R2023-255 Resolution Authorizing Funding Support for Senior Center Services

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November 30, 2023 TO: Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe & Members of the Decatur City Council FROM: Scot Wrighton, City Manager RE: Consolidation of Senior Services & City Support for Merged Senior Services For many years the city's budget has included a $71,000 annual subsidy for the Decatur Senior Center, formerly located just north of the East Locust and North 22nd Street intersection.This amount is in the proposed FY2024 budget. The Decatur Senior Center is dissolving, and is combining with CHELP and other senior services provided by the Decatur Park District. In November, when the City Council was discussing its various other external subsidies during budget study sessions, I mentioned that I expected to receive a proposal to re-direct the city's annual subsidy to this combined project. The idea of merging senior services into one facility is a goal the Decatur Park District, the city of Decatur, and several other local service providers have advanced for years. It is now proposed that merged senior services be provided at a re-purposed and enlarged former Scovill Clubhouse on West Main Street (owned by the park district), and that it be operated by the park district.The attached memo from the park district's executive director, and other attachments, explain this proposal in greater detail. The park district has secured a grant and other monies to fund the significant capital costs required to rebuild the facility. The city is not being asked to share in the capital costs of this project, but the district has requested that the city re-direct its operating subsidy from the defunct Decatur Senior Center to the park district, and increase the annual subsidy in support of senior services from $71,000 to $99,500. Statutorily, the responsibility for improving local senior services is not a core responsibility of either of municipal governments or of park districts. For this reason, senior services have been funded by an Area Agency on Aging,the Senior Citizens Council, and other entities funded by State and Federal governments over the years. These resources remain limited at a time when the number of senior citizens in Decatur is increasing. Combining senior services will mean that they should be provided more efficiently than leaving them disbursing among numerous agencies in multiple locations. It is therefore reasonable for the City Council to consider supporting the combined venture. It is recommended that the resolution be adopted.