Resident Services Plan

The following service plan is based on the experience gained by the staff of Gandolf Group and West CAP in developing and implementing affordable family and senior rental housing projects throughout the country. Staff also drew upon its experience in conducting social service needs assessments with a variety of agencies in the Wisconsin and Minnesota and interviews with service providers in the River Falls area.

Mission:
The mission of Gandolf Group and West CAP is to create affordable housing providing the highest quality lifestyle in cottage style environment for low and moderate-income elderly. The goal is for each tenant to feel a pride of residency and sense of independence in his or her own home. Our management team will consistently strive to create an attractive and comfortable environment maintaining a balance between the independent lifestyle our residents have been use to and the sense of community we offer.

Philosophy:
The goal of this plan is to create a sense of community for the residents of Red Cedar Estates where they feel safe, comfortable and can continue to exercise independent action in governing their lives and fully participating in the larger community.

The basic philosophy behind this plan is to provide a complete array of services to family residents through the cooperative efforts of residents, management and community agencies. We understand that once the resident population is in place there will be a need to review the needs and interests of the residents and make modifications to this plan. Surveys of the residents will be conducted and the resident council will be asked to participate in the analysis of the results and develop alternative plans and activities.

Red Cedar Estates accepts the challenge and responsibility of acting in the role of facilitator for needed tenant services. Our management team is trained in identifying when tenants may be in need of services and in assisting residents in seeking these services.

Service Plan:
As our only source of operating funds comes from tenant rents, and as it is our goal to keep rents as affordable as possible, our tenant service plan is developed with economy in mind and is based on utilizing services already offered in the community. We believe the only effective way to provide tenant services is by utilizing available community resources. Red Cedar Estates management will work closely with the primary family service providers in Pierce County and River Falls including the Pierce County Family Services Program. As a partner in Red Cedar Estates, West CAP will make its service available to the residents of the development.

Resident Council:
The intent of the resident service plan is to allow for innovative, creative involvement of the residents in activities and services affecting their lives. A critical piece of this is the establishment of a Resident Council to assist management in planning and organizing many of these activities. Management will be responsible for reviewing and modifying this Resident Council on an annual basis. A monthly newsletter will be published with property information, activities schedule and community news. Two major seasonal parties will be held. The Red Cedar Estates Resident Council will be responsible, with the help of volunteers, for providing the following services:

A. Welcome Wagon activities.
B. Shut in and sick friend activities.
C. Parties and picnics, etc.
D. Education and entertainment activities.
E. Property enhancement such as picnic areas, flower gardens, etc.
F. Physical activities including exercise classes, hiking trips.
G. Special assistance to needy residents.
H. Community Room improvement, library, kitchen equipment, etc.
I. Health and safety activities, programs, equipment.
J. Transportation services.
K. Nutritional services.
L. Recruit volunteers for community activities.
M. Identify and negotiate below market prices from service vendors for food and services.
N. Work closely with management to raise funds and gather donations to assist tenants.
O. Fundraising to address special needs of the residents.

Coordination of Resident Services:
The resident service plan will be incorporated into the agreement with the management firm. The implementation of this resident service plan will be included in the oversight of the management firm. This review will be conducted, at a minimum on an annual basis. As a method for ongoing monitoring the partners will be on the mailing list for all newsletters and information management will distribute to the residents. This will be reviewed and the activities noted on a monthly basis. Management staff will be required to work with the West CAP and other local area service providers to become knowledgeable about available services and to coordinate activities. This will also ensure that the residents of Red Cedar Estates will have access to all community services they are eligible to receive. Once lease up has taken place, management staff will spend time implementing this plan. Management staff will regularly communicate with area service providers to update their understanding of programs and changes that occur.