The Manchester Senior Services Commission on Aug. 19 approved the July minutes and heard a series of operational updates, including a transportation outreach campaign that begins next week and final steps on the city's age-friendly action plan.

Commission members heard that the senior center will add a second gentle-yoga instructor in September and continue regular programming including Medicare workshops and fall-prevention home assessments. Emily, senior center staff, said membership retention is strong: 66% of recently joined members have returned, a count she gave as 159 returning members, with roughly 81 others not yet returning. The center has continued weekly mobile market vouchers for the first 50 attendees, monthly Ben & Jerry's events (103 attendees at the most recent distribution) and is planning a lobster bake in September.

On administration, Emily said the center is entering year two of a volunteer-development grant, will retain a consultant part-time for recruitment work, and is rolling out a new activity-registration system (described as similar to "shopping on Amazon") to allow members to sign up with devices or at an on-site kiosk. She said staff trained on the software and will train members, noting the center tracks participation by sign-in to produce attendance data.

Finance staff Elaine said the city fiscal year began July 1 and the commission is within expected pro rata spending for the first month. She reported $630 in nonresident fees received so far for fiscal 2026. Elaine also told commissioners that $30,400 raised from the mayor's senior-lunch earmark has been transferred into a non-lapsing line item approved at the recent BMA meeting for the senior transportation project; those funds remain under the Health Department but are now set aside specifically for transportation work.

The transportation initiative will begin with seven education sessions targeted at older adults and held at locations including Varney Apartments, Burns and Pariso and Calivas high-rises (Manchester Housing Authority sites), the downtown YMCA, the Cashin Center and a larger library auditorium that seats 165. Partners listed for the education sessions are Tracy Whitehead of the MTA and Ben Herbert and Lilian from Southern New Hampshire Planning. Materials will be translated into Spanish and French and MTA will produce tailored trifold flyers and 11-by-14 posters for each location. Emily said the Barney apartment pool has 82 residents and that the Bus 7 route information will be included on that site's flyer.

Organizers plan refreshments and AV support at sessions, a provider-facing presentation on Oct. 24 for hospitals and social-service organizations, and a special MTA-run bus to transport seniors to the Hampton seafood festival on Sept. 6. MTA advised there are 26- and 55-seat buses available; the commission said a 26-seater is confirmed so far and they will add capacity if needed.

Commissioners discussed next steps the transportation outreach could prompt, such as improving bus-stop amenities and coordinating with other departments for snow removal around stops. Staff said an initial education phase will be followed by further conversations with MTA about physical improvements and by analysis of a recent transportation survey to identify priority locations.

On the age-friendly action plan, staff said the design firm We Do Design completed a near-final proof and that staff, including the healthy aging specialist Karen Secas, will meet with the mayor on Friday for input before final sign-off. The plan groups recommendations by short-term items requiring little or no funding and longer-term items that will need resources; staff reported outreach to potential funders who indicated possible financial support. Commissioners were told an implementation advisory group will be convened from stakeholders who participated in the planning process to prioritize near-term actions.

There were two formal motions recorded in the meeting: approval of the July minutes (moved by Mary Lynn, seconded by Adam; voice vote, all in favor) and a motion to adjourn (moved by Mary Lynn, seconded by Adam; voice vote, all in favor). The commission set its next meeting for Oct. 28 at 9:30 a.m.

The meeting record shows staff are focusing immediate effort on outreach to help older adults use fixed-route buses and on finalizing the age-friendly plan for mayoral review; funding to support the transportation outreach is in a non-lapsing account established by the BMA specifically for the senior transportation project.