NEWS PHOTO GILLIAN SLADE City council will look at a multi-service model for operating the Veiner and Strathcona centres after a committee voted to send the recommendation its way. Coun. Julie Friesen, chair of the committee at the head of the table, on her left is Coun. Jim Turner and next to him Coun. Kris Samraj.
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade
Councillors on the public services committee voted 2 to 1 in favour of sending the city’s recommendation about the future of seniors’ services to council for a decision.
The recommendation includes a transition to a multi-service model, conducting a community evaluation to identify what services would best meet the needs of seniors and to then issue a request for proposals with the possibility of an independent governance operating model for the Veiner Centre and Strathcona Centres.
Coun. Jim Turner supported the recommendation saying it would steer a course that would also answer the question of why only 4.2 per cent of seniors (1,087 people) are members of the Veiner Centre. He suggested that if this had been known after the 2013 flood, council may not have spent $12 million on a new building after the original sustained flood damage.
LaVerne Noble, chair of the Senior Citizen’s Advisory Committee, told the committee there were about 2,000 members before the flood and she is disappointed more have not returned.
Coun. Kris Samraj did not support the city’s recommendation.
“There is a strong case for exploring a multi-service and (not-for-profit) models, but this choice likely comes with a long timeline for execution,” said Samraj, noting the public engagement and RFP process. Samraj says privatizing food services could achieve 70 per cent of the cost savings of potentially moving to a not-for-profit model.
“I prefer incremental changes rather than ambitious ones,” said Samraj.
Brian Mastel, commissioner of public services, estimated that community consultation could be accomplished by the end of the year followed by an RFP by late spring 2020.
Noble admitted to feeling “apprehensive” about an RFP and what the result would be.
“It’s just a little frightening,” said Noble.
Ken Sauer, a former councillor, says there has been a “hiccup after the flood” and urged the committee to consider the social obligations for the community. Sauer suggested a change to food services and possibly having seniors taking on a management role. He said models for seniors’ centres in other communities “may sound good but are not ideal.”
Coun. Julie Friesen, chair of public services committee, suggested the consultation could reveal potential and said the city did not have to accept an RFP bid if it was not considered appropriate.
Les Pearson, SCAC member and former councillor, said SCAC had offered to fund a survey to determine what social service agency programs could be offered at the Veiner Centre. He speculated there may be library programs, health or financial services, that would attract additional members.
Pearson raised the possibility that an RFP could attract an organization from another city to run seniors’ services in Medicine Hat.
“If we take a look at the Alberta Health Services’ system, with its headquarters in Lethbridge, there are some gaps and deficiencies in that kind of model,” said Pearson.
Pat Dietrich, SCAC member, pointed out that since the flood the Veiner Centre no longer has a dedicated seniors manager on site. This person traditionally would have been observing changes in needs and required initiatives to remain relevant to seniors, their needs, and attract more members.
Mastel told the committee that 25 per cent of the seniors’ centre budget was earned revenue, 42 per cent family and community support services (provincial funding distributed at the municipal level) and 33 per cent from taxes. He said Medicine Hat has higher operating costs compared to other communities with seniors’ centres.
Mastel said the goal is to achieve long-term sustainability and minimize the financial contribution of the municipality.
