Senior Advisory Committee - Regular Meeting

Good evening. We're now calling the meeting of the senior advisory committee to order. It is 04:35. I'm sitting in for our chair. My name is Donna Baxter, and I want to welcome all of you.

It's been a long, long time since we've filled the council chambers for a committee meeting. And we so appreciate having residents interested in what's happening in the village. So thank you, and welcome. At this time, I'll ask everyone to please stand and join us in the pledge. I pledge

allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic

I'll ask our committee members to review the agenda, and then we'll entertain a motion to approve the agenda. I motion to approve. Is there a second?

Second.

Okay. All those in favor in approving the agenda as written, signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Thank you. Now we'll take a minute to look at the minutes from the November 13 meeting. And again, I'll ask our committee members to review those minutes briefly.

Can I get the

minutes? Thank you. Oh, have no seconds.

I motion to approve. Is there a second?

Second.

There's a motion and a second. All those in favor of approving the minutes as written, signify by saying aye. Aye. Okay. The minutes are approved.

At this time, we'd like to hear our staff updates. Hi. Good evening, everybody. We're very excited to be here. Just to give some touching bases on what's been happening within our senior community, we did, as we talked about with the third car, adding it to our freebie program is going exceptional. We are seeing more rides, and we actually were just featured on the news about our freebie program as well. So I think that's really good for everybody to hear. You know, we're definitely navigating with the time waits and everything as far as that goes with adding that third car. So that's really good to know. And I think that we have heard an overall positive review about adding the third car as well.

We are getting ready to host our St. Patrick's Day party, and that will be coming up on the day of St. Patrick's Day. So that'll be on the seventeenth, next Tuesday. And we do have a total of 300 people that have registered for that event at this point in time, so we're very excited to host that. And then as far as our programming goes, Kyle will be able to give you an update where that is.

Good afternoon. Always a pleasure to see you guys. We have some very exciting updates. We have we were able to get a sponsor to pay for a trip to the Norton Museum. At the end of the month, we're taking two groups of 25 on a Thursday and a Friday. We'll take the bus and we'll go to the museum. We're gonna get free entry, lunch, and an art activity. And then we'll take the bus home and it'll be a great time. And the sponsor let us know that this opportunity runs from October through the end of this month. So that's why we were able to get two trips in this month.

And then come October, we're hoping to make this a very regular thing. So we're very excited for that partnership.

So where do they have lunch? At the Norton?

Yes. Because there's a restaurant in the museum. Right.

It's a lovely restaurant. And how long what's the duration of the trip from start to finish?

About four hours.

What a nice afternoon. Great.

Absolutely. And going along with that, that was actually our

Oh, yes. Sorry.

No, you're fine.

Who's the sponsor?

It's Dedicated Senior Medical Center. Terrific.

Yeah. And just to mention, we partner with them a lot. They actually sponsor our Big O program, too. So they bring in donuts and coffee, which has been wonderful. So that does a cost savings to the village of Wellington as well.

They were also one of our first sponsors with our inaugural Senior Olympics that we had, so they were very helpful along with that.

Kyle has already subscribed, the 50 folks?

Yes. But there is a wait list. So if anybody does have to drop out, people are getting calls to fill in. For lunch and learns, we have four scheduled lunch and learns for this month. We had 35 at our lunch and learn today. And we have four planned for next month as well. We're trying to keep those consistently if we can. Four to five a month, we would love to have it. Our Strong in 30 class, which is by our Zumba instructor Jamie, she, we think we set a record yesterday. She opened up a class and it was filled in under five hours with a wait list already going.

She's extremely popular and loved by her community, absolutely. We have we're averaging about 60 to anywhere from 60 to 80 at our bingos, just depending on the week. We have Tai Chi starting at the end of this month, and that current wait list is up to 37 because it is very popular.

And just to mention, Chi is also sponsored, so it is free for seniors.

Absolutely. And and the same instructor with that also does a walking, and they do a whole walking program around the promenade and around town center here. And she also just started an advanced tai chi class as well. And again, all sponsored. Our feel good Fridays, we're averaging anywhere from 10 to 20. Those are once a month provided by?

Baptist Health.

Baptist Health. Thank you. We also have two line dancing classes. We have one that is Miss Lucy. She teaches ballroom dance and line dancing. And then we also have a new instructor, Carrie, that also does it on Saturday mornings as well. And both of those seem to be doing very well and building up their popularity within our community. And then lastly, our AARP smart driving course. We're averaging anywhere from five to 15. Again, it kind of just depends on the day. And but that would be

What was the lunch and learn today?

The topic was urinary incontinence.

Good. I should have gone. I'm dealing with it with my mother. Not from well, doesn't matter. We're all headed there. I mean, believe me, I'm Absolutely. Dealing with this with my And it's a very real issue, and I wish I'd gone to it.

And maybe because maybe down

the road I would be happy for me. Okay, TMI. Okay. So, so, the technical classes, how are they going? The computer.

Very well. Those are always, always popular. And the instructor is loved by the students. It's awesome to see.

Thank you. I don't know how you get a lunch break.

And then just to mention, we did host the very first annual Wellington Irish Fest on March 7, so we're really excited about that event. That'll be coming back next year. Next year, that will be added as a two day event, and we did have 3,800 people in attendance for that. We are also, in the month of April, going to be hosting the Festa Italiana. That will be 04/17/1819.

And that event this year will be free to everyone. And then on April 24, we'll be hosting our Taste of Wellington event, which is to showcase all of our wonderful restaurants that we have here within the village of Wellington. It is an event where we want to showcase restaurants, also engage the community, and also have our family there to be able to celebrate and to maybe find their new spot to eat at. So we're really excited about that. Tickets are on sale for that currently right now, and they will go up until the time that we do sell out. And just to tell everybody, we did sell out last year. So it's a great event, and we're very excited to host that one again.

Jennifer, what was the date of that again?

April 24, which is a Friday night, and it will be from 6PM to 9PM.

And you said tickets, but there's is it a cost?

Yes. So tickets are $40 for adults. That gets you to taste all of the restaurants. Last year we had 35. Our goal is 50 this year, 50 restaurants. It also includes two beverages. So it could be soda or it could be an alcoholic beverage, but you do get two drinks that are also involved with your ticket price. And of course, you can buy more at the bars as well.

JULIE And where is it? JULIE It'll be on the

promenade behind the community center. Oh,

right. Last year.

JULIE Yeah. Yeah.

JULIE Thank you.

JULIE No, you're fine. No problem. So I would say, as far as that goes, that is all for our staff updates at this point in time. Is

there any old business? No. No. Okay.

New business. Our senior group.

Is it this? That would say that. That's later.

Okay. And

new business? Did we want to talk about the golf tournament anymore? Do you have any more information?

Nothing more than we had last time. We're working out details right now.

Do we want to just share what you know, since we have a large Sure.

There's a few more here than we were at last meeting when we announced Yes. We're having our first hopefully, we're having our first senior golf outing on April 20. It's a Monday to scramble, so if you're not a great player, have three other players to rely on. You can bring a foursome, twosome, threesome, we'll hook you up if need be. It's at the private club, the Wellington National Club. It's $125 which includes golf, cart, and lunch. And we're working on getting the registration form now and how to get payment from everybody over to where it needs to be. So if you want to put that on your calendar, again, Monday, April 20, eight a. M. Shotgun.

The other thing I wanted to bring up in new business is just to make sure, again, since we have a captive audience tonight, where a resident would be able to access all of these wonderful events that you are speaking to. Is the calendar found at the community center. And I know a lot of your stuff is online. And I do encourage everyone to follow Wellington on Facebook, because you all do a great job of updating the residents for what's going on. But it is nice to have a hard copy of some of these things so they could see the desk at the community center. MS.

Yes, absolutely. And then we also have our play newsletter. So it is a subscription. You just go on the website and you would subscribe. And then it does have all of our events and programs that are sent directly to your email as well. So if you go on the website, just look up Play newsletter, and then you'll be able to subscribe that way, too.

MS. Okay. And you said what newsletter? MS.

Play Newsletter. MS. Play?

MS. Yeah. PLAY? MS. MS. Play Newsletter. MS. Okay. Thank you. MS. And if you

need any assistance signing up, we can always help you at the front desk, too, so at the community center.

MS. Great. Is there any other new business from the committee? Okay. Then I think we're ready for public comment. And I'm assuming we have some. Okay. Jennifer, do you like to remind everyone how public comment works

on our committee meetings? Absolutely. So when the card is read, you will come up. You will state your name. You will also state your address. And you do have three minutes to speak your comment.

Okay. Our first person up is Linda Mackin. Welcome.

