Services for childcare, elder care, and healthcare could be impacted
Summit Springs Village Director Hanna Bass (Right) with Office Manager Marietta Walker. Summit Springs Village is a non-profit retirement facility in Condon, and has utilized the county's Operations Grant to meet expenses. This year, the grants committee has recommended to halve the requested amount.
Sarah Kirby-McNie moved to Condon in 2020 and was hired as the Finance Director at the Condon Early Learning Center in 2023. The Condon ELC is in the midst of a large expansion project and has 15 staff. The Condon ELC worries that with reduced funding from Gilliam County this year, it will have to make hard decisions on the amount it charges for childcare and potentially, for job retention of its staff.
Lucy Murray Coleman (left) and Jessica Tunturi are teachers in the toddler room at the Condon Early Learning Center. The Condon ELC gave both Lucy and Jessica their first jobs in Condon. The Condon ELC employs 15 people. The non-profit organization strives to offer high quality childcare and education services, and livable wages with robust training opportunities for its teachers and staff.
The Gilliam County Court will decide whether it should award grants in full or to partially fund requests from nonprofits and special districts at its meeting this Wednesday in Arlington.
The Gilliam Co. Grants Committee has recommended significant cuts to requests from key service providers in the county.
The Grants Committee recommended to partially fund operations grant requests from the South Gilliam Health District, Summit Springs Village, and the Condon Early Learning Center.
Each year, nonprofits and special districts apply for county funds in the Gilliam Co. Operations Grant, Programs Grant, and Special Project Grant. The Grants Committee reviews these grants and makes its recommendations to the County Court, which makes a final determination.
During the last court session on June 26, the grants committee recommended that the applicants receive much less than they have in recent years.
Condon Early Learning Center
Total Operations Budget: $829,580
Operations Grant Request: $450,000
The Condon Early Learning Center (ELC) has the biggest request, asking for $450,000 for operations expenses. However, the Grants Committee has recommended that the county court fund $350,000 this year.
This comes after the Condon ELC was asked to scale up hiring in 2023 in preparation for the expansion project at the site by the previous county court.
The Gilliam County awarded one-million dollars to the Condon ELC for its expansion in 2023, with the potential of an additional $700,000 in the future. However, this came with the stipulation that the Condon ELC hire the necessary people to staff the expanded facility.
Executive Director Haylee Potter says that the center accomplished the goals that the previous court laid out and that the center has now met its staffing obligations.
The Condon ELC employs 15 people, eleven of whom have been hired over the past year.
The Condon ELC has already spent $100,000 on the planned expansion project, which Potter says will bring more jobs, and better childcare and education services to families in Condon.
Potter says that she is working with her board to identify other grants to pursue in the future, but that the county funding is needed this year to keep childcare rates affordable and the center fully staffed.
Summit Springs Village
Total Operations Budget: $1.626 million
Operations Grant Request: $150,000
The Summit Springs Village Retirement Center is in a similar predicament.
For several years, Gilliam County's primary retirement center has requested $150,000 for its operational expenses. However, the Grants Committee has recommended that the center only get $75,000 this year.
Hanna Bass is the Director for Summit Springs Village, which is a nonprofit organization that opened in 1994 and is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Summit Springs employs 28 people, and is responsible for care 24-hours a day.
Hanna Bass points out that the center offers local people a familiar place to retire – and it also has the Memory Care Unit on the same campus. Bass says that such services are rare and that they are affordable is also a rare exception.
Since Bass joined Summit Springs in 2021, the Gilliam County Operations Grant has been funded in full and has helped the center to meet its obligations to residents and staff.
Bass worked with board President David Greiner on the grant application this year, which will primarily help with wages for staff.
But after the recent court meeting, Bass and Greiner saw that the grants committee sought to limit funding for wages. Bass and Greiner met with Gilliam County Judge Cris Patnode to discuss the nonprofit's needs and to explore other uses for the grant.
Bass says that beyond wages, the building is aging and requires significant upgrades, including a new fire suppression system and units for heating and cooling in the resident rooms, among other needs for the facility. These costs are expected to exceed $200,000.
Bass also says that the retirement center's expenses have gone up significantly in recent years and that they are dealing with increased prices for food and other essential materials.
When Bass began working at Summit Springs in 2021 there were several vacant rooms at the facility. Now, the occupancy is at 19 out of 22 units and the center is fully staffed.
"I understand that they expect us to be self-sustaining but to self-sustain I have to update the building," and be fully staffed to care for residents, she said.
Bass also worries that she will have to raise rent rates in the future if there is less support from the county.
South Gilliam Health District
Total Operational Budget: $1.455 million
Operations Grant Request: $150,000
The South Gilliam Health District applied for $150,000 in operations funding this year but the Grants Committee recommended funding half of that – or $75,000.
Lisa Helms is the Administrator for the South Gilliam Health District. In her application, Helms said that the South Gilliam Health District has relied on the operations grant as it is operating in the red, with expenses higher than revenue.
Helms says that the multitude of services offered at the clinic have created a "state of the art clinic with staff who serve our community with pride."
Helms states that the district had staffing changes last year that were unexpected, which resulted in some financial setbacks. The health district also helped to launch and coordinate efforts for the Gilliam County Health District.
In the long term, the health district's focus is on "retaining the exceptional staff we currently have as well as providing new and innovative services and programs to improve the health of the community."
The recommendations of the Grants Committee have changed significantly since last year, when they recommended awarding grants at their full requested amount. But ultimately, the decision to award and the amount to award will come from the Gilliam County Court.
With Grant Wilkins pending appointment to County Commissioner this week, the court will have three members for the first time since the April 10 court meeting, and prior to the recall election.
As one of its initial rulings as a three-member county court, the decisions made this week will significantly impact these organizations. It could also impact access to childcare, elder care, and healthcare at the south end of the county.
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