Senior Center Committee

BO AR D M EM BE R S Noreen Shea, Chair * Asuncion Austriaco Chizoma Nosike Christian Roberts Facely Henriquez * Lovo Koliego * COMMISSION ON ELDER AFFAIRS Matthew Torrey Olanike Ojelabi MEETING AGENDA Pavel Terpelets Monday, November 24, 2025, 4:00 p.m. virtual on Teams: Roxana Gomez Vargas Sarah Faucher Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 255 430 882 337 44 Stephen Corridori * Tamara Cullen * Passcode: JL26ux6m Thuha Le Dial in by phone +1 469-998-7682,,868436180# US *Senior Center Committee Members Phone conference ID: 868 436 180# For more information concerning this meeting, please contact the Elder C ON T A CT Affairs Division/Worcester Senor Center by email at • Address: WSC, 128 Providence St. elderaffairs@worcesterma.gov or phone at 508-799-1232. Please send • Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. written comments 2 business days or more in advance of the meeting. If you need reasonable accommodations to participate in the meeting, please • Phone: 508-799-1232 reach out to the staff contact listed. While boards and commissions do their • Email: best to accommodate you, certain accommodation may not be available if elderaffairs@worcesterma.gov requested within short notice of the scheduled meeting. Requests for American Sign Language interpretation must be made 10 business days or • Website: more in advance of the meeting. www.worcesterma.gov/senior-center The Commission on Elder Affair is committed to Para más información sobre esta reunión, comuníquese con el Elder Affairs ensuring that its public meetings are accessible to all. If you need reasonable accommodations to Division/Worcester Senior Center por correo electrónico al correo participate in the meeting, please reach out to the elderaffairs@worcesterma.gov o por teléfono 508-799-1232]. Envíe sus staff contact listed. While boards and commissions do their best to accommodate you, comentarios por escrito 2 días hábiles o más antes de la reunión. Si certain accommodations may not be available if necesita adaptaciones razonables para participar en la reunión, comuníquese requested within short notice of the scheduled meeting. Requests for American Sign Language con el contacto del personal indicado en la lista. Aunque las juntas y interpretation must be made 10 business days or comisiones hacen todo lo posible para atenderle, algunas adaptaciones more in advance of the meeting. podrían no estar disponibles si se solicitan con poca anticipación a la reunión Hay disponibles servicios de interpretación y programada. Las solicitudes de interpretación de lenguaje de señas otras adaptaciones con solicitud previa. estadounidense deben hacerse 10 días hábiles o más antes de la reunión. ‫تتوفر الترجمة الفورية وغيرها من وسائل التيسير عند الطلب المسبق‬ Call to Order – 4 p.m. अनवु ा द र अ6य आवसह अ'-म अनरोधपचत ाु उपल5ध 1)Attendance/Approval of October 27th Commission meeting हु6छ। minutes & November 18th Senior Center Committee Report/ Interpretação e outras adaptações estão Confirm next meeting for January 26th at 4 pm, virtual. disponíveis mediante solicitação prévia. Përkthimi dhe akomodime të tjera janë në dispozicion me kërkesë paraprake. 2)25TH ANNIVERSARY VIDEO EXCERPTS-GIVING THANKS Kasa nkyerɛaseɛ ɛne akwanya afoforɔ da hɔ ma wɔn a wɔn bɛ bisa ato hɔ. 3)DIRECTOR’S REPORT-GOALS/OUTCOMES Phiên dịch và các hỗ trợ khác có sẵn theo yêu cầu trước. 4) OPERATIONS & SPECIAL PROJECTS DI V IS IO N S TA FF 5) SENIOR SERVICES, EDUCATION & OUTREACH Amy Vogel Waters, Director Patricia Hainsworth, Operations 6) Comments/Questions (up to 2 min. each) Linda Wincek-Moore, Senior Services Adjourn 1 *Insert dates* Commission on Elder Affairs Meeting Minutes-October 27, 2025 Worcester Senior Center, 128 Providence Street Attendance: Noreen Shea-Chair, Chizoma Nosike, Christian Roberts, Lovo Koliego, Mathew Torrey, Olanike Ojelabi, Pavel Terpelets, Roxana Gomez Vargas, Sarah Faucher, Stephen Corridori, Tamara Cullen, Thuha Le, Amy Waters, Patty Hainsworth, Linda Wincek-Moore, Suki Lapin, Dawn Skogulund, Paul Morano, Rachel Pressey, Walter Ramos, Jeremy Viera, Jonathan Garland, Joey Sola-Solc, and Kyle Sylvester. 1. Call to Order: Noreen called the meeting to order at 4 pm. The members approved the minutes of Sept. 29th meeting of the Commission on Elder Affairs as well as the report on the October 14th Senior Center Committee meeting (m/s/a). Noreen then introduced the guest speakers. 