Lake County staff highlight senior-center staffing, snow-removal pilot and service gaps

Lake County staff reported progress and lingering service gaps for older residents during a meeting that reviewed short- and long-term goals for the county senior center.

Michelle, a county staff member who led the update, said the county’s new senior center assistant position has been in place for a year and “has really supported and helping Rochelle to not be driving vans all of the time” by taking over administrative tasks such as the newsletter. The staff update said the position was intended to free other employees for training and planning rather than daily operational chores.

Staff described a soft-launched snow-removal program that relied largely on volunteers last winter. Rochelle, a senior-center staff member, said the approach worked in spots but is not reliably sustainable: “It’s still a challenge. We didn’t have a huge winner last year.” County staff said they plan to buy additional supplies from budgeted funds to support the program and continue recruiting and organizing the people who will use those supplies.

The report also described an application for a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) grant (referred to in the meeting as CDOT 5310 funds). Staff said the grant would be a matching award; the county currently fully funds the transportation program and the grant would, if awarded, reduce the county’s cost by about 50 percent. The grant award decision was described as pending in the “coming weeks.”

Participants raised multiple service gaps tied to the county’s relationship with the Upper Colorado Council of Governments (UCOG) and related agreements. Staff said UCOG administers some programs for the senior center, including a nutrition program and a temporary home‑health aide benefit that the meeting described as providing up to 48 hours of paid help per qualifying senior. County staff said that while funding for the 48‑hour assistance exists at the UCOG level, the county does not have local providers ready to deliver that service and therefore the benefit often cannot be accessed locally.

Staff described a specific operational constraint: the senior center’s congregate meal program requires a UCOG (COG) employee to be present on certain days (identified in the meeting as Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays). That requirement means the center cannot operate congregate meals on those days if the single UCOG employee who currently fills the role is absent. The meeting identified Loretta Barela as the senior‑center site coordinator and long‑time head cook who currently works 20 hours for the county and 20 hours for UCOG and therefore does not receive full benefits from either employer. Staff said that arrangement complicates succession planning and continuity of services; Loretta is approaching retirement and the county said it wants to prepare if staffing changes occur.

County staff said they will seek more detailed information from UCOG, including service reports and financial receipts, before deciding whether to pursue changes to the county’s intergovernmental agreement (IGA) or pursue other options. One county participant asked staff to get “the numbers so that we can make informed decisions.” The staff lead said she will request those records and follow up with commissioners and partners.

Speakers and meeting participants praised the senior center’s programming, including monthly caregiver-support and grief-support groups and educational “lunch and learn” events. Staff encouraged residents to RSVP by phone when the newsletter does not produce a reply and noted that smaller grants (for example $5,000 awards) are being pursued to support specific activities.

Next steps identified in the meeting include staff requesting detailed service and cost reports from UCOG, continuing to budget supplies for the snow-removal program, pursuing small grants and awaiting the outcome of the CDOT grant application. No formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript on these items.