Flathead County is moving forward with a $368,000 grant application aimed at making building improvements to senior centers throughout the county.

Many of the improvements are needed to bring the senior centers in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by replacing ramps, adding handrails and altering restrooms to make them handicap-accessible.

There are bigger projects on the list, too, such as a new roof for the Columbia Falls Senior Center, new plumbing and a heating/cooling system at the Bigfork Senior Center and an elevator for the Adams Building that will provide office space for the Kalispell Senior Center.

The county is applying for a Community Development Block Grant and is required to provide a 25 percent match of $92,000, bringing the draft budget to $460,000, according to county grant writer Whitney Aschenwald. The match would come from the county’s capital improvement program budget.

In Montana, block grants are administered by the state Department of Commerce.

While the grants are competitive, Aschenwald said she believes Flathead County’s prospect for winning the grant is very good because of the prior planning and review that has been conducted for the valley’s senior centers.

Last year the city of Kalispell received a $30,000 block grant for an architectural report that reviewed senior centers in Kalispell, Bigfork, Columbia Falls and Whitefish. That grant application cited accessibility and health-and-safety challenges at some of the centers.

CTA Architects Engineers also helped the county conduct an evaluation that scored county buildings for accessibility and functionality. The county’s senior centers were part of that review.

During a public hearing on Tuesday that is part of the grant application process, several leaders in the senior community spoke in favor of the building improvements.

Roxy Larsen, site manager of the Columbia Falls Senior Center, said Columbia Falls seniors have worked hard to raise money to maintain the center on Nucleus Avenue but will need financial assistance with big projects such as the roof.

“It’s very important we keep the building safe for the next group of seniors that will be using it,” Larsen said.

Lisa Sheppard, director of the county Agency on Aging, said the grant would provide funding for crucial building improvements and allow the senior organizations to use their fundraising for program development.

If Flathead County were to receive partial funding for the improvements through the grant program, Commissioner Phil Mitchell said a committee would have to be formed to prioritize how the money would be spent.

Two years ago the commissioners scrapped a Community Development Block Grant application that would have given the county $450,000 toward a new Agency on Aging facility. They felt it was premature at that time to apply for the grant and eventually decided to tap the county’s capital improvement fund to pay for the South Campus Building that will house the Agency on Aging and Kalispell Senior Center.

“I feel we’re very prepared now,” Commissioner Pam Holmquist said about the current block grant application. “I think this is a good project.”

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