. However the au gratin potatoes were very well received.
• Chesapeake – new menu not very well received.
• Dietary Focus Group – “plain” mashed potatoes. DFG will have an ELLIC presentation in the fall. Residents want different fish entrees offered.

Next Meeting – Monday, October 17,  2026 in CTS 116

Finance, Brian McGill, Chair

• The Finance Committee will be reviewing the status of 8 approved 2026 CAPEX projects and reviewing the process and timeline for 2027 proposals.
• There will be increased Committee emphasis on using graphics to capture the content of large financial data sets such as the $114 million 2026 revenue flow, the $101 million expenses and the $13 million operating income.
• In September 2026 the Committee will review the 3rd quarter financial statement and provide input to the 2027 budget which must be approved by the Board of Directors in advance of dissemination to residents by Nov 1, 2026.
• In September, the Special Sub Committee on the Edgewood auditorium renovation will begin meeting with the Charlestown leadership team and the Erickson Senior Living design team.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 29th, 9 a.m. Brookside 1

Grounds, Jack Flood to cover for Gary Rogers, Chair

• Grounds Committee did not meet in August
• Committee Chairmanship changed from Dick Voelkel to Gary Rogers for 2026-2027
• Items the Committee will be following on the future include:

Front Yard project
Lake Charlestown Trail
Restoration of the Butterfly Garden
Maintenance and enhancement of flower beds and lawn

• Interested residents are encouraged to participate and attend the monthly meeting.

Next Meeting: will be Tuesday, September 29th in BR 1 at 11AM

Health and Wellness, Marty White and Kathy Eiswert, Co-Chairs

• Our committee did not meet in August
• Continuing Care meetings took place and focused on improving the social experience and expanding ice cream choices.  Our fellow residents in continuing care would appreciate having more residents from Independent Living visit and sponsor activities.  They would also like more pet visitors.  On a bitter/sweet note, the Continuing Care Assistant Director of Nursing, Anne Gitonga, has been promoted to Director of Nursing at Riderwood.  We appreciate her service and the impact she’s had on our residents.  A replacement has not yet been identified.
• The Medical Center is in the midst of a renovation to their space, and every effort is being made to continue business as usual.  The flu shot clinics are 8-noon on Wednesday Sep 9 at the Gallery and Sep 16 at Cross Creek Station.
• Our committee will continue the quarterly medication takebacks, and will be working on a series of lectures for caretakers of loved ones with dementia and other long-term health issues.  We have also been asked to encourage Erickson management to provide the Fitness Center with resistance and core-strengthening equipment safer and better suited for people in our age group.
• Finally, there is interest in forming a low hearing group, similar to the low vision group.  If you are interested in participating in, or leading such a group, please contact Kathy Eiswert or myself.

Next meeting: Tuesday, September 8th 11 am BR1 

Housekeeping, Pat Whittier for Karl Dortzbach, Chair

• I am Karl Dortzbach, newly elected chair of the Housekeeping Committee. I am following Pat Whittier who has faithfully filled this chair this past year. I wish to begin by thanking the housekeeping staff and residents on the Housekeeping Committee who work together to keep our home safe, healthy, clean and attractive.
• The Workers assigned to each building have a new addition. Housekeeping is adding four Team Leads assigned to identified building groups. These employees will be in place in September and October, focusing on their specific area, performing 20 inspections weekly. This will help facilitate a quicker response to issues that might arise in each building.
• The Ehrlich apartment inspections are nearing completion. The bar codes are being, or have been placed in each home. The new inspections have located previously unfound access points for unwanted rodents. The dining areas are being addressed.
• We are still in need of more residents who are willing to walk the halls of their buildings to help report needs they see. If we all work together, we can help provide more immediate attention to accidental spills and stains. Securing lids on all beverage containers will help reduce spills. The inspection tours are ongoing, but having resident input gives an added perspective.
• You may have noticed that there are no longer containers available for battery recycling. Please dispose of normal household batteries (A, AA, etc.) in your regular trash collections.  Lithium batteries must be recycled differently.  There is going to be electronic recycling in October, date TBA, lithium batteries may be disposed of at that collection time.
• Please continue to use the plastic trash cans to place trash bags inside.  If you don’t have one you can get a free one by asking housekeeping.  This helps keep mice in check.

Next meeting September 21st at 10:00 AM In BR 1

Legislative/Political, Richard Lee, Chair

• There was no August meeting

Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 15th at 10 AM in BR2

Maintenance and Engineering, David Elder, Chair
Ongoing Maintenance & Engineering projects & issues include:

• The outer door of the Herbert’s Run building was not working properly and has been repaired.
• The interior staircase from the Terrace level to the Edgewood 2 floor will be made safer.
• Administration noted that space limitations & historic constraints preclude an actual ramp here.
• * Rest rooms along Main Street have been substantially restored.

