1-27-2026 ADRC Minutes

ADRC of the Lakeshore Board Minutes Tuesday, January 27th, 2026 Manitowoc County Heritage Building - Education room Bonnie Shimulunas called the meeting to order at 10:01 AM. Roll call was taken. Those present were: James Hathaway, Paul Ravet, Sandi Schleis-Ullmen, Linda Teske, Brenda Georgenson, Bonnie Shimulunas, Shirley Fessler and Joanne Lazansky, Paul Hacker (late). Also present were: Wendy Hutterer, Melissa Konop, Lori J Fure, Adam Miller from the ADRC, and Bill Fessler. Absent: Tina Prigge Pledge of Allegiance Motion by Shirley Fessler, second by Brenda Georgenson to approve agenda. Motion carried Motion by Sandi Schleis-Ullmen, second by Joanne Lazansky to approve minutes from November 25th, 2025. Motion carried Public Comment: None Correspondence: Wendy shared the following: - Tehya received email from volunteer expressing thanks for what the ADRC does. - Tina forwarded message that a woman called her to express appreciation for the video of the track chair showing how to get her wheelchair bound friend back on the beach. - Lisa received call complimenting how well done our newsletter is. - Peter’s Pantry sent thank you letter for donation from staff food drive. Director Updates – Wendy Hutterer Office Report - Briefly touched on policies that were sent out to board ahead of time for their review and to let her know if any questions - Shared ADRC vision statement that staff created together - Advised that she signed letter of support for the Two Rivers Senior Center tech grant application for digital literacy - Recently went through performance standards with staff - 20th anniversary celebration in Manitowoc last week, will have a 15th anniversary celebration in Kewaunee in September - Team experiences a rise in unhappy, verbally aggressive and attacking calls from consumers. The team should not be verbally attacked and degraded. This is not helpful for the customer or productive in meeting their needs. Our approach is to clearly and calmly state to the person that we are going to end the phone call. If nothing changes after repeating this statement twice, the call will be terminated. It’s a small percentage, but notable. If they call back and are calm, we will gladly help them. Legislative Report - Refer to WBPDD, GWAAR or congress.gov site for advocacy issues. - We will be doing local advocacy days this year, looking at summer once all the new local legislators/leaders are in place - Wendy makes sure to meet with new leaders in communities we partner with when they come on board. - Memory Care Designation Legislation is currently being looked at to strengthen standards in Wisconsin’s memory care facilities to make sure staff in facilities advertised as “memory care” receive proper training. - Bill funding OAA for FY2026 is close to passing Finance Report - Went over the November ADRC (CARS) claim, reminded that time studies make up this claim and some of the claim are MA payments and some are ADRC grant money. May have to pull some funds from the reserve to cover what the claim does not cover. - Wendy went over the November GWAAR claim, explained that C1 and C2 funds are in limbo and how transfers work between programs. Caregivers did an exceptional job of spending down. 2026 will be increased focus on spending on respite for families. Caregiver programs are intended for short term help. ADRC Updates – Melissa Konop Information and Assistance Specialists - I&A changed to ADRC Specialists as of January 1st. Will need to change on Agenda and minutes going forward - 379 total long term care referrals for 2025. 300 in Manitowoc, 79 in Kewaunee. So far in January we have received 30 referrals between both counties. Always a peak in January after families get together for the holidays Disability Benefit Specialists - Service age for DBS was going to be changing, but they have decided to keep it the same for now. Dementia Care Specialist - Morgan doing fantastic job, year is planned out for events and workshops. New stuff in Kewaunee that we haven’t done in a few years. Will be doing outreach with Tehya and Katie in Kewaunee County. Older American’s Act Programming Updates – Lori J Fure Elderly Nutrition Program - In 2025, we served a total of 3,681 Congregate Meals and 55,242 Home Delivered Meals in Manitowoc County and a total of 1,601 Congregate Meals and 11,374 Home Delivered Meals in Kewaunee County. - Manitowoc Nutrition Council – We are down to three people right now. We are looking for 5 additional community members to join- ideally volunteers, family/friends of Home Delivered Meal members, congregate participants, or professionals in the community who are passionate about how our program serves older adults. - Stock boxes - We are on the waitlist to start offering Stock Boxes to our Home Delivered Meal participants. - Volunteer needs – In Kewaunee we need a volunteer to transport meals from Kewaunee to Algoma Tuesday and a fill in for Friday. In Manitowoc we need a Wednesday driver for yellow route. Caregiver/Prevention Programs - Lisa and Anne working hard with current families and looking for new families for NFCSP and AFCSP funding Health and Wellness - Mind Over Matter – Lori is training next month, hoping to host classes in both counties in July - Current upcoming events list has been sent out to board members. Elder Benefit Specialist - In Kewaunee Angie is helping out with AARP tax aide program. Filling up fast. Other - In Manitowoc we are piloting Tech Time Starting in February, Tehya and our intern, Megan, are going to be at various locations throughout Manitowoc helping to answer phone and tablet related questions. No appointment needed. Transportation Updates – Adam Miller Kewaunee - No updates, next TCC meeting is February 10th Manitowoc - Next TCC meeting is tomorrow - Volunteer rural and out of county total rides were 1513. Highest total ever and an increase of 157 from last year. Total rides across all programs were 22,703, 913 more than last year. - 53.10 Mobility Management Grant for 2026 awarded us $67,770 (up from $63,996 in 2025) - 85.21 Specialized Transportation grant allocation for 2026 is $249,833 – agreements will be going out for signature soon - Update on new bus – quote was signed and sent back in early January, no timeline yet on when to expect delivery. - We have been “invited” to participate in a 53.10 audit. Currently awaiting further instructions from DOT. - Will be working on the 2025 year end reports for 53.10 and 85.21 once the finance department closes the books for 2025. The next meeting is scheduled for March 24th, 2026 in Kewaunee. There being no other business Brenda Georgenson motioned to adjourn, second by Sandi Schleis-Ullmen. Motion carried. Meeting ended at 11:04 AM. Respectfully Submitted, Adam Miller Business Services Manager