2. After introductions, Walter Ramos, President & CEO, Rogerson Communities, provided an overview of the organization which has been operating since 1860. Their mission is to enhance the well-being of older adults by elevating housing, community and care to address their needs as they age. They currently serve more than 2,000 diverse older adults across 30 properties and programs in Massachusetts, mainly in Boston. He stated that when they create affordable housing units it is with the intention that they remain affordable in perpetuity. With the need so great, he is excited to bring more affordable housing to the city and that the Rogerson Board sees increasing affordable senior housing as their mandate. Jeremy Viera, Director of Real Estate Development for Rogerson Communities, explained that they currently plan to create approximately 98 units by rehabbing the vacant space at the senior center and by building a new building adjacent to it. The rents are to be capped at 30% of the resident’s income & there may be a tiered asset eligibility criteria. Jonathan Garland, President and Founder of JGE Architecture & Design, presented the design he has been working on with Joey and Kyle for Rogerson Communities. He noted that there would be a historic renovation of the old building with a new building which would be complimentary. Most of the units would be approximately 650 square feet with one bedroom. There would be very limited studios and 2-bedroom units. Some of the common “mixing” spaces include a fireplace lounge, laundry, mail facility, and trash chutes. There would also be some outdoor space and offices. They expect to preserve the wide hallways, transoms, and doors, and have many windows. The new wing would have approximately 45 units as well as a small parking garage. The old wing would utilize 2-3 of the current dorm rooms to create 53 units. The team answered numerous questions sharing information such as: the design is in early stages and will change depending upon tax credit financing and historical requirements; If all goes well, groundbreaking may be the end of 2027 and construction would last about 18 months; Most of the units will be “group 1 ADA adaptable” and the rest will be fully ADA accessible; They will be suitable for individuals or couples, age 62+; energy efficiency & security will be addressed; plans for the courtyard are t.b.d.; Rentals will likely be determined via a heavily regulated lottery system. Noreen and others thanked the speakers for demonstrating their commitment to this important project. Adjournment: Due to the time, Noreen asked Commission members to review Amy’s written report without verbal highlights. The meeting was adjourned at 5:03 pm (m/s/a) 2  COMMISSION ON ELDER AFFAIRS Senior Center Committee Meeting Minutes/Report November 18, 2025 Virtual on Teams Attendance: Noreen Shea-Chair; Lovo Koleigo; Steve Corridori; Facely Henriquez; Tamara Cullen; Amy Waters. 3. Call to Order: Noreen called the meeting to order at 12:03 pm on Teams. The October 14, 2025 minutes were approved (m/s/a). It was noted that there will be no meeting in December, and the next meeting will be January 13, 2026 on Teams. 4. Finances: Amy reported on the following: there were no changes this month to funding, licenses and development; the allocations spread sheet now reflects actual costs for state COA funded positions which reduces the amount of contingency funds by $9,945; If approved by city council, a revolving account to fund health and wellness programs will be established; beginning to prepare for FY’27 budget requests. Noreen commented on the positive report at the last Commission meeting from the developer, Rogerson Communities, which intends to build affordable senior housing adjacent to the senior center; Lovo suggested the MA Cultural Council be looked at a potential funder for renovations. 5. Operations: Amy reported as Patty had to attend a training by the new newsletter publisher; She reported on the following: staffing is stable; Veterans event successfully educated high school students and acknowledged veterans; The upcoming thanksgiving event is expected to be a full house including a craft fair; The heat booster for the commercial dishwasher was purchased and installed via the state equipment grant; the importance of not infringing on copyrights was discussed and it was noted that the new newsletter publisher will provide appropriate graphics. 6. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 12:33 pm (m/s/a) 3