The nonprofit Skagit Council on Aging aims to keep senior nutrition services, which include Meals on Wheels, running at current levels for at least six months after it takes over the program from the county July 1.
Leaders of the nonprofit intend to retain employees and volunteers for that period at least, said Elena Roppel, president of the council, at a senior services town hall on Monday, April 27 at the Mount Vernon Library Commons.
“That is a giant wish and a giant ask, but that’s our goal,” she said, adding later that the program as it is now is “not sustainable” without the county funding that will end this summer.
Council board members are “very confident” they will be able to find partnerships to make the program financially viable moving forward, she said. That said, Roppel also noted she did not want to give “false hope” that everything will stay the same in 2027.
Skagit Council on Aging President Elena Roppel, speaks during the town hall. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
Worry and rumors about the future of senior services in Skagit County have circulated in the past year as county officials look for solutions to an ongoing budget crunch. In February, county officials reviewed options for alternate senior center funding models, as contracts with cities had to be reevaluated in light of the nutrition program change.
They have since decided not to make changes to senior center funding through the end of 2026, though discussions about that funding will continue in the second half of the year, county spokesperson Jenn Rogers wrote in an email.
Transitioning the nutrition program to another provider will move 23 positions off the county payroll starting in July, according to a county budget message.
Meanwhile, the condition of the county-owned Mount Vernon Senior Center building is a sore spot for the many seniors who rely on its services. County leaders have acknowledged the building needs replacing, but when and how that would be funded remains an open question.
At the town hall, Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan said that while the existing facility needs drastic improvements, the city is lucky to have a building to serve as a meeting space for seniors while officials work on a long-term plan.
“As urgent as this feels right now, we are not in crisis mode today,” he told the dozens of senior citizens at the meeting. Donovan and County Commissioner Ron Wesen both stressed the county has no plans to close the senior center.
This year, the state allocated $1.5 million to the county to study a potential combined senior center and housing project.
Donovan said officials are open to “creative solutions” to the facility issue, and “if the Legislature wants to fund housing, then we need to take advantage of that.” Building a new senior center will likely mean having to combine uses in order to get funding, he said.
Mount Vernon Senior Center board president Gerry Douglas said in an interview that joint senior center services and housing is “very undesirable,” as similar projects in other areas have not fit seniors’ needs and lacked adequate parking.
The senior center’s leadership wants a standalone building and doesn’t necessarily want to partner with the city or county to build it, she said. “We feel that our community can build it” with fundraising and grants.
Douglas added she hopes someone in Mount Vernon will donate a property to serve as a site for the senior center. The senior center’s board will soon open a new thrift shop in downtown Mount Vernon whose proceeds will go toward a fund for a new building and senior and adult services.
Mount Vernon City Council member Mary Hudson speaks alongside Skagit County commissioner Ron Wesen, left, and Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan. (Finn Wendt/Cascadia Daily News)
At the town hall, Donovan said he is “very open” to partnerships with nonprofits interested in managing the senior center facility. Currently, the county manages senior centers in Mount Vernon, Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, while the Anacortes center is city-run and a community center in Concrete is operated by a nonprofit.
“Change is inevitable” for senior services in Skagit County, Donovan said at the event. “But the bottom line is that we care deeply for our seniors” and city officials want to do what they can to maintain services “through whatever changes may be coming our way.”
Wesen pointed to the North Star Project, a coalition of governments and organizations focused on addressing homelessness, as an example of what can be accomplished when the county and cities collaborate.
“The only way we can keep senior services sustainable financially is to work together, finding partners within the community and being creative with the funding and resources we have available,” he said.
“I know the past few months have been worrisome for our seniors,” Wesen said. “But we are all here today at this event to show you that we are united in supporting the senior services in Mount Vernon and Skagit County.”
Sophia Gates covers rural Whatcom and Skagit counties. She is a Washington State Murrow Fellow whose work is underwritten by taxpayers and available outside CDN’s paywall. Reach her at sophiagates@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 131.