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1987/11/19 Senior Citizens Advisory Commission Minutes • SENIOR CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES November 19, 1987 The Senior Citizens Advisory Commission of the City of Rohnert Park met this date in regular session , commencing at 3:00 p.m. at the City Council Chambers , City of Rohnert Park , 6750 Commerce Boulevard, Rohnert Park , with Chairman Chase presiding. Call to Order Chairman Chase called the regular session to order at approximately 3:01 p.m. and led the pledge of allegiance. Roll Call Present : (4 ) Commissioners Dolby, Jennis , Kennedy and Chairman Chase. Absent : ( 1 ) Commissioner Lyons . Staff present for all or part of the meeting: Senior Scheduler Wendy Brazeau. Approval of - Minutes Upon a motion made by Commissioner Kennedy , seconded by Commissioner Jennis and unanimously approved , the Minutes of October 15 , 1987 were approved as submitted. Ray Clark Housing Forum Commissioner Dolby introduced guest speaker Ray Clark who discussed the Housing Forum. Mr. Clark thanked the City for providing the facilities for the meeting and being so cooperative. The purpose of the Forum was to determine what action could be taken for the elderly in Sonoma County. Federal assistance in the future and homelessness were also issues of concern. Mr. Clark handed out copies of a sheet on low-income housing complexes in Sonoma County and briefly went over some of the following alternatives: 1 . Congregate Housing - Older buildings restored for shared use by seniors. 2. Senior Matching - Matching seniors who want to rent with seniors who have a place to rent . Mr. Clark pointed out that this has been tried and that it was not always successful . 3. Granny Flats - Detached building on property. The regulations are strict . 4. Group Homes - This has been successful in Petaluma. Mr. Clark indicated that if people have further questions , they may contact Ms . Jenny Walsh with the County Housing Authority at 527-3187. Senior Citizens Advisory Commission Minutes November 19 , 1987 Page 2 Another option is a mobile home , although Mr. Clark made the point that the mobile home may cost less initially but then space rental keeps rising , which makes it hard for seniors to afford. Eck Arrives At 3: 10 p.m. Councilman Eck arrived. Discussion continued on the Housing Forum. Mobile Home Rent Review Councilman Eck announced that the City Council did adopt a rent control ordinance. Much time went into making everything fit , and there remains the question that we may have breached the "green book (Mobile Home Agreement Booklet Applies ). Owners were unable to abide by the "green book. " A second initiative came along after the City Council was going to adopt the ordinance. Councilman Eck made a commitment to deal with the problem as did Councilmen Hollingsworth and Cochran. Costs will be shared by residents and owners of the parks. Councilman Eck is in favor of being able to change the ordinance. The ordinance is on the books , but the initiative may overrule the ordinance. The matter is not resolved. We have a resident-oriented ordinance. Councilman Eck felt that the Council was unjustly criticized by circulators of the petition. He added that the City Council appreciates the Senior Citizens Advisory Commission's comments. He pointed out that now we have three ordinances until the legal question on the "green book" is resolved , and he wishes the state or federal government would come up with a basic ordinance so that each city doesn't have to re-invent the wheel each time. The City is going to have a major expenditure on this . We are trying to prevent litigation and stay out of court . Compromise has not worked very well . Discussion followed on the ordinance and the Net Operating Formula for owners. The City Council will appoint people to the Rent Control Board , but there will be no appeals to the City Council. Councilman Eck thinks that people should be told about the "green book" , the ordinance and the initiative before entering into long-term leases . Rural Metro Councilman Eck addressed the letter the City Council received from Chairman Chase regarding Rural Metro. Mr. Senior Citizens Advisory Commission Minutes November 19 , 1987 Page 3 Eck stated that the City Council decided that management integration would be difficult . We would probably have been able to save money , however. Councilman Eck stated that private contractors provide savings in the long- term and that the private sector does a great job. He added that City Manager Callinan is an extremely skilled negotiator. The Council waivered , but Councilman Eck would have tried it if there had been more support because we had a 50-day clause and it would have been an interesting experiment . It will be E months to a year before we are up to full speed , and we could have tried Rural Metro out and discontinued the