Welcome. Thank you.

It's very

nice to be here. My name's Linda Macken. My address is 12085 Tumbleweed Court, I live in Wellington. I am here to reaffirm our group's desire to remain an independent seniors club, continuing to manage our own activities, leadership, and decision making. Our group was founded on the principles of cooperation, shared learning, and volunteer service to the community.

Preserving our autonomy is essential to maintaining the character, purpose, and effectiveness of our organization. Over time, our members have worked together to build a welcoming and productive environment where individuals share skills and support one another. Within our group, members regularly teach and learn a variety of traditional and creative crafts, including sewing, knitting, crocheting, beading. These activities not only help preserve valuable skills, but also create opportunities for friendship, mentorship, and lifelong learning within our community. In addition to supporting one another, our group is deeply committed to giving back to the wider community.

Through our independent efforts, we regularly create and donate items that serve those in need. Our contributions have included donations to hospitals, American Indians Fire Station, various charitable which benefit children and families. These donations are made with the intention of providing comfort, warmth, and practical assistance to members of the community. Our independence allows us to operate efficiently, respond quickly to member needs, and we're open to every resident of Wellington. And our organize helps us organize our efforts according to the interests and abilities of our members.

This is through member networking, which has been going on since the formation of this group. For these reasons, we respectfully but firmly want to state our desire to retain full control over our organizational structure, activities, and decision making processes. Maintaining this autonomy is vital to preserving the spirit of volunteerism, cooperation, and community service that defines our group. As seniors who have chosen Wellington as where we want to age in place, this does not mean we want others to control how and what we do. We are capable, we love, we grow with our fellow seniors as they transition in physical ability, and when they cannot contribute as much as they used to, we find new ways for them to contribute.

As new seniors join, they also step up to contribute. And people everywhere in Wellington, you can find us in the local newspaper, and hear about us. We value our relationship with the village and appreciate the support and understanding of the council. Our goal is to continue contributing our time, skills, and charitable work for the benefit of others, while maintaining the independence that enables us to function successfully. It is our sincere hope that we can continue operating independently while maintaining a positive and cooperative presence within the community.

Thank Thank you very much, Linda. Before we have any further public comment, we totally agree with everything that you're doing. And our goal was to keep you, not even our goal, our recommendation was to keep you as your own club and maintaining your activities. The only caveat that this committee spoke to was that at this point in time, with a very large staff and programming for senior activities, somewhat twenty something years down the road, that the recommendation was that you maintain just like that as a self sustaining, self supporting club. That's exactly we are saying the same thing that you are saying.

With the $15,000

I just ask I'm sorry to interrupt you. Could we let our chair speak?

Yeah, we'll give everybody an opportunity to speak. But before

give some respect so everyone can hear commenting on what she's saying? If you would be so kind, it

would Thank be really appreciated. You. And the only reason why I'm interjecting here is because I'm getting the sense that there is a misunderstanding and misinterpretation in what this committee's recommendation was. In no way, shape, or form were we recommending that the senior club not exist, not continue the amazing things you're doing for your members. Because so many of you rely on that, appreciate what they're doing, and also participate in the activities that Jennifer and her staff participate in.

And that you absolutely are the foundation of our senior programming in this community, of which Jennifer and her staff have built on for the general senior population. Those that have chosen to join your club, that's a wonderful thing. And you generate I'm ballparking, and I is $15,000 in dues each year. And you have a pay for service, whether it's $5.10 dollars or whatever, that you're charging for your activities. I'm pulling that number out of the air.

I have no idea. I'm pretty sure about the dues revenue. We are just recommending that at this point in time that you maintain yourself as a separate club and be self supporting. Just like the Rotary Club, the Kiwanis Club, and every other club that gives to our community is. So that was the recommendation, to be self supporting.

When you choose to put on an activity, say, this is what we have in our budget. All of you are business people. I know many of you out there. So you understand. And many of you are members of other groups in the committee, from the Garden Club to active on HOAs, to on Rotary Club, you understand what that means.

That you can only provide services based on what you have in your treasury. And, but, and if you want to provide an outing, then you say, then in order to do this, we need to charge $20 ahead, so that it's a break even for our club. So that was the only recommendation that this committee made, was to allow you to be self supporting everyone will have an opportunity, if you put this on here to give you the opportunity to be self supporting in your activities. Because we have senior programming being provided with your taxpayer dollars already with a huge staff. Let's back up.

For those of you who were here from the very beginning, you were the senior programming. You were the programming for this village. We thank you. You provided valuable services and socialization. As time has moved on, and decades have passed, and our senior populations have grown, the village staff has seen the need to fund programming through their staff.

So now we have staff funded by your taxpayer dollars. So your group should continue to do everything you want to do without taxpayer Support. Subsidies. Let me just before the grumbling begins, listen. That's fine.

Excuse me one second. We're going to all have I'm going to stop, and you have a second. But if the Rotary Club got funding from the village for their activities, you would probably be some of the first people to come and say, why are our taxpayer dollars going to a private club? So this is the mentality that we're coming from. You are now at a point where you're providing your activities, we're just asking that those activities that you provide, that you support them with your dues and with your fees that you're charging for activities, so that any money that's available in the village will go to our village staff who are charged with providing senior activities.

So I'm done now. Let me bring up the rest to speak. And just to reaffirm, Donna,

if you don't mind me saying, we could all be respectful, please. And when we come up to speak, you guys do have the three minutes, but our board do have more than three minutes to talk. So I just want to reaffirm that, Okay?

MS. Yeah. Thank you. And I'm just I wanted to interject that because we got the feeling from just our first comments here that we were not standing in support of a senior club existing. That is absolutely false. Arthur Jacobs, please come up and welcome, sir.

Provides his address, I believe.

Off of Paul Jacobs, 3800 Moon Bay Circle, Grand Isle's division of HOA, let's call it, on Lake Worth Road. Welcome. Twenty six years living in this wonderful town. Absolutely love it. Why am I here? I see our board out here. I see them at the luncheons. The leaders of the board are all women. Are we a matriarchal society? What's going on?

Where are the men that help to support this group? We show up? Yes. Are we here? Alright, put your hand down, We're all Oh, here's one who says he supports it. Thank you. But I'm trying to bring out the point, this is not about eliminating this group. I think a lot of them are saying 50 is not being given to this group this year, and it may be taken away completely, and we have to put everything on our expense? Is that the approach? I'd like to get an answer from the board on this, if I can, while they discuss this.

I believe that and staff will certainly correct me, and I will give you a summarization. When funding when your funding drops below a certain point, the village can then supplement. And at this point, the board has been discussing allowing that money to go to village run programs. Staff, I know, how many hours do you give to the senior club in projects? Oh,

so we do help book the rooms for them. When we do have all of bridge and all of that, we set up our maintenance staff set up for all of those programs. Obviously, the day of the senior club meetings, which is once a month, our maintenance sets it up. We also help with staffing. Rick helps with sound and entertainment. Kyle, of course, works with the senior club to organize. And then, of course, staff does stay to assist in case there are any issues with sound or entertainment as well.

So Linda made a good point in saying, would like to continue with autonomy, complete autonomy and independence, full control over decision making, among other things that she mentioned, and does not want others to control. So with that in mind, this board has discussed, be independent, continue to have your autonomy, continue to do your programs, but the village will focus on the village senior activities that are funded by the village, provided by the village, planned by staff, taken care of by staff? How much do you pay the staff for organizing your lunches?

We pay taxes in Wellington, and strictly this cost

That's right, and that's why we have the senior club,

but we're not

this gentleman, I'm is speaking, so we have to let him finish. But I wanted to just interject when you asked the question. So please continue. And I did not take any of your three minutes, by the way. You can continue in your time.

I came here under the premise that there won't be lunches. I don't come to these meetings with our seniors for the food. I'm constantly dieting. I come to the meeting to meet fellow citizens. Once you're a senior citizen, the one thing we can't do is we can't buy time. I don't care what money you have, you can't buy time. We're dying. That is, we're not dying today or tomorrow. But just today, I just went online, to reach 85 years old, you got a fifteen percent chance of reaching 85. I'm 83.

Does that mean I'm dying in two years? No. But let's not have the idea suddenly that there's a rumor out there that this group is dying.

It isn't. No.

But at the same time, what we're funding them just might not be enough. It's as simple as that. We don't work anymore. We get our interests, we get our investments, whatever, if we have that. Don't think everybody, because we live in Wellington, is wealthy. No. Please, this is a wealthy town. But we're taking care of a lot of people who don't even need the money with money given by the town. And I'm not saying don't give it to them either. We should all get somewhat of a fair shake out of all of this.

