SULLIVAN COUNTY –– County legislators have taken action to transition the Meals on Wheels program from the Care Center at Sunset Lake to the Sullivan County Jail.

The resolution, which was passed recently by legislators, said that the Sullivan County Jail has the facility for preparation of these meals, however, they will need more kitchen staff to accommodate the increase in daily meal preparation.

It further stated that Sullivan County Sheriff [Mike Schiff] in consultation with the Jail Administrator [Hal Smith], “forecast the need for two additional cook and two additional food services helper positions to accommodate the increase in work by transitioning the Meals on Wheels program to the jail.”
With the change, trustees (inmates) will be reassigned and no longer work in the kitchen for the program, where they did mostly cleaning.

That will allow the correction officer who supervised them to be deployed to another post in the jail, saving the County upwards of $150,000 annually.

While these four new positions were created at the jail, four positions relating to Meals on Wheels were eliminated at the Care Center at Sunset Lake.

During the recent Sullivan County Legislature Executive Committee meeting, Chairman Rob Doherty called the program’s move to the jail, “an absolute win-win for everyone involved.”

It will take some time for Meals on Wheels’ move to occur, and for the new positions to be filled.
According to Assistant County Manager Michelle Huck, October 1 is the date the county is aiming for, but it might take a little longer.

Once the consulting agreement between the county and Infinite Care, regarding the Care Center at Sunset Lake is signed, Infinite Care will run Meals on Wheels until the program’s move to the jail is complete.