SARANAC LAKE — The Franklin County Office for the Aging has taken over management of meal programs at the eight adult centers throughout the county, including Saranac Lake’s and Tupper Lake’s, from the Franklin County Association of Senior Citizens.

Earlier this week, county legislators voted unanimously to “restructure” the Office for the Aging’s senior citizen services, including the nutrition program, according to a county press release. The nutrition program provides meals to seniors at the adult centers and through a home-delivered meal program.

“The administration of the nutrition program will be managed directly through the Office for the Aging by a highly skilled team, including a registered dietitian,” the release states. “The dedicated team will work directly with each independently owned and operated adult center to offer a vibrant gathering place for senior citizens, enjoy a meal at the center or coordinate a meal delivered directly to a person’s home by a team of dedicated volunteer drivers.”

Previously, the Office for the Aging contracted with the nonprofit Association of Senior Citizens to provide nutrition services. The association, in turn, then subcontracted with each of the eight independently owned centers.

Office for the Aging Director Rebecca Preve told the Enterprise that the state comptroller’s office recommended that, due to the size of the program, requests for proposals be issued to run it.

“A request for proposals was issued, and the response that was received by the Association of Senior Citizens was not accepted by the Board of Legislators,” Preve said Thursday. “To move forward, to make sure there’s no interruption of services, it just made sense for the Office for the Aging to do a direct contract with each site.”

The Association of Senior Citizens is currently without a director. A message left Thursday for its board president, Patricia Manchester, hadn’t been returned as of press time.

County Legislative Chairwoman Barbara Rice of Saranac Lake said the Association’s proposal was the only one the county received. She said it was rejected because it would have reduced services by potentially consolidating or closing some adult centers. The association’s proposal would also have led the centers to pay for a portion of their programs, which they haven’t had to do before, Rice said.

She also said the change will improve accountability, noting the county was recently cited by the comptroller’s office for not following proper procurement procedures.

“The association has been around for a long time,” Rice said, “and they have played an important role in terms of delivering the service to our seniors, and we appreciate that, but times have changed, standards and accountability have changed, and right now the best way we can deliver this service to as many seniors as possible is for us to take the administration of this program under the Office for the Aging.”

Preve said the office will work with the Association on a transition plan. Each of the adult center sites have a coordinator, cook staff, assistant cook staff and support staff, and all of those employees will be retained, Preve said.

“Each center will be a subcontractor of the Office for the Aging, and then the employees within the center will actually be employees of the center,” she said. “In Saranac Lake, the adult center coordinator will become an employee of the Saranac Lake Adult Center. It gives some more autonomy back to the center sites themselves.”

Preve said this plan could allow for more growth in providing senior services like meal programs. She said a strategic marketing plan will be developed to try and reach more seniors in the county.

“There’s a combination of factors as far as that is concerned,” Preve said. “One is people don’t always know how to ask for help. Number two, there’s a lot of fear that can be associated with reaching out for any assistance. We’re such a rural county, we need to have more of a footprint with the seniors across all programs.”

The county’s population of seniors is expected to swell by 2040, from 9,700 to more than 14,000, Preve noted, citing U.S. Census data and projections.

Financially, Preve said the change will be done within her existing budget. She wasn’t immediately able to say how much the nutrition program and associated services cost the county.