Senior centers in Weber County are experiencing a funding issue that could lead to some closures after the current fiscal year.
Weber Human Services funds five centers that are open five days a week in Ogden, Roy, Washington Terrace, Riverdale and North Ogden. If these cities can’t come to an agreement with the agency, one or two of them may be shut down.
Senior centers provide meals, exercise, recreation, education and a sense of community. Diane Chappell goes to the Washington Terrace Senior Center almost every day to spend time with friends, have lunch and play games like Mexican Train.
“People don't go out on their porches like they used to and wave. This gives us our porch to come in and wave and say ‘Hi, how you doing?’”
Washington Terrace and the other four main centers each received $59,000 from the county for the fiscal year that began in July. The inclusion of Riverdale, which previously funded its own senior center, put the agency over budget, according to Kevin Eastman, executive director of Weber Human Services.
Riverdale was included, he said, because they wanted to ensure the city “had an opportunity to invest in this. But the pot is really $236,000” — the cost of the four other centers. That budget includes $81,000 from Weber County, while the rest comes from state and federal sources, according to Eastman.
All five senior center facilities are owned by their respective cities.
The agency is in talks with each about how to fund all of the centers next year with that starting budget.
“The goal is to get down to three geographical centers, give them $79,000 each, [and] they continue to put in some additional funding to operate a full-time center and partner with us so that we can at least have three good senior centers,” Eastman said.
“We're willing to do four, or even five if that were the case, but it would mean, again, cities have to invest in that.”
Riverdale, Ogden and North Ogden already contribute additional funds. Eastman said that leaves Washington Terrace and Roy as the “ones remaining to decide if they feel that their city can contribute to keep their doors open.” These two cities had received disproportionately large amounts of funding in past years, before funding was equalized among the five centers, according to Eastman.
Mark Allen, mayor of Washington Terrace, said Weber County should continue to fund the centers as it has. As a small town, he said Washington Terrace can’t afford to fund a senior center.
“We will pretty much give you our building. We'll maintain it, we'll pay utilities, we'll pay the repairs, and you just put a person in there to run it.”
Weber Human Services cut Washington Terrace from 8 hours of operation to 5.5 hours on July 8. It now opens later and closes earlier. Roughly 50 people visit the center daily, including 25 for lunch, said Karen Padilla, director of Washington Terrace Senior Center.
Turnout is higher when there’s a live band. Those are days where seniors “turn into teenagers,” quipped Padilla.
Butch Halbritter is one patron who loves to dance. “This is the only place that gets me out of here,” he said, tapping his temple. “I would lay down and die if I couldn’t [come here] anymore.”
For some seniors, transportation would be a barrier if their local center closed.
“A lot of people have said they wouldn't have a place to go because they don't want to drive down Washington Boulevard because of the fear of driving down Washington Boulevard or down Riverdale, which is really dangerous, too,” Padilla said.
Eastman acknowledged that transportation is an issue.
“[The Utah Transit Authority] will pay for 80% of a van, a vehicle to transport. But they have a lot of strings attached,” he said. “The cities could collaborate” to cover the rest of the cost and coordinate pick-up and drop-off at central locations like their city halls.
Mayor Allen thinks the county should keep his city’s senior center open.
“I believe it's a county program, a county service, and they should provide that service.”
Weber Human Services has asked cities to form a plan by October.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
