Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
2 <br />RSVP Director Kathy Porter informed the Advisory Board that the Corporation for <br />National and Community Service, the federal sponsor of the Orange County program, is <br />being threatened with loss of funding. The Corporation is asking that communities who <br />benefit from the local volunteer program voice their support to their legislators. Peggy <br />Cohn asked for specific numbers of individuals enrolled and agencies assisted by this <br />program. Leo Allison requested that the support campaign information be sent to <br />Advisory Board members electronically. <br /> <br />Upon her arrival Chair Heather Altman shared a letter received from the Board of County <br />Commissioners in appreciation of the Master Aging Plan presentation made at their <br />March 3 meeting. The letter also commended the Advisory Board on Aging for its <br />accomplishments in 2010 and requested that any survey proposed for the next MAP <br />Update have their prior approval. <br /> <br />Peggy Cohn announced that Capstone Project proposal, submitted to the UNC <br />Department of Health Behavior/Health Education, is one of 17 projects to be presented to <br />graduate students and faculty on March 18. Ms. Tyler added that the Department has <br />also submitted a request for a summer practicum student, with funding provided by Carol <br />Woods and the Friends organizations. <br /> <br />Janice Tyler announced that a vacancy on the Triangle J Area Agency on Aging Advisory <br />Council still exists. Mary Fraser volunteers to join Jeane Suddarth, Heather Altman, and <br />Jan Wells as Orange County representatives. The next meeting is March 29. <br /> <br />Assistant County Manager Gwen Harvey suggested that the Board of County <br />Commissioners be notified of the potential loss of RSVP funding and the letter-writing <br />campaign as well as the proposed MAP Update community assessment. Kathie Kearns <br />distributed a summary of the FY 2012 budget request with the breakout of revenues and <br />expenses. <br /> <br />The Chair introduced Pat Sprigg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carol Woods <br />Retirement Community. Ms. Sprigg had co-chaired the initial Master Aging Plan in 2000-2001. <br />The Advisory Board asked her share her reflections on the previous Plan process. She <br />complimented the background material that was made available and the progression of significant <br />accomplishments. However, she did feel that the process was labor intensive and the structure <br />was cumbersome. She stressed that a successful public/private partnership must involve the <br />community, not plan for it. She suggested that the wide base of participation could be more <br />streamlined. She supported the aging-friendly community theme. She also stressed the need for <br />an easy mechanism for monitoring its success. <br /> <br />Ms. Sprigg questioned the necessity of so many subcommittees, created by dividing the <br />Plan by functional status. She suggested clarifying the role of the Board of County <br />Commissioners, the Towns, department staff, and Triangle United Way. A review of <br />what remains to be done from the previous Master Aging Plan Update, the Community <br />Resource Connections grant, and the Governor’s Conference on Aging report could be <br />very beneficial. Other County Aging Plans are more succinct and may provide tools for <br />tracking time frames and responsible parties.