Present: Gina Maniscalco, Hy Lamb, Faye Berzon, Sheila Pallay, Mindy Kempner, Millie Berman, Irene Carpenter, Lillian Savage, Rob Maidman, Norma Simons Fitzgerald

Jane Desberg, Marshall Bradstreet (guest)

Absent: Arnold Kublin, Marilyn Stewart, Elliot Feldman, Ellen Bender

The meeting was called to order at 2.55 p.m. The minutes of January 16, 2007, meeting were accepted.

Jane Desberg introduced Sharonopoly, a major FSCOA fundraising initiative with a goal of $25,000. Modeled on the classic board game, it uses Sharon and local businesses as frames of reference and follows the same rules as the original. It will retail for $25 and should be available towards the end of August 2007. Advance orders will be taken by a manned table in the SHS Auditorium lobby during the March 12 Special Town Meeting.

Marshall Bradstreet, our new Recreation Director, was welcomed to the Board. We emphasized our desire to promote true intergenerational programming and to make every effort to share resources. Norma has already built a strong personal relationship that should benefit COA activities once the building is occupied.

The Community Center continues to be on schedule and following budget. Various options on furnishings are ongoing, with firm decisions likely to be made by early May. Norma is closely following this subject and meets frequently with designers and Sharon Standing Building Committee’s (SSBC) project manager, Maureen Doherty. Several COA Board members attended the February 3 walk-through and reported great progress. They collectively felt that the COA level will be a showcase for our constituency.

As chair of the Names Sub-Committee, Sheila introduced a long list of potential ideas created by Rich Kirstein, a Sharon resident and public relations expert. Board members had also received an additional list of suggested names provided by other COAs. For some time, there has been a feeling that our new home should be renamed to reflect the wider audience of Sharon’s rapidly growing baby boomer population. The recent men’s focus group drew many comments about the name. The consensus was that the name should be reflective of how seniors view themselves: active, involved, energetic, multi-interested, etc. Drawing on this sentiment, there was an animated discussion and decision. The exterior sign at the Massapoag Avenue entrance and again adjacent to the COA entrance will read Sharon Adult Center and a sign in our reception area will read
Welcome to the Center. Both will be proposed to the Board of Selectmen for final approval and then submitted to the SSBC.

The effectiveness of keeping the Sundial as the name of the monthly COA publication was also discussed. A collective sense emerged that the name should be more energetic. The Sharon Connection was chosen and will appear at a future date, yet to be determined.

Norma reported that an in-law unit building permit application is pending and Gina will monitor developments. At SHS, the handicapped door and the chair lift have been repaired. The Commission on Disabilities and the COA are producing a flyer and information packet for the Annual Town Report that will call attention to the Emergency 911 registry. The matter of custodial service at the Community Center is under serious discussion as town departmental budgets approach finalization for the May Town Meeting. It still is unclear how many man-hours will be allocated if performed by town employees or if an out-sourced alternative is feasible.

Please note that there will be a Special Town Meeting, Monday March 12, 7:00 p.m., to consider enacting a zoning change from current residential to commercial of a large tract of land bordering I-95, Old Post Road, and South Walpole Street. A 2/3 majority is required which would allow the rigorous state permitting process to proceed. This in no way guarantees that the proposed lifestyle center would actually be built but rather authorizes complete analysis of impacts to be conducted, at the developer’s expense. If you or anyone you know needs a ride, please call the COA (preferably by March 8) and arrangements will be made.

The next Board meeting will be Tuesday, March 20, 2.45 p.m., COA offices.

Respectfully submitted,

Rob Maidman

Vice Chair