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2017-01-30 Senior Transition Team mtgSenior Transition Team meeting January 30, 2017 3:01 p.m. Present: Commissioner Stamper, Commissioner Fund, Commissioner Jackson, Glenda Forga Recorder: Rieva Lester Glenda Forga said she had fielded a couple of questions regarding the senior centers. She asked if a decision has been made about the future of the senior centers. The commissioners said no decision has yet been made. Glenda said she has fielded questions about special taxing districts, etc. She asked if that may be a possibility. Commissioner Stamper said insurance, building maintenance and enrichment appear to be the three largest concerns. Glenda asked if the county is open to any and all ideas. The commissioners said that the county is open to all ideas. The commissioners said they didn’t want to give false hope, though, that the county will be the parachute if the Senior Transition Team cannot find a solution. Commissioner Fund said there’s not much room in junior taxing district, because the state has a cap on the amount that can be collected. Commissioner Fund suggested Glenda speak to Glenn Carter about the junior taxing districts. Commissioner Fund said whatever works is what will move forward, whether it’s sticking together or branching out. Glenda said she’d prefer a long-term fix rather than a short-term Band-Aid. Commissioner Fund asked whether Glenda has data on how many meal participants fall below the poverty level. Glenda said she could run that as a query. Glenda said the centers served 1,200 non-duplicated Nutrition clients in 2016. She said the centers served 35,000 meals. She said Enrichment data is too difficult to capture. Glenda said she wasn’t sure how the centers could go about doing a census for Enrichment participation. Glenda said she hopes to whittle down the Transition Team’s plans to three by March. Glenda said one nonprofit senior group in Thurston County hosts bingo night once a month, serving beer and wine, and clears $5,000. Commissioner Jackson asked about talking to the Lions Club about using the senior center instead of the Community Building. Glenda talked about the rise and fall of membership in various organizations. Commissioner Stamper said there is an organization in place to help with the senior centers. Glenda said those would need to be restructured to make them viable. Glenda said a past attempt to transition the centers was handled incorrectly. She said it was dumped on them, and there was a lot of in-fighting. Glenda said the county has a footprint but not a true foundation for a plan. The group talked about the groups being able to operate the centers at a much lower rate than what the county can do. Commissioner Jackson said it sounds like the group would prefer to lease the buildings. The group discussed offering some money and the fact that other nonprofits could then say they want money too. The group discussed the county somehow supporting the Nutrition program only. Glenda said Nutrition is supposed to be a 50/50 match. She said Nutrition costs roughly $150,000 to $160,000 annually. Glenda said Nutrition and Enrichment feed off one another. The group talked about asking other counties how they operate. Commissioner Jackson thanked Glenda and praised her efforts during the first meeting. Glenda asked if the group had collectively decided to allow the groups to meet without the commissioners. The commissioners said that, yes, they had made that decision. Glenda left at 4:08 p.m. Rachel Hunt joined the meeting at 4:09 p.m. The group discussed Harry Bhagwandin’s request for a letter of support regarding an agritourism grant. The group discussed not signing the letter if Harry doesn’t have a sponsor for the grant. Commissioner Jackson said he is apprehensive about the local media. He said he will continue to be apprehensive. However, he said he will dial that back because he wants to make sure there’s a united front from the board. Commissioner Jackson gave a recap of his interaction with Chronicle reporter Aaron Kunkler about his recent accident involving a county employee. Meeting adjourned at 4:22 p.m.