A group trip to Goodspeed Opera House, the successful launch of an online registration system for senior center programs, and continued planning of a regional senior center meeting were among the subjects covered during a Newtown Commission on Aging (COA) special meeting May 22.

Technical challenges postponed the meeting for a few minutes, but eventually, with a quorum gathered at the Newtown Senior Center (NSC), Commission on Aging Chair Anne Rothstein decided to open the meeting.

Following the perfunctory approval of the April COA meeting minutes, Rothstein opened her Chair Report with discussion of a regional senior center/COA meeting. Having proposed multiple dates for next month “to everyone in the area who could possibly attend,” she said, it came back that the best date for that meeting will be Saturday, June 17, with Newtown to host.

Members of Bethel, Litchfield, New Milford and Southbury, in addition to Newtown, were all at last year’s meeting in New Milford, Rothstein said. They are all hoping to attend this year, she indicated.

In crafting a proposed agenda for that meeting, Rothstein said people “want to know what other towns are doing, their numbers, their relationship with their town, and their programs. I have also asked what other people would like to discuss after giving their base information.”

COA Vice Chair Barbara Bloom said attracting men to senior centers “would be a good topic.” Fellow commissioner Michael Stern suggested “their wish lists, and what’s been successful for them, and even what some of their concerns are, would all be good discussion points.”

Rothstein agreed with both suggestions, saying she would add those to the June 17 roundtable discussion topics. The event will run from 10 am until 1 pm, it was announced, and a catered breakfast will be provided.

Bloom later said a similar event done last year was “very helpful.”

“There was a lot of good information shared, and I think other towns were really envious of us. We’re doing a lot of things right,” she said. “We still have challenges in town, like transportation, but we’re doing a lot of good.”

“We found out one group sells its crafts on Etsy,” Rothstein said, “and they do very well. They make a lot of money that way.”

Rothstein closed that topic by asking commissioners with additional suggestions for the event to contact her before the end of the week.

Approaching grant opportunities, through AARP and The Dreyfus Foundation, was discussed next. Rothstein said there will be discussion with Town officials, and she would like to see applications filed for both.

A group trip to Goodspeed Opera House was discussed next. The theater, she said, is currently presenting Gypsy, and the season continues with Summer Stock and Dreamgirls.

“I think all three shows are good,” Rothstein said. “Their group rates start at $29, but we may be able to do even better than that.”

Her bigger concern, she said, was making sure the seats arranged for would be accessible for all guests. “I don’t want to have people trying to get into the balcony if they’re not going to be comfortable there,” she said.

In response to a question from Bloom, Rothstein said there is a minimum of 20 people needed for a group rate. Bloom volunteered to speak to senior center members, to gauge interest in the trip and which show would be preferred.

Jackson’s Report

Director of Human Services Natalie Jackson opened her report by focusing, she said, on the two biggest things currently happening at NSC: online registration and the fee schedule. The senior center moved to online registration for classes and all events as of May 1.

“We ripped the Band-Aid and it’s all available now,” Jackson said. “I’m thrilled to share it’s been a pretty seamless process.”

There was some anxiety during the first week of the program’s use, she admitted. She and staff members have been available to help NSC members though, and a step-by-step instruction was included in both the May NSC Newsletter and on the Town of Newtown website.

The program is “very user friendly and straightforward,” she added. “People like to be able to sign up from home. They don’t have to come in and do paper sign-ups or even call if they don’t want to.

“They also like that if their plans change, they can go into their account and cancel their registration,” she added.

In response to a question from Bloom, Jackson confirmed that any NSC member who is uncomfortable going online can “absolutely” still call in or visit in person to register for programs and events. The online option, MyActiveCenter.com, is also beneficial to NSC staff, Jackson said.

“The program today showed we had 20 people registered for lunch, with only three or four who had not registered online,” Jackson noted.

A nominal change in NSC’s fee schedule was next on Jackson’s presentation. In short, nonresident members will soon be asked to pay a few dollars for some of the center’s classes. There will be no changes to the annual fee of $20 for residents or the $25 nonresident annual fee.

