Senior groups weigh move to Gateway

County Commissioner Dale Lauman and the Agency on Aging have approached the Kalispell Senior Center about a joint move to the new Gateway Community Center.

Lauman said discussions have taken place and some representatives of the Kalispell Senior Citizens have taken tours of the community center established at the former Gateway West Mall.

"Tentatively, we have a proposal to move the Agency on Aging and RSVP to the Gateway Community Center," Lauman said. "We'd like to have the senior citizen group there, too."

According to the commissioner, the county owns the senior center building that it leases to the group for a dollar a year. Located at 403 Second Avenue West, the Kalispell Senior Center is housed in a renovated church.

Lauman said the building is costly to maintain. The senior association pays for upkeep.

"It's going to need a lot of repair," he said. "It's not really as handicapped-accessible as it should be."

If the senior center moved to the mall, Lauman said the county could sell that property to help pay for renovations needed for the move to the mall space.

He said he met with the senior center board a month ago. Lauman said some supported the idea while others had concerns, particularly about losing their autonomy as a senior center.

Some advantages include adequate parking, accessible rooms and restrooms and shared activities and facilities. The senior center has steep ramps and circuitous routes to restrooms as well as snow and ice removal headaches.

Under one scenario, the senior center could share the former Corral West space with Agency on Aging programs such as Meals on Wheels. It's unclear whether the senior center would become part of the Agency on Aging or remain as its own association.

In a letter to the Inter Lake, former board member Jim Rehbein raises questions about adequate space for pool tables, exercise and dance classes, card playing, art classes and a variety of special events organized by the center.

Rehbein, who worked extensively on the bylaws for the Flathead Association of Senior Citizens, said it appears Kalispell will lose its identity as a senior center. He points out that Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Bigfork all have centers.

Lauman said he wanted to reassure the seniors that he is aware of these concerns as well as others raised about adequate storage.

"I think we can resolve all the issues," Lauman said. "They need to think it over and look at the pros and cons."

Jim Pearson, president of the Kalispell Senior Center's board, said another meeting is scheduled Thursday with the Agency on Aging's advisory council to discuss options.

He said those include:

n Move in with the Agency on Aging and share facilities at the Gateway Community Center.

n Rent their own space at the Gateway Community Center.

n Stay at the building on Second Avenue West.

Pearson said another suggestion was to build a new building for seniors at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

At this point, he said his group has more questions than answers about what would best serve people in this area and what each option would cost.

"The seniors at the Kalispell Senior Center are just trying to take it all in," he said. "It's all in the planning stage."

He took an unofficial vote at a recent meeting. According to Pearson, only one person supported dissolving the association to become part of the Agency on Aging.

About half wanted to stay at the current center and other half wanted to move to the mall if they retained control with their own association.

Pearson called the Gateway Community Center's consortium of nonprofits "a wonderful idea" even if the senior center chose not to participate. He said it would provide more space for the Agency on Aging to expand services .

"I think it's a great facility," Pearson said. "I'm just uncertain about the senior center moving in."

His concerns included not breaking up the social groups that have formed among people who come to the current location. Also, the wood floor in the current center is a major benefit for exercisers and square dancers.

Giving up the current center also would mean loss of income from a house and apartment on the property. The rental income along with money from the meals program and a mill levy supports the Kalispell Senior Center.

Pearson said these were among issues the senior center board needs to discuss at this week's meeting.

Jim Atkinson, executive director of the Agency on Aging, called the idea a work in progress.

"There's nothing happening yet," he said. "The county commissioners are considering us moving to Gateway West Mall along with other human services organizations. We're looking at the numbers. We don't know if it will happen or not."

The only thing he knows for certain is that the Agency on Aging has exhausted the space at its Kelly Road location in Kalispell. With the aging population, demand continues to soar for senior services.

"Our meals program is getting bigger and bigger," he said. "As seniors get older, they look for options of things to do. We need to expand services and provide more programs."

He said a move to the Gateway Community Center would allow his agency to become more self sufficient through fundraising activities such as a thrift store or food concession. The store could offer an outlet for seniors to consign and sell their crafts.

"The community would see what neat things seniors make," Atkinson said. "I'm intrigued by the woodworking - one guy made a replica of the Conrad Mansion. Another makes stagecoach replicas. Over the years, I've seen incredible things."

Atkinson said he sees advantages in bringing the senior center activities within the Agency on Aging.

"It's so new that we don't know exactly what the proposal is," he said. "We'll weigh all the advantages and disadvantages and see if it's a doable thing."

Lauman said he would like to see a decision made in the next couple of months since the community center is in the process of leasing space. United Way serves as the fiscal agent working with a leadership group representing the agencies leasing space at the former mall.

Sherry Stevens Wulf, executive director of United Way, describes the community center as a consortium of nonprofit agencies joined together to make services more accessible.

"It's like one-stop shopping," she said. "It's a community project."

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.