Senior Citizens Advisory Board

Adult Activity Center

Agenda — 16 items

1. 1 CALL TO ORDER 4:07 p.m.
2. 2 ROLL CALL
3. 3 a. Roll Call and Excusal of Absences Present: 7 - Chair Celia Suarez, Vice-Chair Kelley Schild, Board member Julian Sevillano, Board Member Jean Connelly, Board member James “Jim” Berlin, Board member Richard Thurer and Board member Judith "Jude" Alexander
4. 4 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
5. 5 a. Approval of November Meeting Minutes A MOTION TO APPROVE LAST MEETINGS MINUTES WAS MADE BY JAMES “JIM” BERLIN AND WAS SECONED BY JULIAN SEVILLANO. ALL IN FAVOR; PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.
6. 6 SUPERVISOR'S REPORT
7. 6 Board Chairperson Celia Suarez began by stating that there is no need for an excusal of absence with every member in attendance and extending a warm welcome to the newly appointed Senior Advisory Board member Judith "Jude" Alexander. Board member James “Jim” Berlin then welcomed Norma Gavarrete the newly appointed Adult Activities Supervisor to her first Senior Advisory Board meeting.
8. 7 a. General Updates AAC Assistant Supervisor Gregory Walters began by discussing Spring registration opening on December 4th, with the non-resident monthly registration policy still being enforced at the third Monday of the month prior to the program start date as it seemed to be effective at allowing more resident registrations in AAC classes. AAC Assistant Supervisor Gregory Walters then discussed new programming for the Spring season, beginning with the return of the Essentrics stretching class and Baton Twirling. Gregory then discussed the implementation of the South Florida Chamber Ensemble Minds in Harmony Concert Series on the second Tuesday of every month at 12:30pm. Mindful Meditation set to begin on Fridays in February at 12:30pm, Party Bridge Thursdays at 1pm b. Special Events AAC Assistant Supervisor Gregory Walters began by discussing the 15th Annual William M. Schiff Art Show stating that the AAC had received the largest number of submissions ever with 126 pieces of artwork. Gregory then went on to talk about the AAC Annual Holiday Luncheon stating this was the most attended luncheon in AAC history with 134 in attendance. Gregory then discussed the upcoming Spring special events stating that the Variety Show is scheduled for April 19th and the AAC Volunteer Appreciation Sprin Luncheon is scheduled for May 3rd. AAC Assistant Supervisor Gregory Walters went on to discuss the continuation of the Afternoon at the Cinema sponsored by Commissioner Menendez stating that the Spring dates have been finalized with the next showing being on Saturday February 24th at 12pm showing a collection of short films including “Duck Soup” and other selections from Laurel and Hardy. Board Member Jean Connely stated that it was very nice to have Cuqui and Mano volunteer their time to assist the board with judging the artwork for this year’s art show. Board Chairperson Celia Suarez then mentioned that she would like for the board to show their appreciation for the assistance of Cuqui and Mano in the form of a certificate. A MOTION TO FORMALLY RECOGNIZE CUQUI AND MANO WITH A CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNICTION AND INVITE THEM TO ATTEND THE VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION LUNCHEON FOR ASSISTING THE BOARD WITH JUDING THE ARTWORK FOR THE ANNUAL ART SHOW WAS MADE BY JEAN CONNELLY AND WAS SECONED BY JULIAN SEVILLANO. ALL IN FAVOR; PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Board Chairperson Celia Suarez then inquired about the Farmers Market and the plan for the board to market to formally attend. AAC Assistant Supervisor Gregory Walters responded by stating that he did send an email to the board members with a list of dates as options for the board to attend and advertise the Senior Advisory Board and the AAC stating that based off the responses they have chosen to have a table there on February 17th and March 30th with Maria working on a flash mob dance for the March 30th date. Community Recreation Deputy Director Carolina Vester stated that this is a new initiative where they are asking all community recreation facilities to come out for a couple days of the farmers market with an activity for children or the community. Board Member Jean Connelly then inquired if the positioning of the table would be different than the previous year when it was off to the side and Carolina Vester stated that the table would be more centrally located this year c. Administrative Updates Community Recreation Deputy Director Carolina Vester opened the floor to the board for any questions they had regarding pending projects. Board Member James “Jim” Berlin stated that he would like to promote the Keep Coral Gables Beautiful Pinewood Cemetery Event on January 19th. Carolina Vester then