Forum to gather comments on senior facility
By LYNNETTE HINTZEThe Daily Inter Lake
The Flathead County Agency on Aging will hold an open forum on Thursday to get public feedback about a proposed new facility to house the agency’s programs for seniors.
The forum begins at 1 p.m. at the Agency on Aging building at 160 Kelly Road in Kalispell. Coffee and cookies will be served.
Participants will be able to give their opinions about what they envision for a new facility, where they would like to see it located and what kinds of activities they favor. They also will be able to meet the agency’s new director, Lisa Sheppard.
The county commissioners recently decided to move forward with a preliminary architectural review for a new facility and seek a $450,000 federal grant to help pay for it.
The county could use its share of payments in lieu of taxes (federal payments made to local governments to offset property tax losses due to non-taxable federal lands) or a low-interest Intercap loan through the Montana Board of Investments as other funding options.
County-owned properties being assessed include the north end of the fairgrounds and lots south of the Earl Bennett Building.
As part of the agency’s strategic planning process, focus groups have been meeting and interviews are being held with various stakeholders, including area senior center boards and members, volunteers, those who receive agency services and various advisory boards, Sheppard said.
Eight focus-group sessions already have been held, with another six scheduled through April 4. Among the questions asked are which services should be expanded or discontinued, what new programs or services are needed and what the agency could do better or differently.
Until a new facility is built, the county is making some improvements at its leased building on Kelly Road, which the agency has outgrown.
Additional office space is being created in front of the building to eliminate the use of offices in the food storage area in the back of the building. Those back offices will be repurposed to store commodities because they have air conditioners that can keep food at the proper temperature.
Other improvements include resealing concrete floors in the kitchen and dining areas and sealing an area in the back of the building that’s prone to flooding. Bids have been received to eliminate the use of electrical cords across walkways in the food serving area.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.