At the regularly scheduled May 23 Community Health and Senior Services Commission, members commended the efforts of organizers of a recent seniors fair, where upwards of 200 people attended and plenty of useful information was handed out about service providers.
Lydia Norcia, who was appointed in January, said organizations were spread out in a circle.
“There were 90 providers,” she said. “It was very, very positive and very, very rewarding.”
The meeting, held at the offices of the Chamber of Commerce, occurred at a formative time for senior services in Los Gatos.
After delivering a well-received report to Council, and winning increased support for initiatives meant to improve the lives of older adults in town, officials are regrouping—behind the scenes—as they prepare for the next push.
For example, Tom Picraux, formerly the chair of the Senior Services Committee—who was the point person reporting to Council on the comprehensive report earlier this year—sat off to the side, listening intently.
Later in the meeting, he would be called upon to explain about the work being done to form a nonprofit that can support whatever policy direction is decided upon.
Los Gatos-Saratoga Community Education and Recreation (LGS Rec) representatives also attended, paying close attention as the commission discussed a report they’d prepared about their operations.
Commissioners discussed whether it was better to include two separate documents as one file when sending it on to Council.
Staff Liaison Ryan Baker said it doesn’t really matter as both reports will appear back-to-back in any event.
Commissioner George Rossmann said he felt “they cover a great deal” of information that will be important for the Council to be aware of.
Maureen Heath was also in attendance and was selected for an honor for her work on seniors issues.
It was clear commissioners felt her contributions had been outstanding, as they unanimously forwarded her name for the 24th annual Seniors of Distinction Awards, which is sponsored by the Terraces of Los Gatos retirement community.
When Picraux spoke, he took his time to walk commissioners through the steps involved in getting the nonprofit up and running.
They’re currently reaching out to people who may want to be involved and getting a handle on what its scope will be, before submitting paperwork to the government for official recognition, hopefully later this summer, he said.
