The following will be my thoughts and interpretations of the Senior Forum Meeting this morning:
Room Setup: The chairs were set in a semi circle which is a good placement for the audience. There was a table at the back of the room on which was various literature for the Seniors. I placed 2 stacks of The 55 Plus Magazine and passed them out by hand. There were coffee and cookies to nibble! The last of the big spenders for the Seniors
The Speaker: Steven Person, from FIU, personable, had sense of humor, knew what he was doing. The 2 x 4 sheets on tripods were prepared for him. I was there early so I had the opportunity to introduce myself and have a conversation in which I could tell him about the cancellation of the Shuttle Bus by the City which made this meeting questionable.
Numbers and who were present: I asked Kathie Osborn how many folks had attended and her response was that she would have to look at the sign in sheet. Then said: "About 15" without looking!
Neal deJesus, Jamie Curran, Lisa Mallozzi, Diane Sori, Bart Roper,(I invited former commissioners and mayor) Stan Neuman,
A reporter from the The Forum Publishing Group, City Manager Bruce Loucks was there almost all the time. We know he is busy but he did stay. Linda Good. Ass't Parks and Rec. Director, Ken Richardson, Director, and Kathie Osborn, Recreation Supervisor.
I sent out almost 150 notices to all the Cooper City HOA's, churches, chabads and synagogues and no representatives were present from any of them!
The meeting convened at 10:05 and ended approx. 11:45. Mr. Person kept the meeting moving along so there was not a lot of repetition or any dragging out of a topic.
On the tripod tablets, there were lists of all the activities which presently go on at the Community Center and Pool and Tennis Ctr. After 26 years of viewing them, no surprises there. Mr. Person asked us to rate the activities from 4 to 0. 4==a good activity, 1 not good and 0 we didn't know anything about it.
The cancelled Shuttle Bus was brought up by approx. 6 of us plus myself. The Ladies said that on the weekend they couldn't go anywhere like they did on the Shuttle Bus. They missed the activities available to them then and not now. Ahuge void in their lives because we have had the bus since 1991.
Stan Neuman complained that he was not treated in a friendly manner by the pinochle group which meets on Friday nights at the Pool & Tennis. Stan is a brilliant man. He is a nice man.
He has never participated in any trips, activities at Community Ctr.
George Caffrey mentioned that if anyone wanted to read the illegal red lighted sign at the corner of 50th and 90th, they can park in the Golf Course Driveway and read the sign! Yeah! Sure! we could all do that because we have nothing else to do!!
Lisa Mallozzi and Diane Sori had many remarks but have never participated in any of our activities.
I mentioned that we should have a Senior Advisory Committee(for lack of a better name) which could communicate with the Administration to learn what is going on of interest to the Seniors. Diane Sori and Stan Neuman each proceeded to EXPLAIN about a City Advisory Board's purpose. She used the P & Z Bd., of which she is a member, as an example. They interrupted me in my explanation so I asked for the floor to continue my explanation without further interruption!
I told them if Davie could have a successful Senior Guidance Board (Davie's name for their Board) there was no reason why Cooper City couldn't as well.
Another lady who does not participate in the activities asked why we could not go to the South West Focal Point and take advantage of their activities. WHAT? AND GIVE UP OUR COOPER CITY ACTIVITIES. NO Way! Mr. Loucks was asked to look into it! WOW!
S.W. F. P has apartments on their premises so they have a built-in group of folks to participate. Pembroke Pines sends folks to Cooper City!!!
The above were some of the remarks made by a few of the attendees.
The audience was attentive and actively participated. They know that if something isn't done, there will be NO activities for them in C. C. Just like there is no Shuttle Bus.
The reporter told me that it seemed to him that the Shuttle Bus is a DEAD ISSUE!
He said the Mayor and Commissioners have a plan for the Seniors: to expand the Block Grant(Federally subsidized) Bus to include taking the Seniors on trips, etc. THE RULES ARE: THE BUS IS NOT TO BE USED FOR RECREATIONAL OR LUXURY PURPOSES. They don't seem to know that rule!!! It can be used for medical appointments by appointment BUT ONLY ON TUESDAY AND THURSDAYS EACH WEEK. Why is it that all the Doctors want to make Senior's appointments on Mondays? Wednesdays? or Fridays? And they are using it for pharmacy visits to pick up meds, grocery shopping, only if it is a real need or to the bank. These last trips have been added since Cindy Healy left.
So, their plans are dead in the water as far as I am concerned.
Because that is what the Federal Contract says!
That just goes to show you how much the Mayor and Commissioners know about Senior affairs and activities. They have never seen or done or looked in on or cared about the programs before today but they were sure full of advice! We all know what Free Advice is worth!!!
There was a distinct feeling of DISMISSAL from Bruce, Ken and Linda and Kathie. They don't expect anything to come of this meeting. And, by the way, this is the first such meeting the City has ever had for the Seniors in my 27 years in Cooper City!!! This meeting was a pacifier. A chance for the Seniors to "vent". To feel like their opinions counted! The Seniors are all smarter than that!
It was also mentioned that RESIDENT VOLUNTEERS could drive the Elders to appointments, shopping, etc. to help them. Well, when Cindy was here, we did have a couple of us who did just that. Cindy would call me to see if I could take someone to an appointment and I would. I did it many, many times for Cindy. Chemo, radiation and colonoscopies were the real brutes. Heartbreaking!
Now, all we can do is pray that some good will come out of this meeting for our Seniors. I don't have a very positive feeling because of the vibes I received from the City Administrators and elected officials. But Mr. Steven Person, the facilitator, was neat!
Thanks for listening and let us hear your thoughts through the Comment Section! We will appreciate them.
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