COA

The St. Joseph County Commission on Aging board has asked county commissioners to reappoint Dawn Everett, Allen Balog, Jim MacTavish, Chuck Thompson and Barb Fisher to new two-year COA board terms. In a related matter, trustees re-appointed officers including Margaret Shultz, chairman; Jon Withers, vice chairman; Charles Willer, treasurer; and Thompson as secretary.

A ceremonial ground breaking took place Tuesday for the South County Community Enrichment Center. County, municipal and commission on aging dignitaries gathered at the Sturgis site for a 20-minute program that included the ceremonial dirt-turning. Making comments to the crowd of about 30 people were Sturgis Mayor Ken Malone, Three Rivers City Manager Joe Bippus, St. Joseph County Commissioner Don …

St. Joseph County and its Commission on Aging will break ground at 9 a.m. Tuesday for the senior service agency’s new Sturgis facility. Lynn Coursey, COA executive director, said the amount of monthly rent her agency will pay for space in the new South County Community Enrichment Center still has not been set. Last week, however, Coursey told her board …

Nearly 24 percent of St. Joseph County’s 12,488 residents 60 years of age and older are receiving some type of service from the county’s Commission on Aging, a report last week showed. If those numbers hold in 2014-15, it means taxpayers will provide about $760 of funding per client to deliver everything from nutrition services and in-home care to senior …

Three personnel matters were approved during Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting. Kelly Stapert has been hired as part-time Commission on Aging in-home services assistant at $11.79 an hour. Nancy Franovich has been hired as part-time Victim Services clerk at $11.73 an hour. In addition, Glenn Dane has been hired as Commission on Aging sub driver at $9.27 …

The executive director of St. Joseph County’s Commission on Aging made some clarifications Tuesday regarding the proposed Sturgis Senior Center building, its funding and related issues. Addressing the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, Lynn Coursey noted the $2.6 million the commission fronted to the COA Oct. 7 was a loan and set aside in an account as a fund …

Despite concerns from a pair of commissioners, a plan to allocate $2.6 million toward construction of a senior center in Sturgis was approved Tuesday. The funding marks a major step in what has been a four-year process to build such a facility to benefit seniors on the east side of the county. Proponents of a new Sturgis site have said …

A Portage-based company was hired this week to fulfill a component toward potential construction of a Sturgis senior center. Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners agreed Tuesday to work with Cornerstone Construction Management. The company will provide services related to design, bidding and construction. Total cost of the deal is $78,000. County Administrator Pat Yoder said the …

Two unrelated matters of business were approved Tuesday by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Commissioners endorsed an agreement with Florida-based MGT of America for cost-allocation plan services. County administrator Pat Yoder said the agreement is geared toward the county’s Friend of the Court and Juvenile Court departments to reimburse their expenses through the state. Also, the employment of …

The St. Joseph County Commission on Aging wishes to remind residents that a survey geared toward the population in the northern region of the county has gone live. As a way to gauge feedback from residents 55 years of age and older, the agency has produced 20,000 copies of the survey. The questionnaires may be found in government buildings, libraries, …