Newtown Commission on Aging (COA) had its monthly hybrid meeting on April 17 at Newtown Senior Center and over Zoom to discuss senior news in the community.

Human Services Director Natalie Jackson announced in her report that there are officially more than 700 members of Newtown Senior Center.

“We’re climbing back to pre-COVID numbers … which is nice,” she said.

With that in mind, Jackson shared how the town will be moving to using an online sign-up registration site, called “MySeniorCenter,” for all senior center events.

MySeniorCenter will list class offerings, have a calendar to remind people of the events they have signed up for, and allow people to cancel their registration for events if needed.

Jackson said using this platform will give people “more autonomy” and that it is “really easy to use.”

MySeniorCenter can be accessed on the computer as well as on a smartphone.

She noted that people can still call Newtown Senior Center to sign up for events and that staff can also assist people in setting up their MySeniorCenter account.

Jackson also informed the COA that the Town of Newtown is considering updating the fee structure for the next fiscal year for the senior center.

While they are not proposing to change the yearly fee for residents who are members, they are looking at changing class fees. They are considering allotting members a certain number of classes then charging a $3 fee after they have reached that cap.

Jackson said that an increase in members means more people are attending classes, resulting in classes filling up more frequently. Chair Yoga, for instance, is consistently full and needs a wait list.

The extra money coming in would be put towards generating more classes.

COA Treasurer LeReine Frampton mentioned that this concept was brought up years ago when the Newtown Senior Center was located on Riverside Road.

Jackson explained that when people use MySeniorCenter they can add classes into a cart, like they would add items to a cart for online shopping, and pay the fee online.

Frampton said another concept discussed years ago was finding a way for family members to purchase seniors a gift card to use at Newtown Senior Center to cover lunches, trips, and classes.

COA member Barbara Bloom voiced that families can buy their senior a general gift card, such as Visa or MasterCard, to use on MySeniorCenter.

One of the last points of consideration during the COA meeting was reevaluating the objectives for the group, specifically what they can do to help seniors in the community.

Ideas mentioned were to create a handbook all about the COA, as well as to do a town- or member-wide survey for seniors. The last survey done was around 2015.

“We kind of have to start all over again,” Frampton said.

Upcoming Events

The commission reminded everyone that the Senior Spring Fling, formally called the Senior Prom, will be on Friday, May 19, from 4 to 7 pm, at Newtown High School.

COA Chair Anne Rothstein informed members that their June 19 meeting falls on Juneteenth.

The nationally recognized holiday marks the end of slavery in the United States and commemorates African American freedom.

Rothstein said that C.H. Booth Library has decided to be closed that day, so she wanted to see if members would like to meet that day or postpone the meeting to June 26.

After a brief discussion, that included how the Town of Newtown offices would still be open that day, the COA decided to have its regularly scheduled June 19 meeting.

The next COA meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 15, at 4 pm, at Newtown Senior Center.