HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-05-12 Council on Aging Minutes
Department of Elder Services Kathy Shelp, Director
Connecting our Community through Service, Experience and Advocacy
North Andover Council on Aging
North Andover Senior Center
May 12, 2026 9:00 A.M.
Minutes
Attendance:
Members Present: Lucius Michel {Chair}, Quentara Costa {Secretary}, George Kangos {Vice Chair}, Maria Rosati,
Patricia Riley, Remo Zimbaldi, Anthony Petronio, Eileen Elliot, Allen Naffah, Jennifer Abou-ezzi, Joan Thompson
Absent: Wendy Venti, David VanArsdale, Kathy Shelp, Director of Senior Center
Others Present: Cahla Ahlstrom, Outreach Manager
Call to order: 9:00 AM
Roll call by Lucius Michel
Minutes: Review of April 2026. Motion to approve by Luke. Seconded by George. Unanimously approved.
General Discussion
Dave and Eileen will not be applying for reappointment.
o This leaves space for Tony and Wendy to step into voting seats and we will need to search for 2 new
associate seats.
Everyone is agreeable to their appointments on committees which have recently been distilled down to just a few
groups. Anyone can join the discussion for committees, but you’d want to be assigned to the group in order to be a
voting member.
Update from Cahla Ahlstrom, update on Senior Center:
They just went through another lottery round and it’s proving to be a better system than what was in place before.
Still a few people late to turn in paperwork, but in general, people who want to be placed somewhere get into the
class.
Conference on Aging went well. It was well attended and ran smoothly. Discussion on some of the topics that
were very relevant and eye opening (the impact of AI on the workforce).
Discussed the dividing door for the lower level and the engineering challenges/expense around it. It sounds like it
would make financial sense to do this as a 1 step process vs doing the engineering first and installation second to
break up the cost over time. There is money in hand for about half the expected expense, and we’d need the whole
amount in hand before moving forward with the project if doing all at once. Kathy will try and get the request for
th
additional funds before the end of the town’s fiscal year (June 30).
Chair Yoga will be opened up to a larger number based on trend of no-shows that consistently allow a handful of
seats.
Adjournment at 10:01 A.M. Motion to adjourn by Jen, seconded by Eileen. Unanimously agreed.
Respectfully submitted,
Quentara Costa, Secretary
North Andover Elder Services 481 Sutton Street North Andover MA 01845
978.688.9560 www.northandoverma.gov kshelp@northandoverma.gov