WARCRA
Quarterly General Meeting
Parkland Villas, Booragoon.
14th
May 2010
The meeting opened at 10.00 a.m.: Pr
welcomed members and responded to a question about parking on the nature strip in Aldous Street, because
the gate to that area was not open members had to walk all the way round to the
front gate, a long haul. The issue was discussed with management who apologised
for the oversight. Also on meeting days lunch is available in the village
dining room for $13 and the chef would
like to know numbers before the meeting starts.
Present:
48 members, representatives from 30 villages. [as per attendance
register]
Apologies: Doris Thobaven, Ron Tuppen (The Pines,
Ellenbrook), Russell Ridden (Forest
Lakes LSV), Peter Wall (Beacon Hill), Heather Davies ( Belswan, Pinjarra),
Trevor Patton, John Townsend, Julie Clarke, Phil Clarke (Jacaranda Gardens),
Jenny Moore (River Pines), Pat French (Webber Gardens), Jack Billing (Riverside
West Salter Point),Ted Brindal (Mercy), Barry Stewart.
The minutes from meeting of 12th
February to be declared a true and accurate record, moved Frank McCarthy (RAAFA), seconded Peter Boam (Leederville Gardens)……………….carried
Matters arising:
·
Legislation: Not all good news. The new Minister -we
think- is Bill Marmion. The Pr has not yet met
him. The rumour going around is that introduction
of the new Legislation will now be next year. This puts on hold our attempts at
lobbying.
Shelah Perrot ( Collier Park) : Consumer Protection was
not in the published list.
·
Mandurah Branch: There is a Sub committee in place looking
into this and it is proving to be a little more complicated than it appeared
initially.
Purple Title Issues: The initial enquiry has now been dealt with
to the satisfaction of the enquirer.
·
Newsletter: Two members offered to assist. We thank them
both.
No other issues were raised.
Treasurer's Report:
Tabled. April:
Credits: membership $ 596.00
934.00
Lotterywest 370.09
Debits: Telstra $44.97
Balance of funds at
30.04.2010: $11,522. 49
Also: Term Deposit $5,000
$12.000 …… Total
$15,000. 00
Summary: Nine villages paid in April
There were no comments, Treasurer's
Report to be accepted, moved Peter Boam (Leederville
Gardens) and seconded Bernard Francis( Jacaranda
Gardens)………………………..carried
Other Reports:
·
Forum sub-committee: The third of the four to be funded by Lotterywest will be at Citiplace on 29th
of July
They are always fully attended and the
feedback is positive . We are increasingly being asked to give talks to various
groups.
Wilfred Cowan (Mandurah East): What are the Forums
about?
Shirley Wyburn: Gave a brief synopsis of a Forum.
Pr asked for expressions of interest from
those present who would like to attend a Residents' Forum.
There was a
positive response and we will consider one for later in the year.
·
Meeting with RVA: Members of the committee met with the
Chairman of the Board, Angus Kukura, and the manager, Mark Eggleston (who is
also the manager for NSW/ACT). There was no formal agenda but among the matters
discussed was a Register of Retirement Villages and Incorporation of residents’ committees. RVA
members present could see no reason why village managements should object to
Incorporation. It was agreed that we
would endeavour to meet approximately 2 monthly in future to discuss issues of
common interest.
Peter Boam: Would RVA have a
reasonable estimate of the number of retirement villages?
Pr: RVA publish a list
of member villages and we have a copy. They estimate around 70-80% of existing
villages but that is not official.
Moved that the reports be adopted Bernard Francis (Jacaranda Gardens),David Carlson( Forsyth Gardens)…………………………..carried
Other Business:
·
Co-option: Frank McCarthy (RAAFA Meadow Springs) onto the committee.
·
Rental Accommodation:
Not brought up in this forum but has been discussed in committee. A
representative from Consumer
Protection mentioned that residents on rental agreements in retirement villages
come under Retirement Villages Act. Pr
will seek clarification on that issue. On our committee, we have members whose
villages include rental accommodation. We don’t want to exclude one group of
people and this new information makes straightening this out somewhat easier.
Pr will need clarification on the Tenancy Act and the overall
RVAct.
W.Cowan (Ravenswood): outlined his village’s convoluted System.
At 10.25 the meeting was suspended
for the guest speaker.
The president introduced Clare Sherwood from Alzhiemers'
Association.
"Alzhiemers'
Association represents the care needs of those in the community with
dementia. We promote awareness in the
community of what dementia is and our services.
The main
focus to-day is that in 2008 Alzhiemers' WA became an authorised reseller of
the Posit Science Products and their research". They launched a Brain Fitness Program and lotterywest
funded a pilot study. Curtin University
Research Centre on Ageing was commissioned to do a Research Review of all
those products on the market. The Posit
Science range of products came out on top.
Brain
Fitness is important as we are an ageing population and there are changes in memory and thinking, so
we look at a way to slow the cognitive decline associated with ageing. The
latest revelation is that the brain has the capacity to change at any age
(Neuroplasticity.) We can build new
neural pathways in the brain at any age. Stimulate your brain to reduce the
risk of dementia.
Posit Science Products: this is scientifically
based and clinically researched.
i)Brain Fitness Classic - auditory
training and the first one developed, is easy to follow even for those with no
computer expertise.
ii)In 2006 Cortex with Insight Program visual training program was developed. This
is the more recent development and presents in a more game-type interface and
is more flexible. The user has some choice in this.
Training
schedule: Total of 40 hours training – one hour for five days per week and takes
approximately two months to complete. The benefits last one to one and a half
years and then re-do the program as ongoing maintenance. All computer based
(CD).
You
purchase from Alzhiemers WA and then
install them on your computer. All The exercises are developed so that they
have varying degrees of difficulty
-responds to each person's individual
level of performance (adjusts accordingly)
-incentives are built into the program to provide regular
feedback and reward elements.