“After researching senior centers in the surrounding areas and across Connecticut, and much consideration, we are moving ahead with changes to the fee schedule for our Health & Wellness classes in the coming fiscal year,” she said. “Classes for Newtown residents will have no charge. That will still be included in the annual fee.

“There will now be a fee of $4 per class for out-of-town members,” she said.

Jackson and others she spoke with, including current NSC members and Connecticut Association of Senior Center Personnel members, “think this is the best spot, this is where we landed.” Nonresidents are attending many health and wellness classes, she explained, not Lunch & Learn events.

“There is pressure on these classes,” she said.

Rothstein said she would like to make sure “it is made really clear that this is the only thing changing, the health and wellness fees for nonresidents.”

She suggested putting an article into the June senior center newsletter to explain the reasoning behind the fee increase. Jackson agreed, before adding part of the increase was also to be able to raise the rates paid to instructors.

“We want to keep them, and we want them to feel appreciated. They do a great job,” she said.

Pat Bailey asked if fees for visitors would be changing, to which Jackson said No.

“The $5 fee that is already in place will still allow a guest, but the priority will still be given to [members],” Jackson explained. “We won’t do a walk-in/visitor fee unless we know there is space available for what that person wants to do.”

Jackson reported the latest NSC membership figures. There are currently 623 Newtown resident members, and 128 nonresident members, for a total membership of 751.

One of the things she is planning to do to further increase those numbers, she said, is a Senior Health Fair & Open House. To be done in partnership with Newtown Health District, that event is being planned for Thursday, July 20, from 10 am to 1 pm.

“We’ll partner the open house with some food sampling,” Jackson said. “We’ll have all kinds of fun things that will hopefully lure more people in.”

Rothstein asked about the Spring Fling held at Newtown High School the previous Friday night. Jackson said the May 19 late afternoon/early evening event was presented for the first time since COVID.

“It was a great success,” she said. “NHS Culinary did dinner, our senior center dance instructor, Matt Ames, was the DJ, and we had about 60 attendees.”

While mentioning “the food was really good,” Jackson pulled up a brief video on her cell phone, and then shared it with those in the room. The dance floor was filled with people clearly enjoying themselves in the video.

“Matt’s our dance instructor, so it went really well to have him getting people out there,” Jackson said. “He was really good, and it went really well.

Treasurer’s Report

With COA Treasurer LeReine Frampton unable to appear from off-site because of the technical issue with Zoom, she was unable to fully present the Treasurer’s Report. Rothstein then noted that the only changes during the past month were a $174.93 deduction for a volunteer lunch, and a $590 deposit via the Frank Knotts Trust Fund.

The COA/Senior Services Gift Fund balance as of Monday, she said, was $46,253.98. Michael Stern made the motion to send the report to audit, which was seconded by Bailey.

Jackson introduced the subject of a cross training machine she had been aware of, available to purchase for $459. An NSC member had told her about the machine, which is located within a senior living community in town, she said.

Stern asked about the liability of having that type of equipment within the senior center, without someone to properly supervise its use. A concern was also raised over where the machine would be set up and stored.

Rothstein asked that both topics be looked into before the COA moves forward with any further discussion.

Jackson then said she has been contacted by Newtown Arts Festival organizers with an invitation to participate in this year’s festival. Last year NSC and COA had one table, while Friends of Newtown Seniors (FONS) had its own table. Before that, the three groups had shared one space.

Commissioner Judit DeStefano asked what the rationale was of separating FONS from NSC and COA.

“Some people were upset, I believe, because FONS is not a Town organization,” Bloom replied. She thought it made more sense for the entities to share the space and split the fee, she added.

“Attendees were confused, thinking all three were under the same umbrella,” Rothstein said. She then asked Bloom to check with FONS to find out what their thoughts are ahead of this year’s festival.

Before the meeting adjourned, Jackson provided some additional data concerning current membership numbers. She reported that as of July 1, 2022, a total of 487 females had participated in senior center activities, while 120 males had participated within the same time frame.

“I’d say we have a lot more men now, but that’s still a big difference,” she said.

“Hopefully we can think of programs and speakers that will attract the guys,” Bloom commented.

Stern asked about gender identity, and whether that would skew the numbers. “Is there any of that with this age group?” he wondered.

“Not here, no,” Jackson replied.

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.