*Long Term issues with the Men’s Room were noted during the Council Meeting.

• The gas fireplace near the Terrace Restaurant will be replaced with new fireplace unit.  Substantial & attractive signage indicating this addition was noted onsite.

The survey of all residential apartments to locate/label water shut off valves will continue.

*Erickson Senior Living design team is working on plans to refurbish the auditorium.

• Many Charlestown Groups including the Little Theater Company, The Harmonizers, ELLIC, Performing Arts, Administration & others are interested in the outcome of this project.

*Restoration of the bridge abutments between the Saint Charles and Herbert’s Run buildings has reached the halfway point and is scheduled for completion by October 2026.

• *[Lack of ongoing progress has been observed in the past few days.] Administration indicates a delay due to Concrete Logistics.

*The Nature Trail is being refurbished and will be partially closed thought 2026.

• Damage to the Butterfly Garden will be repaired by the contractor who caused the damage.
• The Maintenance & Engineering Committee is working with The Grounds Committee on this overall project, with M&E focusing on the Bridge Work while Grounds focuses on the Trail.
• Research on solar power alternatives focuses on Aggregate Net Metering as a no cost option.
• Concerns about the aquatic center locker rooms that metal fixtures had begun to rust.
• This may be due to the presence of pool treatment chemicals/fumes & cleaning chemicals used.

*items are long term/complex projects..
Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 22th @ 2 PM in BR1

Resident Life, Bill Jones, Co-Chairs

• The Tapestry Planning Committee will hold their fall sessions on Thursday, October 1st and Monday, October 5th in the Chesapeake and Terrace Restaurants, respectively. The topic for these sessions will be “Change Happens – How do I deal with it”. Registration information will soon be available online, in the Sunburst and, on September 16th, will be available at the Charlestown restaurants.
• The Accessibility and Inclusion Committee has completed filming a video addressing the topic of EMV and rollator safety and courtesy. The video  covers how both EMV users and other residents can be helpful when using elevators and around the campus. Stay tuned to see the video on Channel 972 in the near future.
• The Dine Together Dinner and the Dine Together Luncheon Social programs continue to be a valuable tool for new residents to meet. We hope to promote both programs more fully and especially the luncheons which have only moderately attended thus far.
• The Resident Life Committee is very grateful to Desmond Young who recently stepped up to take on publication of the New Resident Newsletter. At present he is producing the newsletter on a bi-weekly basis and potentially will move to weekly later in the year.
• Finally, the Resident Life Committee will be helping with a program to name the front lawn outdoor park. Residents will be asked to submit names for the park to Deanna.Booker@erickson.com through September 11th. The Committee and Resident Life Department will select five names and they will be voted on by residents during the week of September 21-25. The final decision will be announced during the grand opening ceremony on October 16th. Announcements will be coming on Channel 972 and bulletin boards.

    Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 16th at 2pm in BR2

Safety and Security, Bill Sundheim, Chair

• The Residents’ Council Safety-Security Committee and the staff’s Safety Committee met jointly on Thursday, August 20, 2026 from 11 am-12 pm at Wilton Overlook.  Jason Dennis and most of his staff attended. We are considering holding joint meetings periodically in the future.
• Bre Jones updated the attendees on progress installing badge readers at external residences’ doors, which are expected to be completed by the end of next year.
• Bre reported that signage in HR parking lot to reduce illegal parking was being installed and more signage designed to reduce speeding needed to be placed. Continued instances of speeding on campus were also observed. The “Slow” signs for crosswalks placed mid-road seem to have a positive effect on slowing and stopping traffic.
• Steve Miller reported that replacement of aging smoke detectors is planned, with assisted living and independent living scheduled when replacements are available. Four new fire hydrants have been installed.
• A resident noted that some sidewalk areas are again in need of work to prevent trips on uneven pavement. David Cruz reported that sidewalk repairs are scheduled for 2027.

Next meeting: Thursday, September 17 at 11:00 am in the Caton Woods Conference Room

Administration Update
Don Grove, Executive Director

Project Updates
At our last town hall, Jason Dennis shared the new work order process with General Services. When you put in a work order, you should receive an automated response for any maintenance or transportation request.  Once that work order is completed, you get the opportunity to give feedback on that project. This helps us make sure projects are completed. Please let us know if you have feedback on that.

Front lawn – I love the good, great feedback people have been giving me, and also appreciated the pictures folks sending.  There are little things we’re working on. Today was the softball field – getting ready for their tournament coming up.

I actually got to attend the gardeners’ meeting the other day. They had the draft. I think they pretty much every garden was taken. But that was just a wonderful thing to see. They’re all preparing, and several of them have been outside this week already, working in their gardens.

In response to Jack Flood, the trench going around the gardens is a separate project related to the street lights not working around campus. When those lights were originally put in many years ago, wires were just laid in the ground, so they’re very susceptible. They’re not in a conduit or any kind of piping. We finally have the vendor here, separate from the front lawn project, to address the lights.

