ITEM TITLE:
#18-40 - Supporting the Valdez Senior Center Grant Application
SUBMITTED BY: Sheri Pierce, MMC, for Deborah Plant, Valdez Senior Center Executive Director
FISCAL NOTES:
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Unencumbered Balance: Click here to enter text.
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RECOMMENDATION:
City Administration supports Resolution #18-40.
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
On December 15, 2015 the Council approved the 2016 Community Transportation Plan. A copy of the plan is attached for Council reference. This particular transportation plan includes Connecting Ties, Valdez Senior Center and Frontier Services as agency participants. In the past, Connecting Ties had taken the lead as “the” transportation provider in the community.
Through a subsidized program, Connecting Ties dispatched for what is called “purchase of service” rides in the community. Eligible senior citizens and persons with disabilities were able to buy vouchers for $4. The vouchers could be used to purchase transportation services from the local cab company or from Connecting Ties. Connecting Ties was also the recipient of a matching grant to manage these services.
Connecting Ties opted to discontinue managing transportation services in Valdez and focused solely on providing services to their clientele - persons with developmental disabilities. This left a significant gap in the transportation services available to seniors and persons with other than developmental disabilities. The Valdez Senior Center’s goal remains that of filling some of this gap; they have worked with the Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) to take on some of this responsibility in a manageable fashion.
In 2016, the Valdez Senior Center purchased a new 2016 eight passenger van funded by the City of Valdez and Valdez United Way. The have used the van to provide transportation services to senior citizens and persons with disabilities who do not require the use of a wheelchair. Transportation is provided through reservations on Monday through Friday during normal business hours.
This enables seniors and persons with disabilities to conduct activities of daily living which require transportation (i.e. doctor visits, picking up medications, grocery shopping, banking, etc.).
The ADOT transportation grant administrator has advised the Valdez Senior Center they are approved to use a previous part-time office position as an in-kind match for grant funding to make the position full time. The additional time will allow that staff person to act as a dispatcher, scheduling rides. The ADOT has also approved in-kind match grant funding for the full-time driver’s salary as well.
City staff met with Deborah Plant, Valdez Senior Center’s Executive Director and members of the Valdez Senior Center Board of Directors, to discuss the proposed grant application and the Valdez Senior Center’s Prioritized Project List that supports the 2016 Valdez Coordinated Community Transportation Plan.
The Valdez Senior Center’s proposal fills a much-needed gap in the transportation needs of Valdez. This grant helps with paying wages for two full-time employees, transportation-related operating expenses, advertising, vehicle fuel, auto insurance, and other vehicle maintenance and repairs.
The current Community Transportation Plan will require amending in 2021. ADOT does not require amending every year to support Valdez Senior Center’s application. The Prioritized Project List, a requirement of ADOT, meets Goal 2 outlined in the existing plan. Goal 2 is “Rides to continue to provide transportation to eligible individuals (seniors and persons with disabilities) within the Valdez community”.
The Valdez Senior Center held a public community meeting to provide information about the proposed grant application and the services that will be provided. Many agency stakeholders attended the meeting and were very supportive of the Valdez Senior Center’s efforts.
Currently, the Valdez Senior Center needs a resolution from the City Council for their continued support of their grant application. That resolution is attached for Council review and approval.