Burlington Aging Council — Burlington, VT
Date: 2024-10-09
Time: 15:00

Burlington Aging Council
Meeting 10/09/2024 MINUTES


Meeting summary for Partial BAC and Councilor Carpenter (10/09/2024)
Quick recap: The council members were advised to attend relevant committee meetings
to introduce Age Strong Burlington concepts and discuss overlaps with the missions of the
departments, with a focus on keeping the older adult audience in mind. The importance of
engaging with city commissions and departments to achieve tangible results was
emphasized, with a need for communication and collaboration with city departments to
address aging challenges. The challenges of staffing and funding within the city were
discussed, with a proposal for a strategic approach to resource allocation. While there
might be a need for a designated staff to lead work addressing the needs of older adults
within the city, the BAC should keep in mind the serious resource constraints faced by the
City and seek alternate solutions by working with current department staffing and
identifying where actions could be achieve din collaboration with current City department
work.
Next steps
• Brian Pine to schedule a meeting with Mayor to discuss the Aging Council's plan before
presenting to City Council. Other BAC members indicated interest in attending – AV, SS, RN
and KSP
• Aging Council to reach out to the various City committees and commissions over the next
3-4 months to present their plan and discuss how it relates to each department's work and
identify common goals/actions areas.
• Brian Pine to work on crafting resolution clauses for City Council presentation, including
follow-up expectations.
• BP to connect with Superintendent Rogers to invite to BAC meeting and to review plan
and understand crossover with BPRW CORE Adult programming.
Summary
Council Committee Attendance and Collaboration Strategies
Clr Carpenter recommended that the council members attend relevant council committee
meetings to introduce the concepts of Age Strong Burlington and discuss overlaps with the
departments and send the message to Depts that they need to think of older adults when
decision making and planning. She suggested inviting the BAC members to provide
updates on their work to her, keeping the city council informed about their progress. Clr
Carpenter also suggested that the council members should approach almost every
committee, with a similar aim of raising the Age Strong Plan and highlighting needs and
planning for older adults.
Improving Engagement With City Commissions and Departments
Clr Carpenter emphasized the importance of engaging with city commissions and
departments to achieve tangible results. She suggested that the Council should seek input
via survey on how they program for and reach out to older adults – for example BPRW and
CORE adult programming. Brian Pine will connect with BPRW to join their Council meeting
to provide more information on the core program.
Discussing Older Adults in City Initiatives
Members discussed the importance of considering older adults in city initiatives and the
need for community input sessions. They agreed on the necessity of creating a core of
people willing to advocate for older adults and the importance of maintaining an
information loop with the city council. The need for a follow-up plan to ensure older adults
are not forgotten was emphasized – this could be integrated with the Priority Actions sheet
suggested by Glenn.
Addressing City Staffing, Funding, and Resource Allocation
Clr Carpenter discussed the challenges of staffing and funding within the city, emphasizing
the need for a strategic approach to resource allocation. She suggested that the council
could bring back milestones and activities to keep the council informed and proposed a
meeting with the mayor to discuss these issues. Kelly expressed concerns about the lack of
a designated leader for addressing the needs of older adults within the city, which she
believed would hinder the attraction of outside funding and coordination. Others
acknowledged these concerns, but also highlighted the fiscal realities of the city and the
need for departments to prioritize their own work. Suggestion to coordinate with Grant in
CTO – for information on grants to support the work
Attendance: Clr Carpenter, Chair Brian Pine, Staff Marcella Gange, Members: SS –
BarbaraSD – KellySP – RickN – MollyD - AndreaV