Town of Bennington 1998 Annual Report
Our staffing structure includes a full-time director, full-time activity's director and a part-time activity's assistant. We also have two part-time Vermont Associates job trainees; one is learning the administrative assistant duties and the other is working as a center-based activities assistant. In addition, seniors remain actively involved in the direction of the center by acting as volunteers to supplement and support our staff. They assist with a variety of activities including reception, teaching, bulk mailing, and problem solving. Their sharing continues to represent a significant savings in paid labor hours. Our staff and volunteers remain committed to providing quality services by "satisfying people through teamwork." We actively seek out ideas and feedback from our participants; all indications are that our senior center is one of the best in New England!
We offer a monthly publication, Senior News and Views, listing all senior activities available through the center. It also provides information on support services available to seniors living in the community. Senior News and Views is available for an annual $3.00 subscription. Free copies are available at the center, the recreation center and local libraries. This year we purchased a duplicating machine; the machine is being used for both senior and recreational center program printing and represents an annual savings in contracted printing costs of approximately $7,000.00. We also reformatted the newsletter layout and design to make it easier to read.
We improved our communications network with the addition of a second line; it does remain difficult to get through at times due to the volume of calls and there are still times when no one is available to answer the phone. In general, we have office coverage from 9:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. Messages may be left on the 442-1052 line when we're unavailable. We received computer upgrades and are now on the Internet, which is helpful to us in getting information for planning trips and activities. Our E-mail address is scitizen@sover.net.
We provide quality international travel programs without significant budgetary impact by working with tour companies who allow direct payment by our participants. This is working well for a number of other reasons: credit card payment is available, no minimum number of passengers is required, group rates apply for small numbers, and tour companies are fully insured and provide cancellation insurance, for a small fee, for all passengers. Upcoming trips include London & Paris, Ireland, New Orleans, Washington, D.C. and Montreal in 1999 and a Southern Caribbean cruise and Alaska in 2000.
We provide an average of 18 senior van trips 'each month to shows, museums and events and a local door-to-door shopping service on Tuesdays, as well as monthly mall shopping. We are planning to increase the number of coach day trips to accommodate the increase in our participation. We continue to schedule activities which do not require prepayment, which enables individuals to pay the costs for admission, meals, and tickets at the time of our arrival. We are breaking even on the cost of our trips and programs. This year, we spent nearly $10,000 to purchase tickets for events in the more distant future (FY '99 and 2000), which is reflected in the difference between our spending in the purchased services account and our revenues from senior participants. In some cases, we must purchase tickets at the time of our reservation. For example, we purchased, in June 1998, Lion King tickets for Broadway on September 1, 1999.
In response to a number of problems with payments for prepaid tickets, we have rewritten our trip policies to ensure that we are not buying tickets which are not used. We are billing persons who cancel their reservations with us after we've paid for their tickets and will refuse passage on future trips to those who don't comply. Due to health-related issues with some of our travelers, we always encourage people to purchase cancellation insurance to protect themselves in the event of trip cancellation or interruption. Those who choose not to purchase cancellation insurance do so with the knowledge that their money will not be refunded by the Town or any of the companies we do business with. In addition, we are not able to refund for weather-related cancellations. We've also changed our policy to reserve the right to request medical permission for travel if there are health-related concerns that may affect a person's ability to travel.
Building improvements accomplished include the installation of automatic fire doors and smoke detection system, the addition of a storage shed on the rear of the building, and the replacement of floors and carpeting. We also installed butterflies on our roof to decrease the risk of injuries from falling ice and snow and improved the surface of the emergency exit walkway from the first floor.
Space for holding activities also remains an issue. We are not able to use the firehouse due to other programs currently being held there and leasing the armory has been permanently cut from the budget, so we must either seek out free use of space or pay for armory rental. In some cases, we need the armory because of class size and we are fortunate to get a reduced rental rate during daytime hours as well as the free use of space in church halls. We have also been fortunate in receiving donations from individuals and organizations enabling us to rent space and provide free health and wellness programs for seniors. Van fund-raising continues, with a current balance of $6453.35. This year, the fund purchased the extended service plan for 5-year, 75,000 mile protections on the van.
We continue working with other agencies who serve the needs of the senior population. We've become aware that there are some unmet needs, especially for those who do not drive or are unable to get out of their homes. We would like to develop, in conjunction with students and families, a program to match volunteers with people who need assistance for small tasks or who just would' like some friendly company. We offer several intergenerational opportunities, especially during the summer months when school is not in session.
The center is open Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Aria K. Foster, Director