Chair Sandra Hackman opened the April 13 meeting of the Council on Aging (COA) Board with information on a town-wide initiative for people to get outside and exercise as the weather becomes nicer. The COA has a biking group currently meeting and members discussed other ways to promote more activities.
Director Alison Cservenschi took a moment to reflect on the past year. The COA building was closed last March along with all town buildings. She commented on how the COA has adapted and said she is really proud of her staff and the many programs they are currently conducting through Zoom. Some of the Zoom exercise programs are very popular and the fact that they are virtual allows many more participants to take part.
Programs currently running include the Fix-It Shop, Memory Café, and Zoom classes. Cservenschi thanked the Friends of the Bedford Council on Aging for their ongoing support. She has no date yet as to when the building will reopen but said there is a possibility of a limited number of people-two at a time-returning to use the COA computers. She also mentioned that the town is planning on erecting a tent in the back parking lot, which would allow for some outdoor socialization in a safe manner. “Socialization is something that is sorely missed,” she said. The idea is to use the tent for different programs: music, bingo, games, and other ideas are being considered.
The main discussion of the meeting was the upcoming Town Meeting, specifically three warrant articles and if the board would like to take a position on the items.
The first is a proposal to create an assisted living overlay district (Article 25) along South Road. A brief discussion took place and the board unanimously voted to support the proposal, 8:0.
The second item discussed was the zoning amendment to allow detached accessory dwelling units (Articles 23 and 24). The board felt this would give seniors another option for affordable housing in town and also unanimously voted to support both proposals, 8:0.
Article 35 proposes to create a voluntary fund to assist disabled and senior residents in paying their property taxes. Assistant Chairperson Rick Rosen has been spearheading this effort and shared the text of Article 35. It states people or businesses would have the option to check off a box to make a voluntary donation to a fund to help seniors with property taxes. It’s a program that is up and running in other towns in Massachusetts, including Arlington and Billerica. Those programs have been successful and other towns have created models that Bedford could follow. Rosen pointed out that this would not cost the town any money and thought it was not controversial.
After a brief discussion, the board unanimously voted to support the proposal, 8:0
Director Cservenschi thanked Rosen for his work on the tax issues. Rosen then gave a brief update on the existing tax deferral program. He says not many people are taking advantage of it at this point. He also mentioned that Rep. Ken Gordon has filed a bill to make changes to the program. The change would have the state assume the cash flow issues caused by the deferral program for towns. New provision HD 3646 will make all seniors over 65 eligible for deferral with no income requirements. It is hoped that this change will remove some of the perceived stigma for applicants.
Director Cservenschi mentioned that Jared Weisenborn, is a new Elder Affairs Liaison from the Bedford Police Department. She commented on how it’s a great partnership-that the Police and Fire are the eyes and ears of the community. She mentioned they work closely with COA and also partner with the VA.
*Note The author Gene Kalb is on the boards of both The Bedford Citizen and the Council on Aging
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