The Council on Aging Board Meeting
Board forwarded a $5,000 MCOA grant to the City Council for formal acceptance and transfer to the COA; discussions focused on tracking program attendance, outreach, and Costello Center space use.
The meeting opened with routine business; the August minutes were reviewed and accepted unanimously. In the Treasurer’s Report the board noted that a $5,000 MCOA grant has been forwarded to the City Council to be formally accepted by the City and transferred to the Council on Aging. Sarah Player, Director, led discussion on several program and facility management topics, including which rooms at the Costello Center are designated for regularly scheduled programs versus occasional special events and the importance of tracking attendance (numbers, names, and addresses) to understand program utilization. A suggestion was made to have information sheets filled out at each activity session to collect that data.
The group also discussed outreach strategies to raise awareness of Costello Center offerings — including signage, local newspaper, social media, the city website, and interdepartmental collaboration — and Sarah reported she had given an in-depth presentation to the Amesbury Rotary earlier in the day. The Friends of the COA reported on funds raised this year and asked the board to publicize a brand-new commercial stove the Friends cannot use and would like to sell at a reduced price. The board reviewed by-law requirements for meetings and member attendance, and several topics (space utilization, tracking, outreach, and programming) were noted for continued discussion at future meetings. The next meeting was scheduled for October 8, 2026.