So, when it comes to to push comes to shove, are we supposed to eliminate something, or are we building upon something with this meeting? I've never seen a meeting like this, like you said, where it fills this hall. That that's awesome, to bring all these Thank you. You all come to the to the Thank you so appreciate your comments.

It was very nice. You had your three minutes. You.

Thank you so much.

Donna, before you call the next person, can I In terms of the funding, I wasn't here at the meeting when we voted to advise the council not to refund the organization? I would have voted not to do that, of course. Question, Jennifer. I know we spoke about this at a previous meeting. When the revenues of the club reach a certain level, the council stops funding them, correct?

So the contract that we have in place right now is that once they are below the $50,000 threshold, that's when we will start to pay back their expenditures. And the reason why that is is because we found that there was a savings account of $146,800 at one point.

Okay. So at the time that and the folks who were here at last month's meeting, we voted three to one. Did we vote to permanently or advise the council to permanently stop funding or just to stop funding during this process where we found that they had excess funds?

We don't have any, but we just make recommend am I off? You're off. Yeah.

Thanks.

We make recommendations to counsel, but we don't have any purse powers. So we are just recommending that there's a lot of duplicity, and that we recommended that the senior club maintain itself as its own entity, and that the senior programs director continue with her programming. So that was the recommendation, that continued supplementing of the club's treasury with taxpayer dollars should be stopped and let them be independent, totally independent, and then let Jennifer and her staff do senior programming. That was the recommendation. Again, we recommend to counsel.

It's their decision. It's their contract.

So the counsel then would have to redo the contract?

MS. Correct. So the contract, it will be up in September. So that's why the recommendation was made, and then we will make the recommendation to counsel. And then counsel will make the ultimate decision.

And one final question on the pay as you go for outings and things like that. Alice, there are charges, right? If people decide to go on a special outing, they have to pay separately?

Yes. Okay. Yeah.

No, that is exactly right. I was just saying that when you have to be self supporting, you have to charge the amount to cover your costs versus having the buffer of your Treasury covering the costs of that. And that's just what we were talking about. Harvey Bloom is up next. If you would come to the podium, sir.

Good afternoon. My name is Harvey Bloom. I live at 9171 Via Classico East. That's in Buena Vida.

Vida.

Yes. Can you hear me?

Can you

hear me? Can you hear me now?

Yes. I

only have three minutes, and sometimes I have a habit of going over the three minutes. So let me tell you, I'm going to lead off by telling you you're making a terrible mistake by withholding that $52,000 And whether you sever your relationship with the community or not, you are killing this club. Now let me give you some specific examples. First, my background, so you understand where I'm coming from. I don't need any supplemental funds.

I'm happy that my wife and I are able to pay for whatever we have to pay. And we generally love this club, so we sign up for everything. Now, several years ago when we started, there was a trip to the West Coast. This year, when the club offered that trip to the West Coast, they didn't have the supplemental funds to offer the inducement for people to sign up. They couldn't get enough people to sign up, they canceled the trip.

They had planned a dinner at the Wanderers Club. And it sounded like a wonderful event, but they couldn't afford to supplement it. They couldn't get enough people to sign up. I don't know if you're aware, these nine lunches that they have on nine out of the twelve months, those box lunches cost the club $15 apiece. They pay for entertainment. So in round numbers, it really costs like $25 a person for the people to come. You know how much they charge the people? Zero. The club pays for it. If you guys continue to stop paying, they're gonna have to discontinue.

Or they'll raise the dues from $30 to about $250. How many people do you think are going to pay $250 Now, I'm telling you, having gotten familiar with these people over a period of years, they're wonderful people. They're sociable people. But they live on fixed incomes. They cannot afford to do all the things you say, pay for this and pay for that. They don't work. They have very limited budgets. And the entertainment budget is limited. So they don't participate if they have to pay, as you say, pay as you go. Now, some of you have recognized.

You, I watched the video from last month. You fully recognize, we're talking about the vast majority of these seniors live on a fixed income. They can't afford it. They have to decide from what limited things they are offered to them. If they have to pay in full, they can only do very few. If they have to pay for those lunches, you'll see instead of almost 300 people coming to that thing, maybe half or even worse for a free lunch, because they won't get a free lunch. I heard you talking on the last month's meeting about, how about those casino trips? I understand the club takes a casino trip. Why doesn't the community offer? And they said, oh, they can't.

They can't. The real reason is they can't because what the club does is they rent a bus from Academy for $1,000 And then the club pays half of that. They ask the seniors to pay $10 to go on that, and the club pays the difference. If the club, if the community does it, they're not gonna, where they're gonna get the $1,000 unless you're gonna steal it from the 52,000 that's supposed to come from this club. So what's the point of taking it away from them so that they can do it, and they have a situation where they provide services, not just to Wellington residents, but to Palm Beach County residents. So you're stealing Wellington funds for people

you. Thank

you very much. You. Thank you so much. Just want to speak to two things that Harvey brought up. Number one, the village offers a party every 13 times a

year.

13 times a year for free for any of you, any of us. 13. All right. So number one and no, just wanted to say that there are hold on. No, I'm just saying we are providing free activities for seniors. The village, your tax dollars are providing free activities. And the other thing I just wanted add, Jennifer, you could please advise no, not right now, Harvey, just sit tight.

Would also like to clarify, we did run some numbers. I know he did mention about serving Palm Beach County, and I believe Ian has those numbers on the actuals that we do serve at our parties.

Yeah. So, we just took a nice sample size of the last three parties that we've had. And so, of those parties, 73% of those that attended were Wellington residents. At our two parties, which was our senior holiday, 73% were Wellington residents. And then, at our Valentine's Day party, 76 were Wellington residents.

So, you still see that a large part of the participants that are coming to our events are Wellington residents. Now, on top of that, what I'd like to add is that we do a great job in getting, excuse me, I'm sorry. Pardon me, We do a great job of getting sponsorships that can allocate to our events and the experience that our seniors are able to have. This year alone, we've received $27,500 in sponsorship dollars. Now, those sponsors do ask, Hey, can we open it up to just more than Wellington residents, seeing that we are funding this event? So, that is why we do allow outside residents to come to our events. But, even then, right?

Pardon me.

A small minority of those that are coming to the event are outside of Wellington. So I'd just like to make that point.

I'd like this, and I'm

not afraid to use

it. Yes.

So I want to just reiterate, Ian, that or ask a question, and just clarify for everybody. There are non residents who attend, but Wellington residents are not excluded.

Wellington We

do not reach a limit where we are turning down Excuse away anybody who wants to come. That is exactly correct. And I want to just make sure everybody is well aware of that. Oh, oh, does

that Folks, everybody who turned in a card will have an opportunity to speak. So please be respectful of everyone's commenting. Okay, we'll take Are you done now? Yes, thank you. Sure. Yes. Calandra, please come forward.

I was hoping to go at the end.

Thank you. Sorry, we're just going in the order they're giving us. Welcome.

I'm Mike Callender. 1450 The 12th Fairway, the pink house that my wife made. I had nothing to do with the pink house. I wanted to listen. I was hoping to be at the end, but first of all, Jennifer, Kyle, and Ian, and Rick, you should give lots of credit to.

Okay? They're wonderful to be there, and I wanna commend them for putting up with all the garbage I give them. But they're really pretty good. A couple of things. The only thing that I hear that's disturbing is when you want to bifurcate and have the club separate, the amount of money that you're now not paying could be a problem down the road, sort of like the other gentleman said, where the funding will do other restrictions.

And so I have a suggestion that if you work with the two teams together and figure out where you might be able to pick up items that they have to drop, okay? Because it's not fair. I don't know. Also, think one of the things you should do, I know them from seeing them all the time, maybe you should come to the senior events, both clubs events, and see what goes on and make your own opinions to where you can help the seniors out, okay? I think that's a really important thing.

Also, both events could use an automation process so that when you check-in, you don't have people standing in line, especially people who are handicapped and stuff like that. So, I mean, you guys have your badges. Why don't you issue badges? My fitness club has the same thing. You just and you're in. So I think you need to think about recommending that for probably both clubs, and it'll save costs for the staff and make things a little easier. Also, for the seniors, I think you should

Please. Think

events that you're having in town and provide discounts for the seniors for those events also. All right? So just the only thing I heard that bothers me is when you're bifurcating the events, you're not the consequences of those events you're not aware of. So I think you need to attend both events to see what they do. Maybe go to a gambling trip once in a while. Don't know. That's about all I have. Okay?

Thank you, Mike. Peter Remini.

