The Oconto County Health and Human Services Board has approved a contract with Marinette Elderly Services to run home-delivered and on-site meal services for Oconto County in 2025.
The contract, which goes to the Marinette nonprofit’s board, amounts to $228,335. Scott Shackelford, director of Health and Human Services, noted that it breaks down to $133,769 for “congregate services,” meals served at various sites around the county; $79,566 for home-delivered meals; and a $15,000 match by Oconto County.
“Actually, as I’m getting into this more, (the numbers) actually should be inverted or flip-flopped, because home deliveries cost more — you’ve got to drive the meals to places and there’s mileage,” Shackelford said during the board’s Dec. 4 meeting. “There is an allowable transfer of that money, so that’s the whole allowable amount for the package.”
Oconto County is in the process of separating from the nonprofit Oconto County Commission on Aging, which contracted with the county for many years to provide elderly benefit services, meals for seniors and transportation services for the elderly. Financial problems that have plagued the commission on and off since 2019 led the county board to seek other avenues starting with the 2025 budget.
Karl Ballestrad, a former Oconto County Board member who also serves on the Commission on Aging board, said the new arrangement appears to be reducing services to senior citizens who depend on the meal services.
Ballestrad said he understood the presentation by the Marinette Elderly Services director in November: “Often in Marinette County, three meals a week would be delivered; in the city of Marinette, one meal a week at the restaurant. When Oconto did it, it was five meals a week. Is that what’s going to happen to the meals for the elderly?”
Shackelford said the county is working with existing sites in Mountain, Oconto Falls and other communities to explore maintaining existing services.
“I think there’s some ways for efficiency,” he said. “I think without running up a lot of mileage, we want to be efficient with that.”
The southern area of Oconto County would probably see deliveries on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with the possibility of additional frozen meals as an option to reduce mileage. The congregate sites’ schedule would be maintained as much as possible.
“We’re trying to preserve what is going on the most that we can under the circumstances,” Shackelford said. “It’s a tough situation, and I’ll acknowledge that, but our desire is to continue those services as much as we can, and (Marinette Elderly Services) has a good track record of delivering meals —”
“Five days a week,” Ballestrad broke in.
“Just to be frank about that, that can be why things are generating a loss,” Schackelford said.
Ballestrad was the only Human Services Board member to vote against the contract with Marinette Elderly Services.
“I think the senior citizens are getting ripped off,” he said.
wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com
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