Ridgewood Access Committee Meeting Minutes 20190425
Ridgewood’s Community ACCESS Committee Meeting Minutes April 25, 2019
The meeting was opened at 7:35 pm.
Present: Ines Bunza, Robin Ritter, Susan Knudsen, Erica Dunckley, Lisa Gardner, Leslie Schwartz, Jesse Schwartzman
Item 1: Welcome
Ines welcomed everyone to the meeting. Minutes from the March meeting were approved. Motion by Lisa, Second, Robin and motion carried.
Ines welcomed everyone to the meeting. Minutes from the March meeting were approved. Motion by Lisa, Second, Robin and motion carried.
Item 2: Housing
Jack Dean wasn’t able to attend our meeting but he sent Ines an email saying that on 4/23 he had spoken to Tom Toranto of the United Way who had good news and not-so-good news about the special needs apartments in the Sealfons Building. The good news is that the final building renovation designs have finally been approved by the town, and construction should begin within 60 days. The other news is that they have only received partial funding for the construction. Tom will have more information in 30-45 days. Jack has volunteered to lead any fundraising effort, if necessary.
Jack Dean wasn’t able to attend our meeting but he sent Ines an email saying that on 4/23 he had spoken to Tom Toranto of the United Way who had good news and not-so-good news about the special needs apartments in the Sealfons Building. The good news is that the final building renovation designs have finally been approved by the town, and construction should begin within 60 days. The other news is that they have only received partial funding for the construction. Tom will have more information in 30-45 days. Jack has volunteered to lead any fundraising effort, if necessary.
Deputy Mayor Knudsen said that Tom is planning to attend the Village Council meeting on May 1. United Way is seeking funding in the amount of $500K through the Home Grant program. The council will have to pass a resolution to endorse his grant application. This is a higher amount than Susan had anticipated. She will discuss this with Matt, the village attorney.
A discussion of the Fair Share Housing in Ridgewood ensued with Susan explaining how the the decision was reached to locate the special needs apartments in the Sealfon’s building.
Item 3: Healthcare
After Ines contacted Liz Lanza, our community liaison at Valley Hospital, regarding the frustrating experience Lori Kislevitz and her son, Luke had at Valley, Liz got back to Ines immediately. She said that she will be here at the May meeting to give us Valley’s view. They have a new committee to address this need for better communication for special needs patients under the age of 18. They are designing a new area for them. A suggestion was made to bring up the subject of special needs adults as well, and how they can be benefit from improved communication with the healthcare providers. Hackensack Hospital already has a program for these folks. However, Robin did say that Valley Hospital doesn’t take Medicaid, where Hackensack does. Therefore, a special program is probably not going to happen for adults here.
After Ines contacted Liz Lanza, our community liaison at Valley Hospital, regarding the frustrating experience Lori Kislevitz and her son, Luke had at Valley, Liz got back to Ines immediately. She said that she will be here at the May meeting to give us Valley’s view. They have a new committee to address this need for better communication for special needs patients under the age of 18. They are designing a new area for them. A suggestion was made to bring up the subject of special needs adults as well, and how they can be benefit from improved communication with the healthcare providers. Hackensack Hospital already has a program for these folks. However, Robin did say that Valley Hospital doesn’t take Medicaid, where Hackensack does. Therefore, a special program is probably not going to happen for adults here.
Ines asked that if you have comments or suggestions for Liz, please keep them to 5 minutes.
Item 4: New Business
Ines let us know that the ACCESS Committee is now a separate entity from the LSHSA. We need to open our own bank account. Susan mentioned that we cannot do a 501-C. And any monies received must be deposited within 24-48 hours. Maybe a trust fund would be the appropriate type of account for us. On May 3, Susan has a meeting about nonprofits and fundraising. They will figure out how to go about it and she will touch base with Ines.
Lisa Gardner, representing ACCESS, attended a meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee. Each attendee was asked to write what is important to their individual group. Lisa wrote that she is unhappy with the way the elementary special needs students are being segregated more from their peers. Instead of mainstreaming, it seems to be going in the other direction. After people finished writing, the groups came back together to discuss the results.
The next ACCESS meeting is May 16 7:30 1st Floor Senior Lounge
Respectfully submitted,
Erica Dunckley
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