11-13-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, October 23, 2017 7:00 o'clock p.m. 8. GILLESPIE CENTER ANNUAL UPDATE AND CONSIDERATION OF SUPPORT — Continued around for almost 30 years. The Gillespie building was built by fundraising and donations by community members and various groups with a large matching donation from the Gillespie family. The Gillespie Senior Center has a goal of raising a large endowment fund to support most of the expenses of running the center. The Gillespie Center is technically a senior center but it often calls itself a community center. Brustad stated the question that needs to be answered is why are they important to this community. Research shows that an active senior center helps reduce the risk of depression and the slowing of cognitive skills of seniors. Seniors involved in an active senior center are helped in their ability to continue to live independently in their own homes. An active senior center enhances social connectiveness of the community and can help the seniors experience measurable improvements in their physical, social, spiritual, emotional and mental well-being. According to the City's website on the demographics of the City, the official general population of Orono decreased from 2000 to 2010, while the population of those over 65 increased. Looking at other statistical pages from other sites finds that the current population of Orono is over 8,000 and the population of those 60 and over is over 20 percent. Brustad stated those numbers help to show part of the need for the Gillespie Center. The Gillespie Center has contracted with Senior Community Services, which is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop, coordinate and provide services that help meet the needs of older adults and support their caregivers. They offer creative solutions for helping all generations better enjoy their later years for several senior centers in the area. SCS has a program called Home, which provides inside and outside household maintenance for the elder. They offer a variety of people that help perform a number of small household tasks that help keep a household safe for a senior to live in. They provide services that the senior is no longer able to complete themselves. This program is for anyone 60 and over and there is a sliding scale fee for the services. Sometimes volunteers offer their services and there is no charge. The goal is to keep the home safe and a place they can continue to live in. Brustad noted she distributed a brochure to the City Council on the Home program. Brustad stated another part of SCS's program is called Senior Partners Care. This program helps seniors obtain medical care they need by helping to bridge the financial gap between their medical bills and their Medicare coverage. SCS provides a licensed social worker who offices part-time at the Gillespie Center. She provides resources to seniors and their family caregivers as they go through the various stages of maturity. She provides individual, private help after meeting with the senior and often their families after learning their individual concerns. SCS also provides a volunteer, Chuck Radke, that offices at the Gillespie Center to help seniors and their family make educated choices with their Medicare and health insurance questions. He meets one on one with seniors to go through those individual choices. Since he is not selling a product, he is able to give them complete choices without the bias of a sale for their various insurance needs. SCS provides him training every year for this job so he is current with the various resources available. SCS also works with six other senior centers. They provide the Gillespie Center with its one and only full-time paid employee. The Gillepie Center's director is Mindy Anderson. With her knowledge of Page 2 of 11