October 15, 2019 —By Mike McCulley, Residents Association President —
The Collington Board of Directors invites the President of the Residents Association to sit in at their meetings, and participate in the deliberations. For the most part, I am pretty quiet, because almost all of the Board’s work is done in subcommittees, and the structure of the meeting is to hear the reports of the subcommittees and others. I am one of those “others” and provide a report and answer questions that the report may raise. Following is a summary of my report to the Board in late February, updated to cover any changes that may have taken place since that time.
From my perspective, the residents, for the most part, are bullish on Collington. The committees are active and engaged. While we can always use more, the numbers of residents volunteering for activities within the community and extending beyond our gates is very high. To some degree, this is the result of a younger, more active population base. Of particular note:
- A new, ad hoc Technologies and Communications Committee is in the formative stages. The depth and breadth of talent within this group is remarkable, and my expectation is that it will achieve great things for the whole Collington community, not just the residents. With the anticipated acceptance of the new bylaws later this month, this committee will become a full-fledged operating committee.
- Two cottages – virtually unsalable – have been repurposed. One as a Respite Cottage for residents who are primary care givers; the other, an outgrowth of the incredible enthusiasm generated by the model trains in the Clocktower at Christmas, as a place to display model trains and perhaps some other hobbies.
- A sub-committee of Health Services has produced a document, after more than 500-person hours of work, proposing procedures when residents transition from one level of care to another. This is working its way through the committee structure and I anticipate it will be formally proposed to the administration in the relatively near future. This document has been unanimously approved by the RA Council and has been submitted to the Collington administration for approval and implementation.
With the assist of the gentle urging of fellow resident Frances Kolarek, I will attempt to become a more active blogger and more timely in my comments and reports.