By Eve Rosen
Wellington’s Senior Advisory Committee agreed last week to have Village Manager Paul Schofield act as an intermediary to seek a solution to concerns raised last month by the committee that the Wellington Seniors Club will soon be closed to new memberships due to space concerns.
At the Thursday, July 12 meeting, it was agreed that Veronica McCue, chair of the Senior Advisory Committee, will sit down and have a discussion with the village manager about exactly what local seniors need from the community.
“One of the things I would like to see, if I could get from you tonight, is a motion to have your chair sit down with me and talk with me about the issues that you have dealt with over at the Wellington Seniors Club,” Schofield said. “Then, I will go back to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board and see if they can have a motion for the president of the Wellington Seniors Club to sit down with me, which is a motion that the Senior Advisory Committee cannot do.”
The president of the Wellington Seniors Club and the chair of the Senior Advisory Committee cannot meet directly, because it would be a violation of the Sunshine Law, which states that they cannot meet outside of a public meeting to discuss things that will eventually be put to a vote, Schofield explained.
The meeting between McCue and Schofield will be to discuss the issues that the Senior Advisory Committee has with the Wellington Seniors Club, particularly the decision to cap its membership. That decision was made because the size of the club’s monthly luncheons is overwhelming the capacity of the Wellington Community Center.
The motion carried, and the meeting between McCue and Schofield will be held at the earliest possible convenience.
The committee also decided to change its 4:30 p.m. meeting time back to the original 3:30 p.m. time. The change was originally made to accommodate a member of the committee who would not have been able to make the meeting due to work. Only one member voted against it because it is difficult for him to arrive at the meeting on time after work.
“Originally, it was decided on to move the meeting time from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., and we had decided to originally wait until September to revisit the topic, but looking at the turnout, I don’t think that it has suffered much from the hour time change,” McCue said.
The group will also no longer be meeting once a month. Instead, the committee will be meeting quarterly, which means that the next meeting of the Senior Advisory Committee will be held on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m.
There will be several activities coming up for the seniors of Wellington, including a July 26 wellness seminar being presented by Wellington Regional Medical Center about anti-aging and nutrition.
There is also a new class being offered called “the Master of Balance,” which will be used to teach about the risk of falling.
The committee is awaiting nominations for the Homegrown Hero award, and the nominees will likely be discussed at the committee’s September meeting.
Learn more about senior programs in Wellington at www.wellingtonfl.gov/seniors.
