EAGLE, Idaho — The City of Eagle is making changes to the operations of the Eagle Senior and Community Center after concerns over safety and financial stability.
The decision came on Tuesday when the city gave notice that it would end its contract with Eagle Senior Center, Inc., the non-profit organization that currently runs the center.
“The only way we really saw that looking forward was to bring the Senior Center under the umbrella of the city," said Mayor Jason Pierce.
Among other instances, the city says it was named in a tort claim in a wrongful death situation. Pierce says the death was a result of injuries sustained when a passenger fell in a Valley Regional Transit van that was being driven by a Eagle Senior Center, Inc. employee.
The death, and other financial concerns, led the city to terminate its contract with the non-profit.
The city says the center, itself, is staying put. They aim to continue bringing programming to seniors in the area, and even hope to get input and feedback from the public.
“We’ll be reaching out to the seniors to find out what are the best activities, stuff that they like now and what they want to see in the future. And try to get some more folks to enjoy the senior center," Pierce said.
Pierce says it is important to continue to offer the programs to seniors, as Eagle has experienced growth in its senior population.
“In 2006 we had 1,700 seniors in the City of Eagle, we now have over 7,000," said Pierce. "They’re a very important part of our community and we’ve got to make sure that there’s good programming, there’s safe programming and that it’s economically viable for the future.”
