I was able to attend a meeting with the Allied Council of the Yountville Veterans Home. In a nutshell, the Council is made up of representatives from each building as well as a Chairman, Secretary, and so forth. It is an opportunity for the residents to have a public forum for questions and concerns with a representation from the Home staff to be a part of the conversation and possibly provide answers and updates.
At the meeting, the discussion was spent on updates for dining hall protocols during COVID and the fact that the Home’s residents have been eating off of paper plates and using plastic utensils for up to a year. Turns out the dishwasher has been broken and, given what I heard from the Home administration representative, it is a bunch of bureaucratic layers and paperwork that have ensured it will not be replaced for quite a few more months. This is not in just one building, this is for the food hall where all the Vets have three meals.
The topic of exterior window washing was brought up. Seems like an easy contract to set up and put in place but we are talking about the California government process. Turns out the current contract for washing windows for the Vets Home only involves 1-story buildings. In such a short meeting, I quickly understood the desire and want of outreach for many of the Home members for support and possibly just an ear to hear their concerns and complaints; ie an Ad Committee with the Town of Yountville. A year to get a dishwasher replaced? Only first-story windows will be cleaned?
I look forward to learning and understanding more and having The Yountvillian be an opportunity for opening communication with all of its community members.