Gloucester's senior center board to discuss rebranding the Rose Baker Center, and trust fund panel weighs old bequests

Two small Gloucester boards meet next week with items that could matter to a lot of residents.

What's in a name

The Council on Aging board, which oversees the city's senior center, has "Rebranding of the Rose Baker Center" on its agenda for Wednesday, Oct. 7. The agenda does not say what the rebranding would involve, such as a new name or a new look.

The board meets at 9:30 a.m. in the second floor conference room of the center, which the agenda calls the Rose Baker Center for Aging Well, at 6 Manuel F. Lewis St., and on Zoom.

The rest of the agenda is a tour of senior services: updates from the city Health Department, the YMCA at Gloucester Crossing and the Cape Ann Transportation Authority, programs held in Magnolia and Lanesville, congregate meals, the Ambassador Service and Seniors-on-the-Go buses, and lessons on spotting fraud and staying safe online. The board will also hear about building work at the center, including a silent alarm, a mural, new windows, a generator, powered bathroom doors, accessible entrance doors and security cameras.

Old money, new ideas

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, the city's Board of Commissioners of Trust Funds meets to review the balances of the trust funds the city holds.

The commissioners plan to discuss ideas for spending the income that has built up in the Huntress Fund and to hear an explanation of how large the fund is and where it is held. They will also get updates on two funds tied to probate court decrees, the Margaret Irving Powers Memorial Fund and the Clough Vocational School Fund, and on a commissioner's research into the Fernald Fund involving Action, the Housing Authority and the state attorney general's office. The agenda also notes that an ornamental tree fund was transferred to the Department of Public Works.

That meeting is at 9:30 a.m. in the first floor conference room at City Hall, 9 Dale Ave., and on Zoom.

The agendas list no dollar amounts. We will report what the boards decide.

Earlier coverage: This week's meetings (Oct. 1) previewed the City Council committees and other boards meeting Oct. 5 to 8.

Correction, Oct. 3: An earlier version of this story called the building the Rose Baker Senior Center. The Council on Aging agenda names it the Rose Baker Center for Aging Well. The story also left out that the Fernald Fund research involves Action, as the trust fund agenda lists.