HomeMy WebLinkAbout12102013 Human Services Contract Review Committee MinutesCONTRACT REVIEW COMMITTEE
Meeting of December 10, 2013
Minutes of the meeting of: The meeting took place at 2:00 at 4 Fairgrounds Road,
Nantucket, MA 02554.
Members Present:, Mary Wawro, Augie Ramos, Christy Kickham, John Belash and Linda
Williams
Members Excused: Holly McGowan
Staff Present: Ann Medina
Members of the Public: none
I. Called to Order: meeting called to order at 2:09
II. Quorum: a quorum was established
III. Approval of Agenda: the agenda was unanimously approved
IV. Public Comment: none
V. Action and Discussion: Interview agencies requesting funds: access Nantucket; Small
Friends; Elder Services; Family Planning.
Meeting was called to order at 2:09. Mary explained to each applicant that the committee
would be following the same format as in previous years; each agency would make a brief
presentation and then the committee would ask questions. The CRC will make its
recommendations to the BOS and FinCom and then it will be voted on at the annual town
meeting in April 2014.
access nantucket Francesca Infantides $45,000:
Funds requested will be used for 2 staff members’ salaries with benefits, computer
upgrades and database/web development.
Francesca explained the transition of Nantucket AIDS Network (NAN) to access nantucket.
NAN provided services to folks who were living and dying with HIV/AIDS; access nantucket
will now connect folks with Human Services that are available on and off island. A lot has
been accomplished; they underwent a re-branding process from NAN to access nantucket.
Even though they have expanded their mission, access nantucket will still provide
HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C testing and case management, and the high school Peers
Promoting AIDS Awareness (PPAA). Additional services that will be provided is the human
services information and referral system, access nantucket is asking for support for
continuing development of access, to keep it updated and accurate and to strengthen the
connection with providers in the community.
Small Friends Laura Burnett $24,000:
Funds requested will be used for a new “Nantucket” themed playground for children 3
months to 3 years old. The total cost of the project is $160,000 with the $24,000 being
used for the cost and installation of the Grass Turf Surfacing.
Small Friends started back in 1988, and is the only fully licensed day care center that is
open year round and starts at 7:45 am. In 2008 a new building, for 70 students, was built
on Nobadeer Farm Road, the playground was covered with wood chips that are now old
and dirty, the new covering is similar to artificial turf and is safe for the targeted age
group.
Linda expressed concerns regarding the new covering as she has been involved with other
projects that have used a similar product, it can be hot to the touch, and it can crumble
into tiny pieces; Linda would like to see documentation about this particular product, and
also if there is any other school that has used this. Laura will get the documentation
requested.
Elder Services Sheri Hunt $13,000
Funds requested would be used for the Meals-on-Wheels portion of the Senior Nutrition
Program. The funds from the town is 8% of the total budget. This is the third year of a
three year contract with the restaurant Kitty Murtagh’s with the possibility of a two year
rollover. There has been an increase in the amount of meals delivered to homes, in
October there were 717 meals delivered and only 467 meals for the congregate dining at
the Saltmarsh Center.
Linda W. left at 3:15
Besides providing meals, this program also provides personal contact with folks, a wellness
check. Meals are delivered by volunteers, the Rotary volunteers, Real Estate volunteers,
folks that are here in the summer volunteer. We can always use volunteers.
Family Planning Robin Rowland & Elizabeth Torant $24,800
The funds from the town would be used to support Family Planning’s medical care and
counseling services, improved outreach efforts, travel fees and technology updates.
Family Planning (FP) started here on Nantucket in 1977, it is a federal program and
receives some funding from Dept. of Public Health. Services are mostly geared towards
women, children, low income residents and immigrants. WIC services are also available in
some communities, including Nantucket. There are always new folks coming to Nantucket
and FP wants to do more outreach. FP now does Hepatitis C and HIV screening. Is this a
duplication of services? No, the targeted population for FP is people of reproductive age;
access nantucket has state contracts for testing, FP does not.
FP has a bi-lingual counselor and a tri-lingual nurse practitioner; one third of patients are
non-English speaking with the majority speaking Spanish and some Portuguese. These
clients are the most disadvantaged. FP will also start keeping electronic records, this is very
important since FP has had to reduce its hours, with electronic records a patient can call
Hyannis and they can see Nantucket patients information and make appointments or refill
prescriptions, no health records yet.
Are we going to stay within the $317,880 budget for FY15? Mary is not going to propose
any increase. John made an observation that the CRC has streamlined this process as to
how these funds benefit the town.
Mary would like to step down as chairman if someone is interested in taking it on.
The meeting adjourned at 4:20
Respectfully submitted by
Ann Medina