We are welcoming John Thomas, our new security manager. John Thomas joins us from Oakcrest, where he was assistant security manager, and he’s here now on our campus. And we’re looking forward to introducing you to John.

Edgewood stairs. We’re actually in the process of ordering the materials to get that work done, so we it is now moving forward. I just I ask everybody to understand is setting expectations. There are limitations, and there was also only so much we could do with the steps. But the big difference you will see is the landing step for each step will be wider, so that as so as you walk down the steps, it’s a little bit more secure. But I do think it’ll improve the situation. But just wanted to set expectations that there are limits in the old buildings can be a challenge as far as what we can do in that tight space.

The Bridge footer project is in a state of pause.   There’s a delay in getting the concrete out here, a three-week pause in the project. I think we’re about a week into that.

Charlestown Square to Bill Sunheim’s point on the badge readers. We are intending to replace all the keypads with badge readers on all buildings. It was designed as a three-year project. We’re doing Charlestown Square this year, and then next year we’ll do the balance of the buildings on campus. So not all done by the end of this year.

The pool completion is still slated for late September. We’re following that very closely and hoping to get that done.

The roof repair visible from Chapel Court to Charlestown Square. There’s a gaping hole in the roof. It was secured today. Actually, scaffolding went up, and the work will be coming.

Charlestown Square today, the walls have grown up as the sales office and the front desk. Roslyn at the front desk there has a little temporary space. She’s as cheery and making the most of it as she always does, but that work is now moving forward, as well as the fitness center, and of course, lots of work going upstairs, going on upstairs in the fireside.

We have continued to get great feedback for the crab and go. I saw some numbers appear as far as the volume, two to 225, roughly a day. Well, yesterday we had 400 plus.

We are closely monitoring the auditorium design and believe most of the resident recommendations will be implimented.

Dining updates. Simply prepared is meant to be an option where items won’t be breaded or seasoned. There’ll be minimal oils used in cooking those items. You’re going to see some campaigning and some information related to this in the days ahead. But we are a pilot for that program for all the communities.

You’ll be getting information on the CVS update later this month or in the coming week or two. CVS will be changing in name; otherwise, the changes are very minimal. But it will be a change in name. It will be called Main Street Pharmacy. That is the new name of CVS. There are very strict rules with regard to signage. So you’ll see, we literally on September 30th into October 1st, the signage has to be changed. You won’t see CVS branded projects, but that transition is set for all our campuses. As we said at town hall, really the only thing that folks will have to sort of change is if you had a credit card on file. It does not carry from the old CVS to the Main Street pharmacy, so you just have to submit a new credit card.

Our next resident satisfaction survey will come in October. That survey will run October 5 through 25th, and those are my updates.

Questions

Mike Billingsley, St. Charles. When you put the card readers in, do the keys go out so we will have to have the card for everybody for work?

Don – Ultimately, not this year, not till at least the end of next year. Keys for the outdoor will go away. It will just be card readers. Okay. Just for perspective, folks, that’s all the communities, Charlestown Erickson communities have all have keypads. They don’t. Excuse me. They don’t use keys. They use the card readers.

Mike Billingsley also asked if CVS is behind Main Street Pharmacy, their accounts with CVS and all that kind of thing?

Don – You’ll have to update your account, but they will have their own reward system. They will have provide your credit card if you had stuff ordered online. But we’ll get you specifics. We’re working on some literature.

A long discussion of CVS ensued and no conclusions were made.

John Arnold asked for an update on the Terrace Pergola

Don – Pergola outside of the terrace is coming within the next few weeks. I don’t know the end of the month. And by the end of the month, it will be in place.

Rick Jones, Maple Terrace 2308. The men’s bathroom by the building one front desk has been out of order for I don’t know how many months now. I know the ladies’ room was out, and now that’s back up. Men’s room has been out and then it was up for about a week and now it’s been out for a couple of months. I know there’s supposed to be a leak in there, but I think it ought to get fixed. The other thing is, I haven’t seen it yet, but I hear that the fire table out back on the terrace patio is kind of like a wall of flame. Not sure what’s going on with that.

Don – Okay, so the restroom there is a significant leak in the piping in the men’s room, so that is taking longer than expected to repair. The fireplace delivered today. We’re getting more information on it. The fire-it is a large display fireplace. You also have the trellis to come. One thing I’ll try to get more information. And the other thing I always say is, folks, as much as we can, sort of pause, let them finish the work, and we will adjust as we need to, where we can. So, we have been. We went out today and walked the space. Thanks for the residents who made me aware. You know, they saw it and they’re like, ask some questions about it. So, we will we’ll figure it out

Next meeting Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 3 PM in the auditorium

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Submitted by John Arnold, Secretary