Simsbury subcommittee readies Aging and Place Expo, finalizes resource guide magnet

The Age Friendly Community subcommittee of the Aging and Disability Commission met May 5 and moved forward on logistics for its Aging and Place Expo and a companion resource guide magnet intended to help older adults and people with disabilities find local supports.

Ed reported he met with the police chief and said “all the actions on our action plan have been met by the PD,” and offered to write up the department’s progress for the committee. Members confirmed that the police will staff a booth at the expo and will coordinate booth sharing with the fire department; police staffers Jamie and Clifton were noted as attendees and staff will reach out to Todd at the fire department to confirm participation.

The subcommittee set the expo date at Sept. 18 and reviewed the vendor list and capacity. Members agreed nonprofit and public-service organizations — for example Alzheimer-related groups, the housing authority and transportation providers like Sunshine Wheels — are priority participants. They counseled caution about inviting private insurance sales representatives, saying that promoting a business is not the committee’s purpose.

On the resource guide magnet (4x6 concept), the group adopted several concrete design decisions: verify and correct phone numbers before printing; replace confusing asterisks with simple separators; keep emergency numbers prominent; separate the senior center phone line from the general social services line and list both; use a larger, legible font (committee preference 12–14 point) and avoid color/contrast choices that reduce readability for older eyes. Members also agreed to drop the town seal from the magnet to avoid a formal permission step with the town clerk and to replace the generic Facebook logo with the committee’s proper social-page address. Jan will run the updated proof by Kristen and Kathy before final sign-off; Ed will take the design to Trailside for layout support.

Several resource-distribution items were noted: the ROI club purchased a quantity of 'File of Life' packets for community distribution (reported as 400 initially, with a later figure of about 800 cited), and the committee identified the Aging and Place table as a distribution point. The subcommittee also discussed adding the detailed transportation-options document prepared by social services to its online resources and print materials so residents have a single place to find rides and other mobility supports.

Next steps: Jan will verify phone numbers and run the magnet by Kristen and Kathy; Ed will coordinate design work with Trailside; staff will confirm police and fire attendance and finalize the vendor invitations. There were no formal policy votes beyond acceptance of the prior meeting minutes; the subcommittee adjourned at about 3:35 p.m.