Senior centers jostle for county funding

By Emily Heffter
Times Snohomish County Bureau

GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES Seniors including Dan Blum, 80, center, and Reba Moen, 72, right, participate in an exercise class at the East County Senior Center in Monroe. County contributions help pay for programs like this.

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A seemingly innocuous decision by the Snohomish County Council to give money to five tiny senior centers has restarted a battle between types of centers.

Though members and employees at local and regional centers hope the county continues to fund each type, they think that if it comes down to it, their own type of center does a better job of serving seniors.

The county's decision marks the latest chapter in what has become a polite competition between five regional senior centers and an increasing number of smaller centers.

Last year, the County Council decided to give a one-time boost to eight small senior centers. The centers hired staff members and provided new services, but they weren't self-sufficient by the time the money ran out.

So during this year's budget cycle, seniors from the small centers lobbied to get the council to repeat its contributions. The County Council pledged $7,500 each to five centers in a last-minute 3-2 vote.

Those who supported the expenditures — including County Executive Aaron Reardon — say the small centers fill an important need for seniors who can't travel long distances and just want a place to have lunch, take a class or play cards.

Council members who voted against the expenditures said the county shouldn't add obligations to its budget. The county already contributes $60,500 each to four regional multipurpose senior centers: the Stillaguamish Senior Center in Arlington, the South County Senior Center in Edmonds, the East County Senior Center in Monroe and the Stanwood Senior Center. It also contributes $33,000 a year to the Northshore Senior Center in Bothell, which is partly funded by King County.

Now the small centers might expect money every year, too, said council Chairman John Koster, R-Arlington. He and council Vice Chairman Gary Nelson, R-Edmonds, opposed the measure.

"You will see a proliferation of these types of senior centers once they see what we are doing with these five," Nelson said. "I think we make a mistake starting to now dole out costs for operating costs at these smaller centers."

Council member Jeff Sax, R-Snohomish, is the main proponent of contributing money to small centers. Sax usually aligns politically with Nelson and Koster, but he thinks giving the small senior centers a boost is a good use of county money.
 
A 1985 report led to the way the county funds senior centers by giving big chunks of money to the regional centers. But the county's senior population is growing dramatically.

In 1985, 11 percent of Snohomish County's population was age 60 or older. The county estimates that by 2020, 22 percent will fall into that category.

"The money needs to be as evenly divided as it can be," said Dianne White, a Stanwood city councilwoman and board member with the Stanwood center. "There needs to be more senior centers, not less."

The South County Senior Center's executive director, Farrell Fleming, said he anticipates a time when the county will look at restructuring the funding for centers. Until then, he thinks the big centers should share resources with small centers.

"Whenever you get scarcity in a resource, there's competition," he said. "I think there's also a great sense that because the [senior] population is huge and getting huger, there's really a need for everything."

Although Sax acknowledged the competition between large and small centers — he called it a "battle" in a recent budget hearing — he wouldn't discuss the possibility that the large centers could lose money because the county is giving money to small centers.

"The small centers basically just need a kick-start," he said. "We don't want to open the whole can of worms about funding the smaller centers versus the big centers."

But by funding the small centers, the council may have inadvertently brought up the topic.

"It's in the back of your mind," said Krysta Gibson, the executive director of the East County Senior Center.

Emily Heffter: 425-783-0624 or eheffter@seattletimes.com