contract if unsatisfied during the same time period. Chairman Chase commented that he was under the impression that our Public Safety Department was the envy of the other communities. Councilman Eck replied that the Council was not planning to throw out the combined Public Safety concept , but we could have benefited from the fire prevention Rural Metro could provide. They would have probably recommended fire sprinklers on all new construction , which Councilman Eck is in favor. Rural Metro has personnel with expertise and they are a good deal for the dollar. The Council realized that Rural Metro was not going to integrate well with our Public Safety Department . We did receive a good deal of attention from this issue. Councilman Eck was contacted by union people , fire chiefs and Congressmen. Commissioner Jennis inquired if people in Rohnert Park could be trained , and Councilman Eck responded that that was their aim. Earthquakes Chairman Chase brought up the topic of earthquake preparedness and commented that it doesn't seem to be going anywhere on the Disaster Committee. Councilman Eck concurred. Part of the problem was identified as being a lack of Public Safety Personnel available to continue the work of Public Safety Officer Martin. Councilman Eck pointed out that the Public Safety Department is short staffed. There is $250 ,000 for additional staffing in the budget , but we haven' t added the personnel yet . Councilman Eck thanked Cnairman Chase and the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee for bringing the issue of disaster/earthquake preparedness to the City Council ' s attention. Senior Citizens Advisory Commission Minutes November 19 , 1987 Page 4 Eck Leaves Councilman Eck left the meeting at 3:46 p.m. Drop-In Center Upon recognition by Chairman Chase , Commissioner Jennis gave the following Drop-In Center Report . They were open 26-1 /2 days with 2 ,035 visitors. The daily average number of visitors was 77. There were 16 hostesses and 25 new visitors , of which , 4 were from out of the state and 11 were from out of town. Commissioner Jennis commented that their Halloween party was a big success. Commissioner Jennis publically thanked Mr. Bill Lorenz for his continuing generosity in donating turkeys for Thanksgiving and other meat products for the holiday season. Upon recognition by Chairman Chase , Senior Scheduler Wendy Brazeau announced upcoming senior events for December , including the Christmas Party at the Drop-In Center , December 21 , 1987. She also publically thanked Round Table Pizza for their contribution to the Halloween Party. Commissioner Kennedy commented that Ms. Brazeau is doing a great job. Bicycles & Skateboards Chairman Chase discussed the letter he wrote regarding skateboard and bicycle riding in shopping centers. He announced that the City Council did pass a bicycle ordinance , and Capt . Dennis Amantite from Public Safety wrote a letter to Hugh Codding regarding the above. However , notices prohibiting skateboards still need to be posted in the shopping centers. Senior Day Care Upon recognition by Chairman Chase , Commissioner Dolby discussed the day care for seniors that she is proposing. She said she had met with City Manager Peter Callinan to discuss the issue , and that he suggested that the Commission write to the City Council requesting space at the Community Center for the proposed senior day care. Additionally , Commissioner Dolby indicated that she would be willing to act as Coordinator one day a week. In the future , they could request funding from AAA. She added that she hopes the participating seniors will progress through the benefit of this program so as to be able to participate at the Senior Drop-In Center. Senior Citizens Advisory Commission Minutes November 1 9 , 1987 Page S Announcements Upon recognition by Chairman Chase , the secretary made the following announcements on behalf of Administrative Assistant Caroline Fabio who was absent from this meeting. The Annual Employee Appreciation Dinner will be held January 15 , 1986 at the Red Lion Inn. Invitations will be mailed out in December , including those to the Commissioners. The following Commissioners' terms will expire December 31 , 1987: Herb Lyons and Ann Kennedy. All interested parties must submit an application to the City Manager' s Office prior to the December 8 , 1937 City Council Meeting if they are interested in serviry on the Commission. Applications are available from Lorraine Roberts in the City Manager's office, Incumbents may submit an informal note to the Council expressing their desire to continue. Meeting Adjourned There being no further business and no ore further desiring to be heard , Commissioner Dolby made a motion , which was seconded by Commissioner Jennis to adjourn the meeting of the Rohnert Park Senior Citizens Advisory Commisiion at approximately 4:03 p.m. Chairman Chase ATTEST: Secretary