×

Senior dining fee comes up, again

NEW ULM — The 2020 lease agreement for senior dining at the Community Center comes before the Park and Recreation Commission, Monday.

Lutheran Social Services (LSS) has leased the Community Center’s kitchen and cafetorium for years to make, serve on-site and deliver off-site meals to seniors. Currently, the lease agreement is $51 per day. The general philosophy of the city is to adjust fees to account for inflation. The recommendation for 2020 is to increase the lease fee to $53.

The lease fee charged to LSS for senior dining has been an annual point of discussion for the Park and Rec Commission and New Ulm City Council.

In 2015, the commission and council agreed to reduce the LSS lease fee from $86 per day to $50 per day.

In 2016, the Park and Rec Commission adopted a 2% increase, bringing the lease to $51 per day. This fee has remained in place for 2017, 2018 and 2019 despite increases in city expenses.

In 2014, a comprehensive analysis determined the city expense is at least $101.30 per day.

The City of New Ulm values this service to area seniors, officials say. The commission and council believe the senior dining program has helped keep seniors living in their homes instead of a nursing home, which could save the city more than the fee increase.

Another point of discussion is the number of meals delivered outside New Ulm. LSS uses the Community Center to prepare Meals on Wheels dinners. Approximately 36% to 59% of LSS meals prepared at the Community Center go to seniors residing outside New Ulm’s city limits and in other cities. Last year, the city placed a maximum cap of 75% for off-site delivery.

As of September, LSS Senior Dining has prepared over 44,400 meals. Of those meals, nearly 23,000 were served to New Ulm seniors.

The commission will decide whether to recommend increasing the fee to 53% per day or set a different fee.

New Ulm Baseball Association (NUBA) has requested the 2020 State Tournament’s field rent user fee and concession stand user fees for Johnson Park be credited to their repayment of the observation deck.

NUBA has pledged to repay the city for the $147,500 observation deck at Johnson Park. In a letter to the Park and Rec Commission, NUBA president Bob Skilling said the 2020 Men’s State Amateur Class B and C Baseball Tournaments are a rarity, and NUBA is requesting the fees be applied to retiring the pledge for the deck. NUBA estimates $13,000 will be generated from the tournaments.

The commission will receive an update on Reinvest in New Ulm (RENU) projects. The update will include financial reports on Johnson Park, preliminary costs on the Hermann parking lot and review of the Recreation Center designs.

The Park and Recreation Commission meeting is 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, in City Hall Council Chambers.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper?
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today