All members of the Holliston Council on Aging were present for the April meeting, held on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at 2:00pm.

The Council noted that April represents the one-year anniversary of Director Lisa Borchetta.  Congratulations and thanks were shared with Ms. Borchetta.

The Senior Center’s newly hire Outreach and Transportation Coordinator, Melicia DaCosta (below) was introduced to the Council.  Ms. DaCosta holds a Master’s degree related to elders and she is very excited to be able to interact with Holliston’s seniors.

Staff Updates:

• Senior Center Assistant Director Amanda Boralessa updated the CoA on several new / returning programs being offered by the Center:
  • The May / June Senior Center Newsletter will be available soon.  Contact Ms. Boralessa Boralessaa@holliston.k12.ma.us to get on the list for electronic distribution of the Newsletter.
  • VFW luncheon that was postponed in January (darn COVID) will be held soon
  • Fall Prevention classes will resume soon
  • A textile recycling bin is now in the Sr. Ctr. parking lot.  Proceeds from the donated items will benefit the Senior Support Foundation (SSF) and Big Brothers / Big Sisters
  • A daytrip to Maine is planned for August 2022.
  • Volunteers to help in the kitchen are still needed.
  • R.A.M.S. 8^th graders will be doing a day of service at the Center in May.
• Outreach / Transportation Coordinator Melicia DaCosta
  • The Sr. Ctr. has several items of medical equipment that are available for loan / use by Holliston seniors.
  • Appreciates the teamwork she gets from her new colleagues at the Center.
• Director Lisa Borchetta
  • An old electrical panel has been replaced (real safety hazard) and the furnace room has been cleared to maintain safe distances.
  • The previously awarded $6,000 Taxi grant from the MAPC has been extended through the end of 2022.
  • The Senior Safe partnership with Holliston Fire has already completed 6 installations of grab bars / smoke detectors and has another 6 in queue.
  • The Select Board approved a $75,000 allocation from Holliston’s ARPA funds to support a livability and safety program to allow qualifying Holliston seniors to make repairs to age-in-place.  The program will be a partnership with Habitat for Humanity who has great experience with this type of critical home repair.  This may be a recurring grant depending on the success of this phase of the program. The Council thanked Ms. Borchetta for her tireless work to hone this program into something that would be worthy of ARPA funding.
  • The Survey of Hollistonians 55 and older is in the planning stage (stakeholder input, focus, format, etc.)  The survey results will be available to the Town by the end of 2022.
  • Stephen Whitemore will soon start as a part-time Sr. Ctr. Van driver.

The Council approved a request for $975 from the SSF to cover expenses for upcoming events.

The CoA had been invited to share feedback to the Envisioning Future Holliston (EFH) committee regarding the recently completed first survey as the EFH committee plans a second survey.  The Council authorized Chair Yvette Cain to send a memo summarizing the CoA’s input to the EFH committee.  A large part of this discussion highlighted the need for coordination between the EFH survey and the age 55+ survey being conducted by the UMASS Gerontological Institute for the Council on Aging.  Meetings between Ms. Borchetta and the EFH leads are planned in the near future.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:56pm.