Older Adults 2026/08/20MINUTES
OLDER ADULTS COMMISSION
250 E. Center Street. Anaheim, CA
August 20, 2026 - 2:00 p.m.
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: STAFF PRESENT:
Denise Barnes, Chair (2:55 p.m.) Brian Chwan, Community Services Superintendent
Steve Brio, Vice Chair Maureen Richardson, Community Services Supervisor
Sue Baltazar (2:10 p.m.) Kamila Rodriguez, Senior Secretary
Frances Noteboom
Irene Rose GUESTS PRESENT:
Bob Sanchez Kristen Maas, D5 Council Member
Ryan Balius, D1 Council Member
Melody Marler, D3 Resident
Rocki Schmidt, D3 Resident
Janet Brown, D5 Resident
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
1. CALL TO ORDER: Vice -Chair Brio called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Vice -Chair Brio led the Commission in reciting the Pledge of
Allegiance.
3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Vice -Chair Brio presented the minutes of the June 18, 2026
meeting. Motion by Commissioner Noteboom, second by Commissioner Sanchez; the vote was
four ayes and no nayes.
4. UNSCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMUNICATION:
a. Melody Marler noted that she is an applicant from District 3 for the vacancy on the Older
Adults Commission. She has comments but will defer to the next meeting due to the
scheduled communication for this meeting.
5. SCHEDULED COMMUNICATION:
a. Gerofusion Consulting — Commissioner Sanchez introduced the authors of the Older Adults
Master Plan for the City of Los Alamitos, Cal -State Fullerton Professors, Dr. Melanie Horn
Mallers and Dr. Laura Zettel-Watson, who created Gerofusion Consulting. They presented
their process for completing strategic plans and ideas on how to address the issues facing
the diverse, aging population in Anaheim to the Commission and answered questions.
6. ELECTION OF OFFICERS
a. Chair: Chair Barnes called for nominations for the position of Chair for next year.
Commissioner Rose nominated Steve Brio, seconded by Chair Barnes; the vote was all ayes.
b. Commissioner Noteboom nominated Denise Barnes for vice -chair; Commissioner Rose
nominated Bob Sanchez for vice -chair. Chair Barnes declined the nomination; Commissioner
Sanchez accepted and the vote was all ayes
7. NEW BUSINESS:
a. Stand -Alone Senior Center & Letter to City Council — Chair Barnes researched ways to
present to City Council for the new senior center and read some research about other cities
with stand-alone senior centers to the commissioners. She stressed the importance of getting
this item in the budget as a capital line item and be explicit about having a stand-alone facility.
Older Adults Commission
August 20, 2026
Page 2
AGENDA ACTION TAKEN
She listed endorsements from the Office on Aging, local chapters of AARP, Orange County
Office on Aging Advisory Council, and Meals on Wheels. Commissioner Noteboom added
that demand has outgrown the space available, and they need to build a stand-alone building
the city can be proud of with 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. access by card control, with a teaching kitchen,
dedicated meal programs, professional gym with instructors, adequate parking with bus
turnouts, rooms dedicated to the arts with sinks, a welcoming lobby in a recognizable site for
senior advocacy and resource distribution. Commissioner Noteboom noted that Interim City
Manager Greg Garcia requested that three Older Adults commissioners make two -minute
comments at the upcoming City Council meeting, each with different comments, not repeating
each other. After discussion, Chair Barnes presented the title of the letter: Capital Funding
Request for a Stand -Alone Senior Center in the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget, read the content of
the letter to the commission and asked for comments. After discussion, it was determined that
Chair Barnes would read and present the letter at the next City Council meeting.
8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None.
9. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS:
a. Meeting with City Officials Regarding new Senior Center — Discussed in Agenda Item 7(a).
b. Canyon Hills Library Marketing Video (Taken out of Order)
Vice -Chair Brio shared the video he filmed with Lucky Duran, Senior Librarian at the Canyon
Hills Library, highlighting the programs they offer for older adults.
10. ADJOURNMENT: Chair Barnes adjourned the meeting at 3:46 p.m.
NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2026.