One final post on this and I'll happily shut up...;-)
In the City Council, I am one of
11 people who gets to vote on matters important to all citizens. On June
5th, I'll be one of 13,000 voters who gets to vote on three questions which have
important implications to our future.
I will be voting Yes-Yes-Yes for a new Bresnahan School, a rehabilitated
Nock-Molin School, and Newburyport's first and long overdue Senior Community
Center. More information on all those issues at http://www.portpride01950.com/
The two school votes have
received a lot of attention. I also want
to make the case for a YES vote on the Senior Community Center. I hope you will share this email with your Newburyport
friends and family.
For years the City has been looking
for the proper site and procrastinating and delaying on how to pay for it.
Some would like it closer to
Downtown, some would like it on the Waterfront. All of this has been
looked at in the past and every one of these other locations (Cushing Park,
Fulton Pit, NRA lots) has downsides.
Our seniors live all over the City including the North End and West End, not
just the Sullivan Building on Temple Street or the James Steam Mill. The
Bresnahan is a perfectly viable location with a real plan to pay for it.
Here is a breakdown of registered voters over the age of 65:
|
Wards
|
65+
|
|
Newburyport W01 P01
|
419
|
|
Newburyport W01p
|
141
|
|
Newburyport W02 P01
|
444
|
|
Newburyport W03 P01
|
521
|
|
Newburyport W04 P01
|
528
|
|
Newburyport W05 P01
|
377
|
|
Newburyport W06 P01
|
517
|
|
Total
|
2,947
|
As to whether there is a "crucial need" for it, I would argue that
for hundreds of frail seniors and thousands of healthier seniors in need of
services, benefits, and activities the answer is a resounding YES.
We have good quality senior services provided in a very cost-effective manner
by the City's Council on Aging Director Roseann Robillard, a couple of staff,
and a lot of volunteers. These services are a very small part of the City
operating budget and in the last fiscal year served 851 unduplicated elders.
We are one of a handful of municipalities in Massachusetts that does not have a
central location for these basic services.
851 elders seems indicative to me
of a fairly high demand. Is every senior going to use this? No. If you're an
elder with family still in Newburyport or you have excellent health or you have
the resources to snowbird to Florida every winter, you probably don't need it.
But if your resources are limited, your family and friends are gone, and you're
isolated, yeah, I'd say you're likely to use it.
There's a simple reason why it's a good idea to put these services in one spot:
it's easier for the customers/seniors/elders to use. And here's another
good reason: it's more efficient for the limited number of staff to operate
these programs when they are not begging/borrowing/renting scattered spaces.
Bill Plante in the Daily News does a great job of reminding us that the push
for better services for elders has been a long struggle in Newburyport http://www.newburyportnews.com/opinion/x1561284454/Time-is-right-for-new-schools
He's right on:
I don't want to make a case for
the supernatural here, but a week ago, I came across an old photograph of my
late mother, Bertha M. Plante, and that of the mother of Newburyport's late
Mayor Albert H. Zabriskie, together with the Rev. Bertrand H. Steeves, minister
emeritus of the First Religious Society, who is still very much with us. It was
taken because they were leaders in the pioneer efforts to let the voices of the
elderly be heard. Senior citizens were so with the times that they were invited
to appear on Boston television.
Generations of other local voices
continued taking up their cry, and it was heard and responded to in a great
many communities, most of which built senior centers. Newburyport hasn't, and
this is another attempt, because the mean age of Americans is growing older
every day.
Here's a recap of the services and where they are provided:
Services currently
provided by the Council on Aging and what could be done in a suitable space:
Current
Future
Nutrition
Meals on Wheels
Cooking for One’ classes
Congregate meals
Eating with Diabetes program
Brown Bag program Men’s Meeting’ Breakfast program
Fitness
Exercise to Music
Yoga
Line
Dance Tai Chi / Reiki
Ball Room/Tap Dance/Square Dance
Weight training
Wii
Stationary bikes/treadmills
Health
Podiatry
Blood Pressure checks Chronic Disease Self-Management
Hearing loss evaluations Chair Massage
Info
Seminars Walking club
Vaccinations
Durable Equipment loan
Support
Low
Vision Weight Management
Grief/Bereavement Panic/Anxiety/Depression support
AA –Sober after Sixty / Gamblers
CareGiver support/Alzheimer
support
Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren
Outreach
Telephone Reassurance Friendly Visiting Program
Creative
Knitting for Newborns Teddy Bear Workshop
Watercolor Painting Class Art exhibits
Memoirs workshop
Quilting - Bunka
Scrapbooking
Woodcarving / Model Ship building
Rughooking
Social
Bridge Poker/Whist/Cribbage/Scrabble
Retired Readers
Golden Age meetings
Bingo Red Hat meetings
Day
Trips Birthday parties – Holiday parties
Mah Jongg
Sports Fan Club
Community TRIAD (safety
programs) Ask A Cop
COA Board
meetings State Rep/Senator office hours
Property Tax Work program 'News & Views’ meetings
Snow Shoveling
program FRIENDS of COA
Veterans
services
Volunteer/Job Bank
Education
Health Insurance
Counseling
Monthly
Newsletter
Investments Club
Tax Filing
Assistance
Computer
classes
Housing
Options
Retirement planning
Information & Referral
Transport
NEET – out of town transport
Evening Meal Van service
Medical transport
Food shopping
COA Service/Program Locations
Currently Rented/Begged/Borrowed
- Salvation
Army building
- People’s
United Methodist church
- Elks
Hall
- Newburyport
Public Library
- Emma
Andrews Library
- City
Hall
- Anna
Jaques Hospital
- Atria
Merrimack Place
- Salisbury
Hilton Center
- Sullivan
Building
- Heritage
House
- James
Steam Mill
Demographics:
2010
census info
Total
Nbpt Residents = 17,416 Age 60+ = 4,261 (24%)
Babyboomers:
born between 1946 – 1964 comprise 35% of the population (6,113 residents)
Demographic
projections predict increase in aging until the year 2050.
Again
I hope you’ll vote Yes-Yes-Yes. Please
share this with your Newburyport friends.
Sincerely,
City Councillor Ed Cameron
There
have been slight changes in Ward boundaries because of the 2010 Census. You can double check your polling location at
www.wheredoivotema.com
The polling hours are
open from 7am-8pm and the polling locations
are as follows:
Ward 1 Plum Island, Plum Island Boat House, 300 Northern Blvd.
Ward 1, People's Methodist
Church, 64 Purchase St.
Ward 2, Brown School, Lime
Street
Ward 3, Hope Church, 11
Hale St.
Ward 4, Hope Church, 11
Hale St.
Ward 5, Bresnahan School,
333 High St.
Ward 6, Bresnahan School,
333 High St.