Welcome, Peter. Peter Remney, 9541 Via Legante in Wellington, Buena Vita.

A little bit closer to the mic, Peter.

Hey, how's that? Is that better?

Perfect, thank you.

I was unaware of some of the finances, and that's why I came today. We attend a lot of the monthly events from the club, which we pay for. We attend most of the events that the senior club holds. My approach when I see the bulletin at the end of the month, or beginning of the month before it starts, I go through it and I see trips that we might wanna be able to take, and I'm very selective about what I can afford in our budget. Again, we're on a fixed income pretty much.

Even though we live in Wellington, we didn't start out with the prices and the fees and the costs, as everybody knows, which has gone pretty wild. But I'm not alone. So we try and make do. Thank God. We squeeze by.

We stop eating certain things. We don't go out much. So to be self funded, I don't know how that's gonna affect the fees that we would have to pay to attend these outings, if you will. But as it is, and being supplemented now, I don't think we'd be able to go to many at all unless there was a minimal charge involved. So to defund what we already have now, I don't know where it's gonna go, but I don't think it's gonna be in a positive manner.

And I see the people that attend the monthly lunches, which are very nice, I have to add. And the entertainment is fabulous. And I appreciate it very much. King's Academy and all the other independent people that come and sing and dance and provide entertainment. It's very nice, and we probably wouldn't be doing much of it if it weren't for the club. So to keep the club alive and vibrant, I think is critically important. I don't know where it would go if you took the funding away. I'm not involved politically or any other way with the club. We can't do much. My wife needs help and I'm her primary care provider.

So that's all I can say. Everybody that lives in Wellington isn't necessarily wealthy. And there's a lot of seniors that I see there that aren't. So there you go. What else would you like me to say? I belong to Kiwanis, so I do We both go. We go together and we do charitable work. I belong on the To the cop unit in our community, which services outside our community as well. We patrol the park, Okeheely Park, and other things, and we participate in whatever we can in the community, as well as the theater group.

Thank you, Peter.

You're welcome.

Larry Shankman. Come on down. Lori Hello. Lori. Lori, there we are. Great.

This one works.

That one works.

Okay. Hi. Anyways, again, I'm here just to ask you to please consider funding the senior club, Okay? Again, as everybody here says, we're fixed and it comes the majority of us that go to these events, even though they're open to 55 and older. But I think the majority of us are in their 70s and 80s that attend, Okay?

I don't know how the senior club will be able to go on if they don't get any funding. I understand the $50,000 budget that we're talking about, if we dip below that. Maybe you can consider funding us if we do dip below that amount Okay, instead of taking it away completely. I know a lot of people will be really disheartened to see this club go because, obviously, they can't afford to put on these things with people paying only $30 a year in membership. We went to the Polo Club for a luncheon yesterday, which was fabulous.

We loved it. It is a place for us to all get together and be together with our peers and do things and socialize, which is something a lot of us don't have that ability. And to be able to do that is really important. So the other thing I was asking of the funding, what came to my mind is because of what the village does put on the luncheons, which we love and are fabulous, but they are open to, I guess, all of Palm Beach County. So if it's a budgeting thing, my question is, if the village limited it to Wellington residents, that's another 25% of your budgeting that might be able to go to help us.

May I ask a question of staff? Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you not, aren't many of our lunches sponsored? That's Because there's no, the village is not shelling out or paying anything for Correct. So that, I think, I just wanted to clarify. I wanted to clarify, and we're holding her time, right? Correctly. Thank you. I do want to clarify, so you are aware that those, the reason out, people living outside Wellington are invited and can come, is that a sponsor is underwriting the event, and has asked since they're sponsoring it and paying for it, can it be open to anybody? So no Wellington resident is excluded. No, know that.

Oh, Yeah, I did hear all that So

the village is not funding 17% for non residents. Your tax dollars are not paying for non residents to attend. A sponsor is saying, I'll give you $20,000 for that lunch. How much is the lunch? $19,900 Here's 20, am I illustrating this properly?

Yes. We collected $27,500 last year in sponsorships. And that does continue to go up on the partnership that we've been able to build as well. So at our events, you'll see we have desserts, we have maybe drinks. Those are all in kind donations. So we do not pay for any of that. And then sometimes, too, with our entertainment, we will have a sponsor that comes in and just pays for the entertainment. So I do want to make that very clear, because we do work very, very hard to assure. Even with Bingo, we also have that is almost fully sponsored as well. So we do look to gauge new partnerships within the community to assure that we are being fiscally responsible.

And just to assure everyone here, no residents of Wellington are ever turned away from any event, because they're at capacity with perhaps 10 non res. I just want to, I think it's important for all of us to understand that, quite honestly, that it's open to everybody and that we all understand that. Yes.

It is open to everybody. The capacity in the room for us is three fifty people, but we've never, ever, ever turned anybody away. We've never said, Oh, sorry, you're on the waiting list, you can't come. We always take everybody, and we always accommodate for everybody. We even go so far to order more food so we can make sure that we do not run out of food. So we always want to make sure a senior has their lunch, that they're able to come to the event, and we will accommodate them.

Thank you. And Laurie still has some time Yes.

Okay.

No. And so I was just asking you to please consider the subsidies. Again, and you can maybe consider the budget if we do drop below the $50,000 mark, Okay? But maybe you can substitute that. Maybe it's just something you need to put out for this year, because I don't see the senior club being able to exist without any help.

That's about all I really have to say. So please

Thank you, Lori.

Thank you very much.

MARYAN GODDETT. Did I pronounce that correctly? GODDETT? Thank you.

Well, Marian's walking up. Just to clarify, we don't control any dollars. We simply, as a board, recommend to the council. So quite frankly, what you need to do is get to the next council meeting and explain to the council your concerns about money itself. Because we don't have the purse strings here.

:Marion, thank you. :Yes. My name is Marion Goodet, 15467 Whispering Willow Drive. And this has been a wonderful town that is known for how it treats its seniors and how important it is to the seniors in this community that we have you to do that for us. I've heard some mixed things today.

But one thing I did hear was some terrific praise for our senior committee, which makes me wonder why this is all coming about in the first place, because they have done a wonderful job. They have grown I've been running the bridge group for them for a couple of years now. And everything that they do has been so good for seniors, I don't know why we are even having this whole conversation. If anything, I would think you might want to increase the funding to this group. I have spent many years in business running huge budgets.

And one of the things that I have discovered for myself is that the closer to home something is, the better it is usually run. And that goes along with local control. Wellington doesn't want to give up their budget to the county or to the state. And I think that the budget that we have coming into our seniors is exactly where it belongs. They have done a wonderful job.

So what are we talking about here? I think that maybe you should consider increasing that budget as soon as possible because they're doing the job that they were asked to do in the first place. Thank you. That's all I have to say.

Thank you. Jean Clancy, please.

Thank you. Jean Clancy, 9653 Villa Grande West, Wellington. Hi, everybody. First of all, to compliment you guys for the job you did, I appreciate that. But it's one thing I'm sorry, don't know your name, sir. It's one thing that you said that you just make a recommendation. We're here about your recommendation. We're here because we're not happy with your recommendation. And we feel that it is not fair to the seniors. That's just what I wanted to say. And I understand it's a recommendation. But you're really put the B in

the bonnet.

Well, as I said earlier, I wasn't here at the meeting when the recommendation was made. Good you. Good

for you. Okay.

And I'm not saying that's a bad decision. All I'm saying, I wasn't here for it.

No, I understand. I understand. Now, first of all, I think what Linda and Harvey Bloom said spot on. I understand what you're saying, Linda, about duplication and everything. But it seems to me that what you're saying is you've expanded the personnel to take care of events for everyone. And because of the personnel that you said, large personnel, now you have less money to give us to continue what we've been doing in a very, very good way, Okay? Number one. Number two, Okay? I know that you do have other trips. I'll use the example of the Norton Museum.

Two buses, 25 people in each bus. What are we talking about here? Three fifty people were at the last event. Have you ever been up there? It's awful. It's so crowded. I mean, I don't mean it's awful that you're not doing a good job. That's not what I mean. It's so well received that there's not enough room. I'd said it wrong, and I apologize for that. Because they really do do a very good job. Twenty years you've been subsidizing the senior. All of a sudden now, you're going to change, because now we have a bigger staff, and

they

want I won't say they, I don't know who it is wants to control all of it. First of all, as Harvey said, you can't do the things that this club has done. We have a sense of purpose with our volunteers that come in and set things up and help people and call and do whatever. We can't function if you're not going to subsidize us. And about the 73% of people are from Wellington, well, the other 27%, Okay, maybe it's subsidized in some ways, but they're paying we're paying for your salaries.

