By Eric Rosane / ericr@chronline.com
With soft reopenings at local senior centers well advanced, the Lewis County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve a $ 100,000 contract with the nonprofit Lewis County Seniors on Tuesday to fund its feeding program for the coming year.
This year’s annual contract, however, has a catch. The county also agrees to provide a one-time grant of $ 8,000 to an accountant who audits the nonprofit’s finances after FEMA and other federal funds were used to help seniors during the pandemic.
“I just want them to know that we appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into providing the meals and keeping our seniors safe,” said Commissioner Sean Swope, noting that the overall annual allocation was “well spent There is money, especially for our elderly population ”.
Lewis County will provide the first half of the $ 100,000 early next year. That money will come from the county’s general fund, Swope said.
The other half, which is usually paid out at the beginning of the second half of the calendar year, will this time depend on the completion of the audit in 2020 and 2021, which will be forwarded to the district board.
Lewis County Seniors executives have previously expressed their support for the completion of the exam, which will ensure the nonprofit’s ledger is up to county standards and could pave the way for additional grants in the future.
In an interview with The Chronicle earlier this month, nonprofit executives said they are making significant changes to the way they do business and how the centers work, and are working to bring more sought-after services to seniors in the future.
The district commissioners expressed their support for changes that could improve the service for the users of the centers during their closing meeting on Monday. Commissioner Lee Grose said he would like some work to start next year and it will be implemented in 2023.
“All the changes that we enable and that make them better are for me,” said Swope.
Commissioner Lindsey Pollock, who attended the soft reopening at the Olequa Senior Center last week, said during the commissioners’ meeting that many of the seniors in the area have reservations about the nonprofit’s return, partly due to large staff turnover.
“They’re really uncomfortable with the building being closed for so long and they’re not sure the relationship is going anywhere,” said Pollock.
The nonprofit continues to hold its gentle reopenings this week before Christmas. Olequa hosts hers on Tuesday, Morton on Wednesday and Toledo on Thursday. The events take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Lewis County Seniors plans to fully reopen most of its senior centers starting next month.
The leaders of the nonprofits are in the final stages of cleaning, organizing, and restoring the centers for repopulation.