The
licensing:
single users (user friendly), double users (can be installed on two different
computers), group licensing (e.g.
villages, libraries) perpetual (ongoing- unlimited.)
Demonstration
version was presented:
*Brain Fitness Classic provides
you with a set of head phones. Science overview: Auditory program needs head
phones so that you focus on the program. You choose the reward theme.
Selection of Training Exercises. There are six
progressive exercises. Example given of the first. e.g. high or low
sounds, goes up or down. Others are
differentiating between similar sounding syllables, matching sounds, remembering
the sequence of similar sounding syllables, remembering instructions.
*Visual
Progression, Cortex With Insight,
is more flexible- checks your viewing distance. Has five exercises -different
from auditory. Some examples demonstrated moving from peripheral observation
and observation memory.
Clare gave
some insight into the programs. Information brochures were available, research
and impact studies, and purchasing and licensing requirements. The Marketing
Manager at Alzhiemers WA would know the pricing.
Website:
positscience.com. Each single-user
version program costs approximately $450. There is a sliding scale for group
programs.
The results
show improvement plus confidence. RAAFA and Southern Cross and St Ives were
involved in the pilot studies. COTA also looked at the benefits with physical
exercise. The research was with Curtin
University (positive results) and the McCusker Foundation (results not yet
released.)
Many
questions were asked from the floor.
There are
versions available for Windows and Mac.
Available
books: The Brain that Changes Itself,
N.Doidge
It's
Never Too Late To Change Your Mind, M. Valenzuela.
The
Surprises of the Adult Mind, Barbara Straunch.
The Pr
thanked Clare for her comprehensive run-down of the program.
Information sheets were made available.
At 11.40a.m. the meeting
resumed.
Rental
continued…..Pr: What concerns us are the Acts. We had not included in WARCRA
those people who are renting. This has some ramifications for our Constitution.
·
Proposed Certificate of Membership of WARCRA: The idea was floated and there was a good
response from the floor.
Q from unidentified member: We pay for RVA
membership.
Pr: Our
view is that it is not appropriate for residents to pay, residents are not
permitted to be members of RVA, it is an operators organisation.
·
Sponsorship: David
Carlson (Forsyth Gardens) on behalf of the committee is investigating the
possibility of sponsorship. We won't go into this lightly but we need another
income stream if we are to move on, as we are growing and operating costs are
increasing.
Comment from unidentified member: Subscriptions are modest.
Pr : We
doubled our fees last year.
·
KLLV Update: At The SAT this was referred to the Magistrates
Court which is quite a serious move.
Consumer Protection has taken this
action and feel that they have had some success.
·
WARCRA banner: On display. To use at Forums etc. Bernard
Francis' idea and he organised it on behalf of the committee.
·
Lotterywest process: Pr obtained the following information
from Lotterywest -
When a Residents Association receives
a grant from Lotterywest to purchase equipment of any kind (eg. computer, bus
etc.) that equipment remains the property of the Association. If for instance
it was a bus, the Association would be responsible for costs associated with
running the bus and eventual replacement if replacement is planned, which
probably means that there should be a fund established for the purpose.
In the case
of replacement of a bus, which had reached its use by date, Lotterywest would
probably look at funding the shortfall between the funds on hand plus what is
made from the sale of the old bus and the cost of a new one.
In some circumstances where the Residents’ Association, which is a
not-for-profit organisation, resides in a not-for-profit village it may be
possible to transfer ownership of the bus to the village and would then be
treated as a normal village facility. However this would not happen in a
for-profit (or privately owned) village.
·
Consumer Protection Awards: COTA nominated WARCRA and we were
one of three finalists. No Interest Loans
won the Award. The other finalist was Advocare.
·
Q from unidentified member: Any comment on the
village in Rivervale? (re Council rates)
Pr: To
reside in that village you need to be a member of Retirees WA. The SAT
rejected the application by Retirees WA (that
because they were a not for profit organisation they should be exempt from
Council Rates) on the grounds that the
profits from the village were only to the benefit of the members of Retirees WA
and not to good works in the general community.
Pr. thanked
members for their attendance and the
meeting closed at 12.02 p.m.
Next general meeting
Friday 13th August at 10.00 a.m.
Parkland Villas, Booragoon
Patrick
Wyburn
President
Addendum – in response to many budget questions from
residents, attached is a summary of the Village Operating Budget as set
out in the Code Sect.5.3. Please refer to this section of the Code for more
detail.
SUMMARY OF
VILLAGE OPERATING BUDGET
(Sect. 5.3 of the Code)
1. No later than one month before the end of
the financial year of the retirement village the administering body must
display the following documentation (“budget documents”) in a central location in
the village and make the documentation available to each resident on request –
a) a
proposed operating budget for the next financial year;
b) the operating budget information used in the
preparation of the proposed budget including –
i)
relevant accounts of actual expenditure; and
ii) information explaining proposed fee
changes
2. The administering body must give each resident written notice when
the budget documents are available
3) The proposed operating budget must be
presented in a consistent format from one financial year to the next and
include –
(a) to (g)
4) Form set out in Appendix 2
5) Where the administering body operates more
than one retirement village, the administering body must provide separate
budget documents for each village.
6) The operating budget for the next financial
year must not be finalised until –
a) each resident has been given a minimum of ten
working days after the service of the notice of availability of the budget documents to
consider the proposed budget; and
b) the administering body has held a meeting of
the residents as required under clause 5.11(1)(b).
That is – The administering
body of a retirement village must hold an annual budget meeting of the
residents before the the end of each financial year, at which the business to
be transacted shall be limited to dealing with matters relating to the final
budget proposals for the next financial year of the retirement village.