That's 27% each thing of that event is not being the taxes. We're being taxed for it for other people. Okay? So maybe you're getting your lunch free, but we're paying personnel. And that's not to say we don't need the personnel. I'm all for it. They've done a wonderful job. But by the same token, so have we. So what's wrong with having too many senior events? What's wrong with that?

What is wrong with that? Nothing. And we can't function without your help. Just like we can't lift tables anymore, or we can't set up stuff, and thank you very much for doing that all time. But honestly, there's absolutely no reason why we can't embrace the seniors that do not have the wherewithal to do the other things. And you say everybody's welcome, everybody's whatever. First of all, the Norton thing is an example. I've been trying to sign up for tai chi. I've been trying to sign up for stuff. I can't get on. It's always booked. It's always full.

So you Thank are you all very much. Appreciate your time. And Ms. Baxter. I have

a I'd like a comment, MS.

I would like to clarify. So we have not expanded our staffing. The staffing for senior programs is actually Kyle. I oversee senior programs, but Kyle is our dedicated person for senior programs. And we do have part time people that work for us that are rec assistants. So within those positions, which those have always been there, those rec assistants and then Ashley, who manages our front desk.

Can we please have quiet so we can all hear? Thank you.

I just want to clarify. So we have not expanded the personnel at all. It's Kyle. Kyle's been handling senior programs now, I believe, for five years. So I just want to thank you. So I do just want to clarify that. So we haven't expanded. So for the whole operation, the 25 staff is a department. So that department and just to break it down for everybody is not just seniors, okay? We handle seniors, we handle youth programs, we handle the amphitheater, all the Lakeside Market concerts that go on.

We handle all the rentals within the facility, and we handle all the programs. So whether that's a paid program, that's a free program, I just want to make sure everybody understands what the 25 staff are actually doing. So like when we put on the Irish Fest, we do have staff that work that event. So you can see it's not just senior services, it's also facilitating everything that goes on within Town Center as well.

Thank you.

a comment. A please. Okay, sure. Yes. What I've been hearing is the senior club and the seniors. Aren't we all seniors? I mean, why is there a differential there? Because we have a club, and then I hear people talk about, oh, but we are the seniors. But the people that attend the Wellington activities, they are seniors as well. So we're all seniors. I just hear that. That kind of doesn't resonate well in my spirit.

Thank you, Mabel. Eileen Kufnell, is that correct, Kufnell? I'm sorry. Sorry, Eileen, what was that?

Please don't count my time as I

give out this paper. You know what? They can distribute for them, if you'd like Thank to help you.

Are you doing both?

Yes. Five for each? Okay.

Thank you, Eileen.

I didn't want to lose time. I think I should get right to the area that somebody mentioned, the $146,000 I think most of the people here never realized that we had that money. It wasn't started by me. But the people who started this club that cared about what happened to seniors, they are the ones who started the savings account. And when I joined the board fifteen years ago, we had $75,000 then.

This was money not to be touched until the day they did this. And they said, no more for you, because they wanted us to go out in style. Or take that money, and while you're looking for a sponsor who will care about you, Here's some money so you can keep going. That was money never to be touched. At this point, we were forced, in order to continue, to spend it.

So last year, we received no money, but we did get the vote to get the money. We didn't get it. I don't know where it is. It's holding somewhere. I don't know. We spent our money. And this is the second year that we are spending. This is going to be the end in September, up roughly, because I'm not sure where. Once we hit the $50,000 nobody has answered my question. How do we function to get the rest of the money?

The process isn't in place yet, as far as I know. I'm assuming it's true and honest. I can only assume and trust. Okay, let's talk about my handouts. I gave you a copy of last year. This is everything we did, every dollar we spent, and what we spent it on. And you can see did it stop?

Can you hear your

line? Hello?

It's working. Okay. It's me. Okay. So on this, I put this page with all the boxes on the front. It's usually the back, because it's the consolidation of everything behind it. Just to give you an idea of the general cost now, I can say it out loud, or you can look at it. It doesn't matter. But you can see that the funds were not sufficient, with zero coming from the village. All I got last year was 15,000

for

our membership fees. And all of the rest came out of our savings account. So you can see that the expenses for the year were $60,000 Now, you'd say, well, you can manage with 56.

Thank you, Eileen. We appreciate you for your handouts. We appreciate it.

I need my banners back. I've been collecting them since 2009.

I'm sorry? I have the banners back. You'd like them back?

Sure. Yes, please. I just want you to see what they are. And

maybe Ian could make a Xerox copy for us and give you your originals back. Diana Gafford? Diana Gafford? Okay, we'll move on. Esther oh, okay, thank you.

Esther Gambaro, or is it Gambano? I'm sorry. Esther? No, okay. How about Annie Enzarello? Sorry. No? Okay. Lynn Fields. Lynn Fields. Paula Brownson. Paula Brownson? Okay. Oh, these people all said they didn't wish to speak. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. Okay. Let's go to Fred. Where's Fred? Fred Pagaro is coming up.

Okay. Good afternoon. My name is Federico Peguero. I'm a retired cardiothoracic surgeon. I live in 8513 Via Brillante, Buena Vida.

It's 33411, the zip code. Why I am here? I'm not surprised that I'm standing here, but I agree with all everything that the people have said. Harvey Bloom, everybody. So I don't have to say much.

The only thing I'm going to say to you is that if you collapse the seniors of Wellington, the capital polo city of the world, with many billionaires in this area, you are going to condemn many of these seniors not to participate in parties, trips, and dementia is going to sit faster. You better double or triple the budget like this young lady said, believe me, these peoples are going to get hurt if you don't support them with trips. When I was a little boy, played bingo in my house. Then when I started to study, I never played bingo. You know what I do now?

I play bingo. I was surprised. As a heart surgeon, I've said many lives. I used to be trained to do heart transplant too. But let me tell you, support the seniors of Wellington. Please, triple the budget.

Thank you, Fred. Harath Elancoon? I'm sorry, if I killed that name. Harath? No? H E R A T H? No? Okay. Nandani? Thank you.

Okay. Give me a minute. Lisa Ferguson?

It.

Yes. Staff will read it for you.

Read it.

Thank you.

Alright.

I'm writing to formally request a consideration of the recommendation made during the 01/15/2026 session to serve the village's contract with the Wellington seniors club. I just wanna make sure I get into three minutes. Alright. Oh, it is separate. Forgive me.

After reviewing the proceedings, I am deeply concerned that the decision was reached without sufficient representation from the WSC or a comprehensive analysis of the big picture impact on our resident seniors. While the village staff is exceptional, they are currently functioning at capacity. Expecting them to absorb the specialized volunteer led operations of the WSC is a logistical oversight that risks diluting the quality of life I urge the board to consider the following critical distinctions, fiscal and public safety responsibility. Town sponsored luncheons, which are open to all Palm Beach County residents and serve alcohol, require a paid police presence. Diverting armed officers to monitor a luncheon is a significant hidden cost payer or cost to taxpayers.

In contrast, the WSC provides a self regulated, safe, and focused environment without the need for an armed presence. Wellington first priority. The WSC is one of the few remaining best best best bastions. I'm not sure I'm not sure of that word for actual Wellington residents. By requiring a $30 membership fee and residency or a grandfather status, the club ensures that resources are reserved for those who have spent years contributing to our local tax base.

Comprehensive value. The WSC provides priceless support that a government office cannot automate, including personalized wellness outreach, nine monthly luncheons, and a niche interest groups, knitting, quilting, and card games. Furthermore, I must address the current policy of accommodating all seniors from surrounding towns. Opening our doors to non resident places cause an undue strain on village infrastructure. Our parking lots are at capacity and essential wellness programs such as Tai Chi are frequently booked solid leaving Wellington taxpayers on a waiting list.

This is little evidence that these visiting non residents contribute to our local economy via our shops and restaurants. Our resource should first and foremost serve the Wellington people. The Wellington senior club is a safe haven managed by seniors who intimately understand our demographic. I strongly urge the board to reserve or reverse its January recommendation and maintain the vital partnership of the WSC. Sincerely, Lisa Ferguson.

Thank you, Ian. Jennifer, did you want to speak to Yes.

So I know that within the letter it did say armed that we would have to have armed forces, meaning PBSO, because of the alcohol. So within the Wellington Community Center, it is at our own designation, and we do exercise that as well for our rentals and other events that we do host there, whether we do have a PBSO officer or not. So we are able to make that recommendation, and it doesn't just go for any of the events that we have, but it also, like I said, does go for rentals as well. Thank you.

Okay. Jose Arfalo? Jose?

