Columbia Falls Senior Center gets a facelift

The Columbia Falls Senior Center has seen some major renovations in the past few months and work is expected to continue this week.

The center has a new roof, new access ramps, new floor, new furniture, new furnace and air conditioner, new wheelchair accessible bathrooms, a paint job inside and out, new windows shades, new doors and new covering on the lights, to name a few of the “news.”

This week, the kitchen will get new cupboards, director Roxy Larsen said last week.

All told, the county paid for about $47,000 in upgrades and a state community development block grant paid for about $145,000 of work.

The senior center members, through fundraisers and local donations, paid for other aspects of the project, including the floor and the furniture, to name a few things. Now, seniors have three nice recliners to relax on, as well as a small couch and a nice table. They’ll soon be getting a big screen TV.

Glacier Bank donated funds for a new sign.

The Nucleus Avenue center has been a fixture of downtown for decades. It has about 120 members. It hasn’t seen any big renovations since it caught on fire about 30 years ago, Larsen noted. She’s worked there 19 years now. The center serves lunch Monday through Friday and also administers the Columbia Falls area Meals on Wheels program, which delivers meals to housebound seniors.

“I can always use volunteer drivers,” Larsen said.

It also hosts activities for seniors throughout the week, including weekly card parties, musical jams and exercise classes, to name a few. The local members lease the building back from the county for $1 a year and are responsible for paying for the utilities and routine maintenance on the building.

Once all the work is completed, the center is planning an open house — sometime in early May, Larsen said.

The Columbia Falls upgrade was part of a larger project that also renovated senior facilities in Kalispell and Whitefish.