stated that AAC Supervisor Norma Gavarrete and AAC Assistant Supervisor Gregory Walters can look into having more presentations from the Keep Coral Gables Beautiful foundation to discuss upcoming events. Board Chairperson Celia Suarez inquired about any updates regarding the Coral Gables Country Club, Community Recreation Deputy Director Carolina Vester stated that things are going very well and detailing the change in the operation of the Le Parc café that just occurred. Stating that the closure period was very short with a new operation company, Bon Jour being able to come in right away and work with the Venetian Pool staff until they were able to staff it completely. Board Member Jean Connelly then inquired about the status of the Burgers Bob’s diner; Community Recreation Deputy Director stated that there is a current completion date for July of this year. Carolina then stated that it is the City’s priority to get this project moving as quickly as possible, stating that there are some delays as they bring old designs up to newer codes. Carolina Vester then stated that the City Commission has passed a resolution to work with Rita Tennyson on an operational plan. Community Recreation Deputy Director Carolina Vester then went over potential park naming that were discussed with the Parks Advisory Board earlier in the day naming the Toledo and Alava Park for Mayor Dorothy Thompson and her husband, naming the Sunrise Harbor Park for Sallye and James Jude, naming Tiziano Park for Staff Sgt Carl Enis and updating the William A. Cooper Park to include Leona Cooper in the name.
9. 8 NEW BUSINESS
10. 9 OLD BUSINESS
11. 10 a. Follow up - Workshop Plans - Senior Quality of Life - Senior Pros & Cons - Health Care & Aging - Cost of Housing - Senior homelessness - Board Sunshine Rules & Board Liaison Board Chairperson Celia Suarez then followed up from the previous meeting on the workshop that the board held to discuss the goals of the board moving into the new year. Celia then continued to discuss some of the major issues the board had settled on as a focus; registration issues and how to deal with AAC growing memberships, affordable housing for seniors in Coral Gables, and how to identify the needs of seniors in the Coral Gables community. Celia then opened the floor to ask if any members had anything additional to add for discussion in the February meeting. Board member James “Jim” Berlin then stated that he believes there needs to be new ways to advertise the AAC discussing bringing back visitations to other Coral Gables boards. Board member Judith Alexander then inquired why we would look at bringing in more members when there isn’t enough room in classes for the current level of membership, inquiring if there is a policy to remove individuals who register for full classes to enroll others. AAC Assistant Supervisor Gregory Walters responded by stating that there is a no-show policy for free programs, however they do not remove individuals from registering for paid programs. Gregory then stated that the AAC does overenroll the classes with the understanding that there will always be individuals who miss classes throughout the month. Community Recreation Deputy Director Carolina Vester then stated that there is the possibility that they can register someone to take open seats if there are individuals who do not come in for the class. Board Vice-Chairperson Kelley Schild then inquired as to which classes there are capacity issues with, AAC Assistant Supervisor Gregory Walters then stated that the amin two classes there is a regular waitlist for are the Tuesday and Thursday Total Body Conditioning and Zumba. Gregory then also stated that the AAC had begun opening on Saturdays offering a Zumba and Strength & Toning class for overflow. Community Recreation Deputy Director Carolina Vester then stated that looking into expanding hours further should allow for additional registrations. Board Chairperson Celia Suarez then mentioned that advertisement does not seem to be an issue with the social media presence that was online following the Annual Holiday Luncheon. Community Recreation Deputy Director Carolina Vester responded by discussing that there are other methods the department uses to advertise whether on Facebook, Instagram, or the department monthly newsletter. Board Vice-Chairperson Kelley Schild then brought up the past discussions about reaching out to assisted living facilities to sponsor events at the AAC. Kelley then inquired about the pending survey and whether there was any progress on completing it, Carolina responded that there is a draft that can be shared with the board for their review.
12. 11 DISCUSSION ITEMS
13. 12 ITEMS FROM THE SECRETARY
14. 13 Next meeting date February 1, 2024 at 4 p.m.
15. 14 ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 5:00pm
16. 15 NOTE