Right here. Good afternoon, lovely ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for being here.

I'm Tony Alfalla. I was past president of this club for seven years. I'm a member since 1999. We started with nothing. The first time we received money was for the mayor, Tom.

I can't I'm 93 years old, so I cannot recall all the names. Tom was the first one. He gave us $25,000 followed by Harold and all the other commissioners and mayors have always been with us. I don't see what the difference is. But one thing is for sure, we earn what we have.

And we earn it not only by receiving money from here, but we also have a sweat. I contribute money myself when I because I run trips. I take the people to the casino. My wife and I used to work sixty, eighty hours a week going to restaurants to look at the menu, to get the cheapest and most comfortable and healthiest meals for these people. We love ours.

My wife's passed away. But I'm a carry on. And as long as I live, these are my people, and I fight for them. Thank you.

Thank you, Jose. Nancy Salviolo. Thank you, Nancy.

Nancy Salviola, 1100877 Donlin Drive. I've been a resident here for over forty years, and a member of the Wellington Seniors for over thirty. Back then, we didn't have these wonderful staff. I'm confused between the Wellington seniors and the Wellington club. The Wellington club needs the financing, because we cannot survive without the subsidizing money.

And I think they've said it all, but I'm confused about the two separate clubs. The Wellington events that they have are wonderful for anybody in the county, but I'm talking about the Wellington Residence Senior Club. We're the ones that need the subsidy. Thank you.

Thank you. John, come on down.

My name is John Sienna. I live at 1979 Southclub Drive in Wellington, Madame Chair. Thank you for having me. I had no intention to speak, but I'm listening. And it's always about power and money, isn't it? What are we talking about? Is it the subsidies, what, dollars 50,000? I don't know. Is it? That's a question. Can I get an answer?

Jennifer, what's the subsidy? Is it $56,000

$56,200

$56,200. Another question. What percentage of that is the Wellington The Wellington budget is what? And what percentage is the $50,000? Minuscule. Nothing. Nothing at all. So why? What's this? This is a farce.

I mean, dollars 50,000 won't pay for anybody on the staff, I'm sure. I mean, I know Wellington plays very well, thank you very much. You do a good job. You know, streets are always paved. There's nothing wrong with this town. It's like living in a park. I don't go to too many other senior events. I don't. I do a lot of other things. I'm 85 years old, I'm still healthy, thank God. But $50,000 and we're spending all of this time? It's nothing. I mean, what did the bathroom at the dog park cost? Tell me. I mean, again, this is force.

Thank you very much. I said enough.

Good to see you, John.

And Ms. Baxter, if I may, just to go back to comments to describe the difference between the Wellington Senior Club and then the Wellington Seniors. I know that was a question that was kind of brought up, the confusion. So with the Wellington Senior Club, it is funded by the village of Wellington. It is $56,200 And within the Wellington Senior Club, you have the nine monthly luncheons, and then you do have the trips that are provided.

You have volunteer luncheons. You also have out to lunch bunch in the summer. So that is encompassed within the senior club, but you also have the groups that meet at the Wellington Community Center on a weekly basis, on a daily basis as well. The village does provide that space to the Wellington Senior Club per the contract, So we do, of course, welcome all seniors to that. And then that is the club itself.

And then separate from that, you have the Wellington seniors within the village of Wellington. And just to kind of mention some of the things that we have as part of our programming, as Kyle kind of mentioned within his staff updates. But we do have the AARP, we have Alzheimer's Research Mobile Unit, Bingo Sighs, Feel Good Friday, Lunch and Learns, Matter of Balance, Tai Chi, Technology Class. We have universal coaching services, which are provided by a sponsor, so those are free classes. We have Zumba AM, Zumba Gold, Zumba Step, Zumba Toning.

And the most loved is bingo. So the village of Wellington puts bingo on on a weekly basis. So every single Wednesday. The only Wednesday we do not host it is when, of course, we host the senior club. When bingo was originated, we used to do it one Wednesday a month.

And then because of my team, we've been able to add it three times a month. And because we're able to work with other sponsors within the community, we're able to add those two extra services within the community. And we know that bingo is very important to our community as well. And as you may know, we're always looking to partner and add new programs, but we're always looking to add free programs. And the way that we're able to do that is through partnerships such as the Area Agency on Aging, Senior Dedicated Medical Center, Wellington Regional Medical Center, Humana, Florida Blue and that's just to name several of our large sponsors that we're able to acquire through our partnerships within the village of Wellington. So I just wanted to make that clarification.

Thank you.

Donna.

It appears that, well, it's obvious to all of us, that many people are working hard to provide services, activities, and socialization for our seniors. It is a high priority. I am happy. I am a senior. We're all seniors. So we all win with that. And thank you. Go ahead. I'm sorry.

Yes, no, Donna, and it speaks to what John was saying. I was going bring it up later, since you brought it up, we might as well attack it now. Whenever I hear of taxpayer money being used, have three concerns. One is what are our contractual obligations to spend that money? Number two, what are the auditing measures to make sure it's spent well? And number three is what's the total expenditure? So, with that being said, we do have a contractual obligation with the club. That's up to the council and staff to negotiate, to either re sign or not. So that's kind of way beyond our purview. The auditing, Jennifer has assured me that the village does a good job of auditing, so the money Yes.

Is not being

finance department, as I'm sure the senior club will also agree, they are very thorough and very good. And every year we do win an award for budgeting, so I think we should give the village a round of applause for that. Our budgeting team is fabulous.

And then the third concern is the total expenditure. And if, in fact, we're obligated to spend $56 a year, I was kind of wondering how that fits in with the entire town's budget. It is one twentieth of 1% of the entire village budget. And it is, unless I'm wrong, seven tenths of a percent of the parks budget, right? The parks and rec budget.

So that senior club falls under community services. So our department is community services.

Okay. But as John said, it's kind of a miniscule amount. So these are the numbers I'm going to be using when I lobby the council to not take funding away. And I I would advise you guys to do the same. Because again, as I said earlier, we don't we don't control the money.

I wasn't looking for that, but

We have three more people who are interested in speaking. Harriet Offerman is up next. Harriet?

My name is Harriet Offerman.

I live at 12425

Old Country Road North. I have been a resident of Wellington for forty seven years. I have watched this community grow from young families to a larger aging population. I have two questions before I speak. The first question is, can someone give me an idea of what the percentage of seniors would be in this town? MS.

So we did do a study, but this probably is not up to date. It was around 11,000 seniors. I would say that was within the last couple of years that we did How that what

percentage would that be of the community?

The community itself has 65,000 residents.

So roughly 15%, 20%?

Yeah.

Okay. My second question would be if you take away the 50,000 or $55,000 how are you going to spend it?

That question doesn't have to be answered. However, just to go ahead and answer that question

Get closer to the mic.

The board is not obligated to answer any questions, first and foremost. Oh, just want to make that clear. However, the the way that money would be funded is it would go to our budget, and then we would utilize that for activities, programming, and For seniors. seniors. For seniors. For seniors. Okay.

Being that we represent maybe 15% to 20% of the community, I think that there's a problem with the way that the senior club is being portrayed, in the sense that, for me, I don't think of the senior club as a club in the sense of rotary, or baseball, or whatever. I think of the senior club as being representative of a group in Wellington. And I feel that in taking away funding, you're taking away services from large segment of the population. Many of the people who have already spoken have talked about people being on fixed incomes, not being able to pay for certain events. I think that if people gambling events, where they want to go to certain events, they have the right to pay for that, just as though they would go to the Kravis Center and go to an event.

But I think that events that are provided, and I think they're wonderful I participate in only one event because I'm still working, but I participate in Bridge. And I think the other activities that were represented today or spoken about today are wonderful. I had no idea we had all these events. And I think that the community is owed that. We're a large segment of the community.

We do pay taxes. And I don't think that that should be taken away from us. I think we should continue to support a large segment of the community, just as though we fund youth activities. Just because we're older and we may not be as visible, I think that we are entitled to that. We pay taxes, and many people have commented on that before. So I urge you to please not take away that funding and support our community.

Thank you, I

have one comment. I have one more comment. Just for my own clarification, that 15% the senior club does not represent the 15% of the seniors, not all of the seniors. You are a part of that, but you're not the totality of the 15%. No, I'm Mabel. Okay. Just to make that clear, you're a part of it, but you're not the whole senior community Hold in Dwellington.

On. One person at a time, Mabel, you Thank you. Finished speaking. I'm finished.

I just wanted to make that clear.

