Page 8 - Flathead Beacon // 10.19.16

CITY BEAT 14 COUNTY BEAT 14 COURT BEAT 15 Newsworthy
Saga Ends in Celebration as County Opens New Agency on Aging Flathead County completes new centrally located site for senior services
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
The jovial tunes from the 1930s Stein- way Model baby grand piano resonated throughout the new Flathead County south campus building last week as crowd members enjoyed cake and conversation. Amid the celebration, the smile on Jane Seward’s face was visible from across the large room.
“This is wonderful,” she said.
Seward was among the nearly 100 people who gathered Oct. 13 for the rib- bon-cutting ceremony of the new Agency on Aging and Kalispell Senior Center, both of which are now housed in the county’s latest campus addition on 11th Street West near downtown Kalispell. U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke applauded the facil- ity — “This is what happens when we all work together” — while representatives from U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines similarly echoed praise for the important site and services it provides.
In addition to the AOA and Kalispell Senior Center, the new south campus building also now houses the county’s IT department, space for the Flathead City-County Health Department, and the county’s maintenance department.
“This is a dream come true,” Dale Lau- man, a former Flathead County commis- sioner who helped spearhead the new facility, told the crowd. “It’s an awesome facility. I think we have the best in the state of Montana.”
The lively gathering marked the con- clusion of a seven-year e ort to develop a new, centrally located facility that serves the growing population of seniors in the community. In Flathead County, which stands among Montana’s grayest com- munities, seniors will make up a quar- ter of the population by 2020. The AOA, which serves area residents 60 years and older with a variety of programs, includ- ing Meals on Wheels, transportation, senior home repair and legal services, has already seen increased demand in recent years. The average number of residents receiving independent living services increased from 319 to 435 from 2014 to 2015, and the average number of residents regularly receiving meals on wheels grew from 451 to 462, according to county statistics.
For those involved, making this dream come true was not without its ups and downs. County o cials and residents lobbied for a new facility as the former site on Kelly Road became increasingly crowded, and plans were drawn up for
Creta Lund greets Jane Seward, right, before a dedication of the new Flathead County South Campus building, which includes the Senior Center and Agency on Aging in Kalispell on Oct. 12. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
8
OCTOBER 19, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
several site options, including the fair- grounds. In 2013, Flathead County com- missioners Gary Krueger and Pam Holm- quist balked at selecting a new site and rejected a $450,000 grant, leading to uproar among senior residents who felt they were being underappreciated. Lau- man, who did not seek re-election and ended his term as commissioner in 2012, continued championing the new AOA site, along with others, including former Commissioner Cal Scott, and in mid- 2014 the Flathead County Commission announced its intention to go ahead with the idea and add it to the new $7 million building on the county’s south campus.
At last week’s celebration, both Krueger and Holmquist applauded the e orts of everyone involved and the end result.
“What a wonderful facility,” Holm- quist said. “We’re pleased with what hap- pened here.”
When asked afterward if he would do anything di erently if he could go back three years, Krueger acknowledged that
he might.
“I do agree if you could see all of the
good things that come in the future, a lot of the decisions the county commis- sioners make would be easier,” he said. “But we don’t have that crystal ball, so as the commission works through an issue, some commissioners come to a plan or a thought quicker than others, and that’s not a bad thing. That’s just how we do things. In the end, this has happened. I believe every commissioner who looks at this says it’s great. All those past things are a fog of memory.”
He added, “Today we’re going to cel- ebrate this. But it is just a facility that Flathead County provides. What will
make this the whole package is how our sta and our Agency on Aging and how our community members come together to make this the very best.”
From Seward’s vantage, she sat back smiling and saw friends and other res- idents coming together as an integral part of the community, and she saw new opportunities for them to thrive.
“There’s already more people coming in to eat than at the old place. They’re all enjoying it,” said Seward, who delivers Meals on Wheels twice a week to fellow senior residents in need. “Everything here is rst-class.”
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
“THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE. IT’S AN
AWESOME FACILITY. I THINK WE HAVE
THE BEST IN THE STATE OF MONTANA.”
- DALE LAUMAN