By ROBERT A. DEFRANK Times Leader Staff Writer

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — After five years of helping older residents maintain their independence, Belmont County Senior Services Director Gary Armitage delivered his final report to county commissioners last week.

Armitage summed up the agency’s activities during 2019, describing the work performed by the department that provides meals and transportation and moved into a new location in 2017.

“We have one primary mission at Senior Services, and that is to keep people independent in their community for as long as possible,” Armitage said. “At any given moment we have approximately 2,000 seniors active on our rolls, getting one or more services.”

In order to receive most services, a senior must be a Belmont County resident older than 60 and have a qualifying need, such as difficulty in housekeeping or driving. Services are provided without regard to income, and no consumers are billed for any services provided.

He said center attendance continues to be popular as area seniors find and maintain friendships at the facilities.

“Many seniors lose their spouses as they get older. Friends pass away, children move away, they become more and more socially isolated,” he said. “We encourage attendance at these walk-in centers. … Oftentimes these people bond so well that when somebody misses a day at the center, they get three or four calls from attendees wanting to make sure they’re OK.”

Armitage said total revenues for the agency in 2019 totaled $6,086,069.45, including money generated by three levies and from other sources.

“The levies are vitally important for about 85 percent of what we get in,” he said, thanking the voters of Belmont County. “We could not do the volume and breadth of services we do without those dollars.”

He said the kitchen at the new senior center along National Road west of St. Clairsville prepares close to 1,000 meals daily, most of which are then delivered to seniors in their homes.

“We have 10 nutritional routes providing transportation services to the homes and to all of the participating centers,” he said. “We generally have a pretty good response to the quality of those meals.”

The department maintains two service contracts with area home care agencies to provide light homemaking assistance and personal care. Each senior center also acts as a Home Energy Assistance Program sign-up and information center for seniors in need of emergency heating and energy help.

In addition, he reported the staff drove close to 31,000 trips in 2019, covering almost 300,000 miles.

“That has a lot of impact on our equipment. Our vehicles and nutrition trucks in particular wear quickly, because they are started at about 7:55 a.m. and they run until they’re parked in the afternoon, so they’re never really turned off because we require them to operate for the refrigeration,” he said. “We go through those vehicles in about five to six years, and they’re quite expensive to replace, unfortunately.”

He said a total of eight vehicles were added to the fleet in 2019 — four medical transportation vehicles and four food service trucks. The department also advertised for and awarded bids for the purchase of two handicap access vehicles, two all-wheel drive sedans and four additional food service trucks prior to the end of 2019.

“We will be focusing on rebuilding the senior center transportation fleet in 2020 and 2021,” he predicted.

Armitage said there are 71 full- and part-time staff members. He said the recent closing of two area hospitals has impacted some medical travel times, and the department is monitoring to ensure adequate staffing through 2020.

He mentioned other activities including monthly dinner and music nights at the Centerville Senior Center, day excursions at each senior center, and information and referral services. He said one of the more recent events was a Valentine’s Day dance in Centerville.

Armitage said Senior Services accepts donations of used portable medical equipment and supplies and provides loans to county residents in need.

“I need wheelchairs probably more than anything else. They go almost as soon as we get them,” he said.

He mentioned support from the Dialysis Association of the Ohio Valley.

“We do about 80 percent of the over-60 dialysis transports in the county, and that’s six days a week,” he said.

Commissioners J.P. Dutton, Josh Meyer and Jerry Echemann commended Armitage’s work.

“I want to thank you for a job well done,” Echemann said.

“We appreciate your service and the good job you’ve done,” Meyer said.

Dutton praised Armitage’s attention to detail and thoroughness. He said the commissioners were struck by the lack of complaints from the public despite the large client base and range of services.

“I think that’s a testament to the system you oversee and how that system operates on a daily basis. You put a lot of miles on the road and deliver a lot of meals,” Dutton said, adding that the commissioners are searching for a new director.

Armitage said he looks forward to helping his successor adjust to the job.