Hi Lynne, Thank you for your email. My main point is that the $25MM proposal is out of proportion to our needs, resources and what our peers have done. I agree with many that we need to conduct an updated review of the COA and PRD against our existing resources, but I believe the answer lies in a much smaller incremental investment that what the CCBC is suggesting.
I am not sure where you got your information about the state of MA mandates for COA, but I don’t think it is accurate. You can find the relevant statute here: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter40/Section8B Towns have the authority to create COAs, but the existence is optional, as are all of its activities, including meals. I am not implying that the current COA offerings are not important, on the contrary, but I don’t think there is a legal argument to defend a $25MM community center proposal. You mention that Bemis and Pierce House are not appropriate to house COA but can we not invest in them to make them appropriate? Pierce House has a kitchen, in fact, it was used during our recent Fall Fest. The town can always explore expanding it if needed, including adding a steam cleaner. I think we all need to keep an open mind in this process. On Sat, Nov 12, 2022 at 1:22 PM llas902...@aol.com <llas902...@aol.com> wrote: > Hi Karla > Thank you for your thoughts. While I understand your worries, if we had a > community center ,how would YOU best like the town to utilize the space? > The state of MA mandates certain regulations for COUNCIL ON AGING > facilities when offering the many benefits the state offers. For one > instance one of the state mandates is COA serve a delicious meal to age 60+ > residents, and Bemis does not have sufficient kitchen space, nor do they > have a steam cleaner for cleaning dishes which is required. > The state does have many requirements for COUNCIL ON AGING, which Bemis > is not set up for. > It is more than a space issue. > The Pierce House was considered, but the space is , again, not appropriate > for all COA offers. > > Please come to the Zoom mtg on THE STATE OF THE TOWN on Nov 14 to discuss > your questions and find out all that the state of MA mandates for COUNCIL > ON AGING. That is what the mtg is for, b4 the vote on Nov 30. > Love to hear more from you then. > Lynne LaSpina FLCOA. > > Sent from the all new AOL app for Android > <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aol.mobile.aolapp> > > On Sat, Nov 12, 2022 at 11:17 AM, Karla Gravis > <karlagra...@gmail.com> wrote: > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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