Avery County resident warns of gap in senior services after center flood damage; board seeks facility options

Rebecca Corrigan, a long-time volunteer, urged the Avery County Board of Commissioners on April (date not specified) to act after flood damage forced suspension of the county senior center and its home-delivered meals program.

"This center is a lifeline to many of our seniors and disabled residents," Corrigan told the board, describing two decades of volunteer service including delivering "close to 10,000 meals" and providing routine wellness checks for homebound clients. She said a local resort had temporarily hosted congregate meals and meal preparation after the flood and extended that help through April, and she asked why formal bidding for a replacement kitchen had not been opened earlier.

Corrigan said she personally alerted the county and her account prompted a telephone town hall with U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards; she said his office told her it would "look into that immediately." Corrigan said she distributed letters to meal recipients informing them the home-delivered meals program was suspended indefinitely.

County staff told the board they are exploring options for a replacement facility. The county attorney asked the board to grant the county manager authority to enter into a memorandum of intent or purchase contract for properties that could be used as a senior center; the board gave consensus to that request. The agenda also included a separate item asking staff to seek bids for a replacement kitchen; a county staff member said bids had been opened for an 18-day period earlier in the year and asked how many submissions were received (the number submitted was not stated in the meeting record).

The discussion occurred during the public-comment and staff-report portions of the meeting, and several board members and staff later referenced ongoing recovery work from the hurricane-flood event. County staff also referred citizens to a local disaster recovery center and the county Facebook page for updates about private property debris removal and other recovery resources.

Corrigan stressed the role of volunteers in identifying medical or safety issues during meal deliveries; staff acknowledged volunteers and a local resort in maintaining services. No formal timeline for reopening the county senior center was provided in the meeting record.

Ending: The board directed staff to continue pursuing short-term facility options and to return with details; county staff said they would help residents sign up for private-property debris-removal and other recovery services via the county website and disaster recovery center.