And that's also a point to be made why the village felt it was very important to have senior programming, and therefore a staff, and a full calendar of events for senior programming, because there are many thousands that are not members of the club. So she's Jennifer's programming is open and covering all members of our the whole segment of seniors in our population. Dolores Bosion? Is that correct, Dolores? You're up, please. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Dolores Boshin, February, right next door. I've listened to a lot of this, and several things are confusing me. Why do we have to be one against the other? Why can't we compromise? Are you, in fact, living up to your contractual obligations in providing the funding that is due in 2026 and part of 2025?

And I would like to see this group change recommendations to the council to include compromises. Okay. We want to be independent. You want us to be independent. That is virtually impossible. We have to work together. We have to coordinate who we're using for sponsors, because we're going after the same dollars to sponsor events. We have to coordinate the events so we're not being repetitive. We have to be able to work together to figure out where the budget is going. And you may even have to help us.

And we can perhaps help you in how to budget for what. It's not us or you. It's together. And in that respect, I'd like to take and see your recommendation to put off anything doing immediately and work together for the future. We spoke about the 25 of people coming to events from out of the village.

There was a great deal of discussion when they were working on the pool project That part of moving the pool was because we wouldn't have to allow the rest of Palm Beach County to take advantage of our pool, without charging them additional fees. If it is not a sponsored event, are you, and do you, charge an additional fee for an out of county resident? And if you're not, why not? Why are you giving up that money? Together. It's a group effort. Thank you.

Thank you. Annette, is it Jarvis? Jarvis? Okay. Hold on one second. Where's Annette? Yeah. If you could please come to the mic because we are being recorded. Thank you.

Annette Garris, 9003 And 85, Villa Legante, Wellington, Florida, Buena Vita. And most of my questions have been addressed and answered. And a lot of the comments have already been said. I'm not going to be repetitive. All I want to say is this room was packed with seniors from the senior club.

And what we do at the senior club is not replicated by the senior activities. And we appreciate and enjoy, and it enriches our lives, what they do for us. And I can't understand why $57,000 is in question. We're taxpayers. We're seniors. I thought we're a village. I thought villages are supposed to take care of all of our seniors, as well as everybody else. Why aren't we as important as everybody else?

Thank you, everyone. We really appreciated hearing from you. It's a delight to see so many people filling seats and taking time to speak your mind. Do we have any other comments? I don't have any other cards. Is anybody else? Okay, good. Then if there are none, let's go to board comments.

There's a gentleman with his hand raised here.

Oh, Okay. Is there a card for you? Do I need we have to have record of it. So we need to have a card. I'm sorry. I blank have one right here. There you go.

I'll fill it up. Harvey Shapiro, 9905 Villa Grande West, Wellington, Buenavita. The only thing I'm hoping that you will change your recommendation based on all you heard today. So that's really all I'm asking, for the council to change the recommendation to fund the Seniors Club.

Thank you. Thank you. Again, thank you guys. It really was a pleasure hearing from all of you, many of you are neighbors of ours. So it's nice to get to see you. Would you like comments to close our meeting?

I think I have voiced my opinion, which is pretty much

My idea.

Sorry. I think I oh, my gosh. I think I voiced my opinion in our previous meetings. I was the one negative vote whom I couldn't see. You have participated in this town.

I've only been here eleven years. I joined the senior club. Probably was the second club I joined, but the first year, the first one seeing was the garden club. Nancy Saviella, I've known you for a long time. And I mean, I couldn't see who I felt the same way many of you started your talk.

What are we here for? I mean, our staff, the village staff that we're paying for, too, is wonderful. They have heard it ad nauseam from me. But by the same token, we're paying for the privilege of having this club. What three of my board member or committee members are not saying to you?

They started this McGill whatever kafluffa that's it with saying, we never knew we had a senior club, number one. Number two, a club, a private club. This flies in the face of us being a government facility, how can something that we pay taxpayers to, meaning, be private? And I thought, what the heck are you talking about? It's open with a nominal membership fee to any resident.

And to my knowledge, Ellen or Lyndon, sorry I never remember. And yes, I haven't been to all the luncheons. You didn't know. I was just one of you at luncheons. And I've never seen anybody not get in who didn't have a membership card?

Because we had to make reservations. It just I mean, I kept thinking, if I had to speak today, what old quote, don't cut off your nose to spite your face. I mean, it's like and I forgot who said here. But where is the money, the 56,000 sorry, I've got to keep looking at this going to go? Again, an old saying, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.

We know what we're getting in our ostensibly our $30 a year membership fee. But isn't it truly awash? Technically, the village based on resolution, the village supplements underwrites if you want a more technical term underwrites the club. However, we paid the village. So it's a wash.

What my colleagues here have sometimes taken issue with, It's a private club. Well, it's a private club of citizens, senior citizens of Wellington, senior citizens over the age of 55. I even laughed when I said to the board, I said, well, how many are members here? And then I said, oh, this is Eileen when you spoke. And you told them what the age was.

And I said, oh, I know why they never heard of the club. They're not over 55 yet. Richard and I were the only ones. As I showed, Eileen, here are my golden banners. What we have to do today, before the end of the meeting, I'll call the motion that was put in our minutes for a vote of those present.

And I guess I would see excuse me, I've got a wonky voice. But we'll be able to determine what the recommendation is to the counsel, which I tried to tell them. I didn't know where this question was coming from, Whether or not it was inspired well, I just didn't know. And I kept thinking, why seniors

And A tough

I could never see voting against myself. So I would like a formal vote based on the motion in our minutes.

Do you want me to

make the phrase, I can't, I'm entertaining the motion Well, to

think I recommend procedure, but can she make a motion?

We're really in board comments right now, so she would have to hold that to our next speaker.

But she can make a motion. Yeah. Okay.

Excuse me.

We're at the end of our meeting right now on having board comments, so that should have been in new business or old business. Excuse me, I beg your pardon, folks, please. Procedurally, it should have come in old or new business. She can bring it up at our next meeting.

Can I ask a question Jennifer, I don't know if it's to you or to the board? The recommendation last meeting, which was January, of '3 to one to advise the council not to provide funding, Has that been sent to council yet?

So, per the communication, yes, the recommendation has been advised to upper management, and that has been an advisement. So we have already recommended that per the procedural meeting that we had. So we did have to make that.

So counsel has not acted upon that yet?

Absolutely not.

We have a new counsel now. We have two new councilmen. I would suggest that our at this juncture and I don't know how to do this procedurally, but we were talking about a recommendation to a previous council. We have a new, again, two new council members. So is there an appetite to change our, just speaking to the board, is there any appetite to change our recommendation after hearing from all these folks?

I don't know for sure, but I would think it doesn't matter who the council people are, and the recommendation wasn't going to a particular person or people, it was to the council. So whoever the council is, that's who the recommendation should go to.

But there's two people on that council that aren't there anymore.

They are settled there. They are there. So they are there until April when the new ones are sworn in. So yes, council is still active. Okay.

I'm just wondering, is there an appetite to undo that recommendation on the board?

At this point, I think, really, the recommendation has gone to counsel. And at this point, they are the ones making the decision. No. Let me just say, the council can act on anything it chooses to. They do not wait for committees to tell them what to do.

The staff then works with counsel, and they bring it up. So it is not in our seat to do that. And they can do as they please. I am sure staff and council members are watching this meeting, and they will make their votes.

Excuse me. Excuse

me. Excuse me. Me.

Hold on. I'm sorry.

Excuse me.

Then Respectfully

I I ask Kassner.

Miss Kassner.

Miss Kassner. And hold on, please. Sent

out to

Miss Kassner. Kassner. One second, sweetheart. Respectfully, I have an appreciation for everybody who came out today because you're voicing your opinion. I love that. Right? However, our board is here to do a job. And although you may not agree with their opinion at this point in time, the disrespectful comments coming from the crowd is is not needed. Right? Let's we we've voiced our opinions. And our staff up here, they've respectfully allowed you to speak that opinion without interrupting you. And actually, they've gone a step further than they've needed to, to provide clarification and answers to the questions that were presented. Right? Therefore, I am asking that you please have the same respect for them as they speak. Right?

I understand that the the topic at hand is it's debatable. Right? But I do ask that we please respect the process that is going on right now.

Go ahead, sir.

I just want to ask a question of staff. How many other private clubs within the village receive village funding? Sorry.

Let's wait. Excuse me, folks. If you are leaving, if you can do so quietly, please, because we have not adjourned our meeting yet. Thank you so much. We appreciate that.

And, Ms. Stein, to answer your question, we do not have that exact answer right now, and I don't want to miscommunicate by So, any what we will do is we will go ahead and do our research, our homework, and then provide that answer via email, okay?

