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Senior Citizen 2020/07/16 MINUTES SENIOR CITIZEN COMMISSION Teleconference July 16, 2020 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: STAFF PRESENT: Paul Vicknair, Chair Wendy Hernandez, Community Services Supervisor Nicholas Yagar, Vice-Chair Beth Lapkowski, Administrative Assistant Janet Brown Emma Burns Alden Esping Sharon Linderman Ray Shah COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: A G E N D A A C T I O N T A K E N 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Vicknair called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Vice-Chair Yagar led the Commission in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Chair Vicknair presented the minutes of the May 21, 2020 meeting. Commissioner Brown made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Commissioner Esping; minutes approved unanimously. 4. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None received. 5. NEW BUSINESS: A. Selection of Chair – Vice-Chair Yagar stated he would accept the position if nominated. Chair Vicknair nominated Vice-Chair Yagar for the position of Chair, seconded by Commissioner Brown; vote was 7-0 in favor. B. Selection of Vice-Chair – Chair Vicknair nominated Janet Brown for the position of Vice-Chair, seconded by Vice-Chair Yagar; Commissioner Brown respectfully declined the position. Chair Vicknair then nominated Commissioner Burns, seconded by Commissioner Esping; vote was 7 -0 in favor. Vice-Chair Yagar stated he would like Chair Vicknair to finish the meeting and he would take the helm beginning in September. C. COVID-19 Protocols for Seniors & At-Risk Residents – Chair Vicknair asked for input from the Commissioners regarding the protocols referenced in the resident’s email that was shared with them. Commissioner Brown asked if the email could be read aloud for the benefit of anyone who didn’t receive it; Chair Vicknair did so. Vice-Chair Yagar commented that he feels it would be better to distribute washable masks versus disposable ones and believes that the need to wear masks should be stressed more. He also stated that during the mask give-away in East Anaheim, it appeared that not many residents were made aware of the event and feels it should have been advertised better. Commissioner Burns stated she feels the Mayor should be stressing the importance of wearing masks. Commissioner Linderman stated Senior Citizen Commission July 16, 2020 Page 2 A G E N D A A C T I O N T A K E N that approximately 1,100 masks have been distributed and the majority of them were cloth. She is concerned about the number of people who won’t wear masks and then become hostile when asked to. Commissioner Brown stated she will do some investigation into the issue with nursing homes. She also said she is expecting a donation of masks from Alzheimer’s Orange County. Regarding weekly testing, she stated she isn’t aware of any facility that is doing testing for people weekly, and she doesn’t know that the distribution of food is something that the Senior Commission can address. Wendy Hernandez commented that the City website has information that relates to many of the issues raised in the email and she reviewed many of the services the city is providing and stated they should refer anyone with questions to call the Community Center. Wendy will contact the person who sent the email. Commissioner Brown asked whether the City magazine is still being published; Wendy will look into that. Commissioner Shah suggested publishing a newsletter educating seniors about COVID-19 and focusing on prevention. D. Steps to Reduce Anaheim’s COVID-19 Infection Rate – Chair Vicknair noted that Anaheim has the second highest infection rate in Orange County, and he’s concerned about those living with extended families and have preexisting medical conditions; he asked for comments from the Commissioners. Vice- Chair Yagar stated that the younger population seems to not believe COVID is real or that they’re immune and he feels they need to change their behaviors. Commissioner Burns spoke about people working in close contact or in other people’s homes and overcrowding in h omes that cause infection rates. Commissioner Esping agrees that people should not be allowed in stores and businesses without masks. He thinks there needs to be more public service announcements on the news because many seniors don’t have internet access. Commissioner Linderman added that she read that there are exemptions for the wearing of face masks, but she thinks they should not go into public places if they can’t wear a mask. Chair Vicknair asked Commissioner Brown to be editor-in-chief of the Anaheim Senior Citizen Commission newsletter and work with Wendy to distribute a newsletter to seniors or perhaps each commissioner can ask their City Council Representative to send it out to their constituents. Commissioner Brown stated she would like to discuss that after the meeting and would like to know if it’s even acceptable to do a newsletter. Wendy stated that she will look into the feasibility of a newsletter and mentioned that getting the word out for them to contact the Community Center for detailed information would be helpful. Commissioner Esping noted the information needs to be disseminated in other languages as well. E. Senior Citizen Commission Collection & Distribution of Face Masks – Chair Vicknair thanked Commissioner Brown for her work in acquiring face masks to give out to seniors and asked for comments from Commissioners. Vice-Chair Yagar reiterated the need to educate the public about food and mask distributions in the east. Commissioner Linderman suggested that people in east Anaheim may not need the assistance as much as other areas; for example she and her husband declined assistance because they didn’t need it. Wendy noted that the grab-and-go food distribution program has limited funding and people need to sign up in advance to receive the meals and the funding has declined as have the number of meals they are able to provide. Commissioner Brown will send the upcoming dates for mask distributions out to everyone. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. 7. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION ACTION ITEMS: None. 8. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: - Chair Vicknair congratulated incoming Chair Yagar and Vice-Chair Burns. Commissioner Esping reported that the Convention Center requires an appointment in order to get testing. Senior Citizen Commission July 16, 2020 Page 3 A G E N D A A C T I O N T A K E N 9. ADJOURNMENT: Chair Vicknair adjourned the meeting at 3:14 p.m. NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2020, at 2:00 p.m.