Senior Center To Move To New Location Soon

Mountain View Senior Center will soon move to a new home at 311 Patricia Ave., according to Ted Hall. CEO of White River Area Agency of Aging (WRAAA).

The agency began shopping for a new location about two months ago after trying without success to negotiate a new rental agreement for the current location at 210 School Ave., owned by North Arkansas Development Council (NADC).

Hall said the building on Patricia Avenue contains 6,000-square-feet that encompasses an assembly area and a kitchen that will be reconfigured to meet codes for public food service. An architect has already been hired for that work, he noted. The building also contains spaces suitable for offices.

Otherwise, the former church building has a stage area for entertainment and other events that have become traditions for the Mountain View Senior Center. The building is situated on a 2.5 acre tract, Hall said.

The Patricia Avenue property comes to WRAAA at a cost of $100,000. Hall said any debt service on the purchase is expected to be a reduction from the $2,300 a month WRAAA has paid for the School Avenue building since taking over senior center operations from White River Health System about seven months ago.

Senior center funding in Arkansas has come to public attention lately with the exit of Central Arkansas Development District from the business of managing multiple centers because of recurring budget overages.

Core funding for senior centers comes from grants through the federal Older Americans Act.

Hall explained that senior center funding hit hard times during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to losses totaling $1.7 million for White River Health System when its management contract ended early in 2023.

COVID relief funding has since ended, leaving center managers to run center cafeterias and meals-on-wheels programs with budgets that do not cover large increases in food costs.

Hall said both Stone County Judge Stacey Avey and Mountain View Mayor Roger Gardner approved the move. The city and county fund the senior center annually in the amount of $10,000 each.