The council discussed upcoming April activities at the Senior Center, including a reduction of Bingo to one day a week, the retirement of Activities and Volunteer Coordinator Cheryl Spinella, new Mystic Valley Elder Services social work hours, and workshops from the Chinese Cultural Connection. Members also noted a pending tax override vote that could affect the Senior Center's budget, though the current year's budget is already set. The next meeting will be held on April 28th, with no meeting in May.
The minutes do not record any votes or decisions.
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MALDEN COUNCIL ON AGING COMMISSION
Minutes
Tuesday, March 31st, 2026, at 9 AM
City Hall, 215 Pleasant Street, 1st Floor, Boardroom 108, Malden, MA
The meeting started at 9:08 AM. It was held in Room 105 due to a scheduling conflict with our regular meeting room.
The minutes were read from our previous meeting on December 16 and were accepted by the council.
Laura has taken Bridget's place in the council as she is no longer working with the city.
Introduced Tai, the new public health nurse and discussed incorporating him at the Senior Center.
There was a brief discussion on how the Senior Center receives money from grants and how we must satisfy the terms of those grants. An example given was if a grant requires a class being taught in Chinese, we must comply with that.
Mike has made it clear that all classes must be available to all members of the Senior Center, regardless of demographic.
A suggestion was made to mention when a specific class is sponsored by a grant in the Monitor to give seniors notice and avoid any confusion.
Starting in April, Mystic Valley Elder Services will be providing social services for our seniors on the second and fourth Mondays of the month, with the first being held on April 13th and April 27th respectively. An example was given of an elderly woman who needed help cancelling her phone plan and how a social worker had sat with her for 3 hours on the phone with Comcast to help her.
There was a mention of the Senior Center's strong relationship with the First Baptist Church and how they will be holding another event on April 3rd for Good Friday. Gift baskets, cookies and hot chocolate will be distributed.
Starting in April, Bingo will be cut down to one day a week, as it was originally intended. This is due to budget cuts and being short-staffed at the Center.
On April 3rd, we will say farewell to Cheryl Spinella, our Activities and Volunteer Coordinator, who will be retiring after 30+ years of service with the City of Malden.
The renovation of the upstairs gym has been put on hold due to the space being occupied by the AARP tax appointments until mid-April.
The Chinese Cultural Connection will have two workshops held at the Senior Center in the month of April. The first being a Sweet Rice Dumplings workshop on April 8th and a Paper-Quilling class on April 22nd. Both workshops will be held at 12:30 PM in the dining room.
The Red Cross will be holding their quarterly Blood Drive on April 13th at the Senior Center.
April's birthday cake celebration will be held on April 10th at 11:30 AM in the dining room. Additionally, there will be a performance by a local ukelele player, who had reached out to volunteer their music at the Center, during the event.
Mike will reach out to Magan Transport to let them know about Bingo being cut on Tuesdays so that they can reassess their transportation to the Center on those days.
There was a mention of the vote for the tax override, which was held on March 31st, and how it could potentially affect the Senior Center. At the time, we were waiting for the outcome of the vote to address the severity of how it may affect our budget. Our budget for the year has been set so no changes will be implemented until the following year.
There was a suggestion to add a notice for any appointments made at the Center, specifically the AARP tax appointments, for a potential wait-time past the scheduled time. This was suggested to address any gaps between appointments that may be falling behind.
The following meeting will be held on April 28th at 9 AM. There will be no meeting scheduled in May due to scheduled conflicts among our council members.