The Flathead County commissioners are expected to make a decision this morning about how they will proceed with plans for a new Agency on Aging building.

It’s not clear, though, what that decision will be.

The commissioners will take public comments during a 15-minute time slot from 9:15 to 9:30 a.m. today, then at 10:15 a.m. will discuss the Agency on Aging site selection and the Community Development Block Grant application aimed at getting $450,000 for the project.

After a preliminary architectural report last week recommended a 2-acre site north of the fairgrounds as the preferred location for a new Agency on Aging facility based on a set of scoring criteria, there was no consensus from the commissioners about choosing that site.

Commissioner Gary Krueger said he prefers county property south of the courthouse for a new facility, even though the architectural report said any future expansion at that site would be limited by the ability to purchase and demolish adjacent buildings for more building space and parking.

Commissioner Cal Scott supports the report’s preferred site north of the fairgrounds and maintains the county’s seniors have waited long enough for a new facility.

Commissioner Pam Holmquist was out of town during last week’s initial discussion about the preliminary architectural report. She said Tuesday she was surprised the site options were close to one another in both price and scoring criteria.

“I think both sites would work,” 

she said. “They scored very close.”

Holmquist said she will make a proposal at today’s meeting, but did not say what that proposal will be.

“We’ll finally know some sort of direction,” she said, though she added she’s not sure whether the commissioners will take a formal vote. “There will be something decided finally.”

The architectural assessment, for which the county paid about $4,000, is a requirement for the block grant application.

The report estimated an 11,000-square-foot building would cost $2.28 million for the lots south of the courthouse and $2.37 million for the site north of the fairgrounds.

The south courthouse location scored 276 points for criteria such as adequate parking, accessibility and proximity to clientele. The north fairgrounds site scored 321 points.

The existing Agency on Agency facility in a leased barn on Kelly Road, which has been deemed too small for a growing program of senior services, received just 84 points in the assessment. 

The county has leased the building for a decade as a temporary home for aging services such as the congregate meal program. The county currently pays $52,000 a year to rent the building from Alpine Business Center.

The commissioners have struggled with how to move forward with the building project. In February Krueger said he wanted to slow down the process but not kill the project. But Holmquist and Scott then reaffirmed their vote to move forward with the block grant application.

Holmquist said at that time she believed that even though all the details for a new facility haven’t been decided, “I think we have enough information to go forward.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.