Committee approves pass‑through grants to boost senior transportation in Mechanicville and Stillwater
Loading...
Summary
The committee authorized a $20,000 pass‑through to Mechanicville to expand its transportation program and approved funding for Stillwater to purchase a new vehicle with a required local match, using Community Services for the Elderly funds.
Saratoga County’s Health and Human Services committee approved two pass‑through awards Tuesday to expand transportation options for older residents in Mechanicville and Stillwater.
The committee authorized a $20,000 allocation to the City of Mechanicville to strengthen a recently expanded transportation program that now has a full‑time driver and offers scheduled doctor trips beyond city limits, the county’s Aging and Youth Services representative, Sandy Hara, said.
Hara described the Mechanicville action as a spending plan for Community Services for the Elderly (CSE) funds that “doesn’t cost the county a cent” because the money is pass through funding. “They have a full time driver now, and they’re providing a schedule,” she said.
The committee also authorized an agreement with the Town of Stillwater to fund purchase of a new transportation vehicle for seniors. Hara said the town runs an elder care program with daily dispatch service and that the county historically helped towns buy vans through CSE. The Stillwater award requires a local match; Hara said the town’s match is at least 25 percent.
County staff and supervisors discussed the grant process and the degree to which grant awards are reviewed at the committee level versus handled at the department level. The county administrator noted department heads have been asked to “make sure they are paying the county first with any of these grants” as the county prepares for a difficult 2026 budget year.
Both items were approved by voice vote. Hara said staff would report back on implementation and that the county will distribute the municipal application and timeline to supervisors and interested agencies.