I was looking for clarification. You know, it's people like Harriet Offerman and others of you who have been here for so long who have, I don't know if

my mic is on. Folks, yeah, please, if you can please sit quietly to listen. Who

Thank helped you very

build this village, so we have seniors. And as I said the first time we discussed this, and when I look at Harriet, I remember Harriet, you know, Harriet put people in the homes that made them want to stay in this village, provided with the village services, to stay here for a long time. And when I moved into my neighborhood, even though I didn't buy a house from Harriet, didn't spend any money with her, she always made it a point to see if I was happy in Wellington, if I liked Wellington. And that's the reason we stayed. And Wellington, when most of us moved here, when we were never going to get old, we'd be 30 forever, And didn't have senior clubs.

Because we were welly world, where all the young families were moving. And Harriet was finding the perfect homes for them. And schools were being built that would be the best for our children. And so you all started a club. And I am on video saying this at a meeting several months ago.

You started a club, meaning collectively you, to provide a program for seniors. To provide activities for seniors. Because someone along the way, and I have two friends who have raved about the club, who I used to ride with, and Barry and Pete. Pete is no longer with us anymore, and I loved him dearly. And Barry is still, I believe, a member of your club.

Wonderful people. Say wonderful things about what you do. But then as the village grew, the recognition came that we needed activities for seniors. And so the seniors started programs, or the village started programs, and then established a very robust program for seniors, so much so that sponsors got involved where outsiders can be included. Now, I will tell you something I've taken away from this meeting today, which is why it's so nice to always have residents attend and voice opinions about items, agendas.

Some of you mentioned you can't get into tai chi. Some of you mentioned when you register, they're already filled. Are they filled with non residents? And maybe we need to discuss that. I don't need answers from staff, that's not what we're discussing tonight. But you've brought to my attention, and I think something that we can discuss, maybe down the road, some of these programs that are limited, village residents get first dibs. Somehow you have to put your address in. And I don't know how it would work if it can work. I'm just saying, I appreciate all of you being here and saying your opinions and what you think. My concern is if Kiwanis Club comes and wants 56,000.

Well, shake your head, sir, but I do want to point out, and value your opinion. You're very entitled to your opinion. You all do wonderful programs. So let me just say, if I come to you and want to go to Hard Rock, I'm not a member of your club, I can't go. I can go without being a member? I can just come. So people will pay to be a member of your club, and this is good clarification, will pay to be a member of your club, but I can go to all your activities. You pay more. Okay.

In other words, the village won't supplement the part that supplementing for a Wellington resident. Is that correct?

I feel as if the programs, the Wellington is, the programs, you know, everything grows and changes. And there is a nice sized senior population. And I'm happy to be a part of it. I'd rather still be in my 30s, but we're not. We're all healthy and doing okay. And I think we should be grateful, and we are. And all of you, I credit what you're doing with the club, because you're making sure there's programs for people to stay engaged and active. I think the village has started that. Has done that. Has done it.

Not started it. And I think more programs could be provided with village funding staying specifically within the village, and within the staff focusing on that, with input from every senior, and not need two clubs anymore, or two organizations anymore. I'm just sharing my opinion as you've shared your opinion. So I'm just, you can hate the messenger, I'd rather you not, because I care a great deal about every one of you, and I think we need to listen to each other, because as we all get older, we should work on programs, we should work with staff to say, can we get five buses to go to the Norton? But everything starts somewhere, just as your club started somewhere and growing.

We're starting these programs. These programs are, for lack of a they're evolving. And so that's why I think most of us discuss the funding should stay, to fund a private club with public dollars is maybe not where we should be anymore. When the village had no other programs, this club was getting funding because the village was saying, great, you're doing a great thing for our seniors. Now we have these robust programs within the village. And that's, I think, where most of us stand. And once again, I hope we can agree to disagree. I think you're all terrific. I can't tell you, Harriet, how happy I am to see you. I think about you.

And I still love you dearly. You were so supportive of me, and our community, and my drives to work at 01:45 in the morning, and always encouraging me to keep going. So I really thank you. And that's what we do together. So thank you. Please come to any meetings and weigh in on activities that could be provided, activities, and maybe we can come to some

May I say one more thing?

I don't know. I'm not So this is board Yeah.

These are board comments.

Roxanne, I would stay Okay, you go ahead. I'm directing you to Roxanne. Oh, I'm sorry, Maple. Didn't No, see

go first, and then Maple will

give her more I would just shy away from the private word. I was involved years ago in a legal proceeding. And a private club has barriers to membership. This club doesn't have a barrier to membership other than age and the slight fee that you charge to join. So it really is not a private club. It is a club open to the public with stipulations. So please stay away from the private thing.

Okay, but there are limitations. I mean, I just, I just feel like because the programs now, the village are providing, maybe these two organizations can work together. So the village programs, I, there is a charge, though, involved. And I don't want to get into the minutiae of all of that, and, that. But I think that's where we feel like, I mean, some of us have felt that the money the village provides could be used in one area to provide more programs, and the evolution of programs, and the initiation of programs for every senior in the community.

And maybe evolution will eventually involve nonresidents will not be allowed to come. Who knows? This is all it still continues to grow and evolve. And I'm not saying it will happen. I'm not saying it could happen. I'm just saying, if we can just work together and continue to talk. But the recommendation was made to counsel. I would say, at this point, do you talk to counsel? Is that what you

Yes. Because the recommendation was already made by the Board, yes. But I do want to clarify, because I know people are very upset about it as well. We do have a current contract that's in place. That contract expires in September. So that doesn't mean it's happening tomorrow, so I want to be very clear. So counsel will ultimately decide whether this will move forward or what the decision will overall be. The Board has made the recommendation, but the Council will ultimately decide. I want to make that very clear. September 2026 is when the contract is up.

And they can't act on something unless it's on the agenda, right?

Correct.

Okay. It would have to be on the agenda. They will vote to defund the senior club. And when you see that on the agenda, you know what you have to do.

Come on. Mabel, thank you. Mabel.

Yes. Just want to make the set the record straight that I am well over 55 years old. And so and I have lived in the village of Wellington for the past twenty six years. And I did not know anything about the senior club. Is it that my fault? Not your fault, but the communications? I don't know. But I did not know about it. So I have, again, been a part of this village for the past twenty six years. What, I guess, resonates in me is it appears that there are two separate senior groups.

There's the senior club group, and then there are seniors. But as I stated before, all seniors that have lived here in the village pay taxes. So we should not separate the two. Everyone pays. Not only seniors, but everyone pays taxes.

And those that are not seniors now will be seniors one day, if God willing. So I just wanted to again, I've learned a lot from listening to the senior club. Would like we were invited to attend, so I would like to attend a club meeting, a club activity, to see exactly what takes place. But I feel very confident in our decision to have the council determine whether or not to continue the funding for this club. That's all I have to say.

And I just like to clarify, too. I heard a lot in the background about how, you know, I know she's saying she didn't know about the senior club. Just to clarify for everyone in the room, so we do get new board members. So that does happen. So when we get new board members, they do learn about some of the programs and services that we have to offer as well. So it's not always the same board. They are appointed by counsel, so just for clarification purposes as well.

Yes, go ahead.

I did want to say also, and I know the rules about quorum and majorities and all that, but I think that people do need to know that we have seven members on this board and only three voted to not to recommend against refunding the club, just so that's clear. Three of the seven of the members of this board voted

I

to not

understand the quorum rules. It was three to one, there were four people present at the meeting, not seven. So three out of the seven members, unless I'm wrong.

You're correct.

Okay, thank you.

Yes, you're correct. Do you have any further board comments for the evening? Okay, thank you. I'm a long term resident of Wellington as well. Raised our kids here, and was on the education committee for many, many years.

And I got a tap on the shoulder when I turned 65 and said, we're going to move you over to senior advisory now. And that is the very first time a few meetings ago that I learned about that there was a senior club. And again, like I said, I've been here for twenty five years. So it is, I was very well aware of the senior programming, because I'm in the community center, and I know, and I've made it part of my life here in Wellington to sit on committees and to be involved. So I do know the efforts that are made for all aspects of our community.

And yes, in recent years, more and more emphasis on senior activities, for obvious reasons. The population is growing. And I commend what the staff is doing. I commend what the club does for your members. And nobody is speaking of undermining your activities, or in any way demeaning the significance of them at all.

So we want to leave that right there for now. And if there are no other comments from the committee, I will call for adjournment. Is I'll there a change to adjourn. Is there a second?

Second.

Okay. All in favor?

Aye.

Aye. And at 06:32, we are adjourned. Thank you again. It was wonderful seeing all of you. Please come back.