The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Reporter's note: On my very first visit to Chinook, about 15 years ago, the Grande Villa drew my interest. Locals told me at the time that the building provided 'housing for senior citizens.' I was impressed that the town had such a nice looking housing facility for seniors and located in such a convenient location.

In June of this year my wife and I moved into the Grande Villa, coinciding with her decision to retire as a minister and our joint decision to remain in Chinook. As tenants we began to learn about the Villa, its residents and its traditions. I thought readers might enjoy a brief 'peek inside the Grande Villa.'

A brief history of the Grande Villa

Dave Sprinkle and D.J. Sias planned to build a housing project for retired persons in Chinook since the 1960's. Sprinkle owned and operated a gas station at the corner of Pennsylvania and Third Street (now the Bear Paw Credit Union) and Sias was a long time attorney and Blaine County politician. After years of planning and attempts to secure funding for the $1.1 million project, construction began on the vacant lot south of Sprinkle's station with completion anticipated in 1979.

Fred Mielke, president of the Blaine Bank of Montana at the time, was credited with helping obtain U.S. Housing and Urban Development funding for the development. Changes in national public housing policies and the creation of the Section 8 program in the mid-1970's made the Grande Villa a more attractive investment for HUD. Section 8 subsidizes private landlords for providing low rent housing.

The funding was a combination of private money from Sprinkle (D.J. Sias had died prior to the start of construction) and a mortgage backed by HUD. The mortgage is still in place with an annual payment based each year as a percent of "current cash on hand." Sprinkle died in 2006 and his daughter, JoLynn Sprinkle Anderson, now owns the property.

The three and a half story building, with 41 apartments, was occupied in late 1979, when Fanny McKay became the first resident. Shortly Dave Sprinkle purchased and removed the old American Legion Building (at the south end of the property) sometime in the late 1980's. He placed several giant quarried rock formations along the edges of the property. At his own expense he had the original Charlie Russell statue, by local artist Evelyn Cole, bronzed and set into a fountain to complete the landscaping for the Villa's grounds.

In its nearly forty-year history, the Villa has undergone other major changes including new windows, new sidewalks, carpet replacement throughout and most recently, a new roof. An extension to the parking area on the west side of the building was added several years ago (over the years more residents own vehicles). An old trailer park and rental unit, also west of the Villa, were removed and those areas planted to grass.

To live in the Grande Villa residents must be at least 62 years old or have a qualifying disability. Of the 41 units available, 25 have one bedroom and 16 are two-bedroom. Twenty-five of the units are subsidized, meaning that qualifying residents of those units pay a monthly rent that is 30% of their adjusted gross income. Remaining units are rented at 'market value'--$500 per month for a one bedroom and $580 for a two bedroom. The monthly rent includes all utilities and $10 a month for a cable TV package. Residents provide their own house phone and wi-fi service. Other costs are seasonal (hookup for block heaters for vehicles, for example) or an additional fee if a resident has a freezer in their apartment.

The staff for the Villa includes a part-time manager and substitute office assistant and a housekeeper who takes care of the common areas and cleans apartments when turnover occurs. Two additional employees take care of the lawn, grounds and snow removal.

Life at the Grande Villa

Manager Barb Jergeson just celebrated 20 years working at the Villa. She said since the Villa opened in 1979 there have been only five directors, she having the longest tenure. Mary Carter, who is the housekeeper, has been with the facility for 25 years. Carter said, "I wish I had written down some of the stories the first residents told. They were old-timers who had seen lots of changes and had lots of adventures."

Asked about turnover of residents, Jergeson said, "The average since I've been here is about 10 turnovers per year. There is more turnover in the warm months, less in the winter and sometimes several apartments become vacant at one time, then there will be a long stretch with no turnovers." Turnover is about equally a result of residents dying, going to a nursing home or moving near an adult child. Generally, before an apartment is leased it's cleaned and repainted.

Jergeson said one change during her tenure is, "Our recent new residents tend to be older than what I saw a few years ago. Now it's not unusual for a new resident to be in their 80's or even 90's. I guess that's an indication that people are living longer independently in their own places." Jergeson didn't have an average length of stay for residents, but said, "Two current residents have been here 13 and 14 years respectively. Pearl Hamilton had the longest tenure with 23 years at the Villa." There is currently one resident over 100 years of age.

Other changes, per Jergeson, include an increased amount of paperwork. She explained, "Over the years I've seen more and more forms created, often by government agencies, that have to be signed by new residents. Completing all the paperwork on a new resident is daunting, but part of my job."

A tenant's view From my view as a resident, there seem to be two groups of people living at the Villa. One group that is seldom seen away from or outside their apartments and another group that gathers for daily coffee, birthday parties, random luncheons or dinners and other group activities. During summer there's a group that enjoys sitting in the front

yard visiting with each other and greeting passers-by. In the winter there's a knitting group and others who put together jigsaw puzzles during bad weather.

Downstairs in the Villa is a large 'activity room' with tables, booths, a gigantic fireplace and a seating area with a TV. The activity room is the focal point of a lot of the activities that residents put on themselves or outsiders bring to the Villa. The activity room is the gathering place for coffee once a day.

Steve Edwards

A bench is located on each floor, by the elevator, at the Grande Villa. The benches are distribution points for surplus items that residents put out, free for the taking. Items range from clothing, books and coffee mugs to furniture and small household appliances. Generally, items don't last long once they hit the benches.

One interesting phenomena is what I call "The mall of America." On each floor, near the elevator, there is a bench. Each bench is an unofficial distribution point for unwanted items. Right away my wife and I learned, "If you don't want something, put it on the bench. Someone will find a use for it." Things don't seem to languish long once they're on the benches.

Jergeson said she really enjoys her work, especially getting to know the residents and interact with them. She noted, "We don't have a lot of wild parties I have to deal with. Most of these folks just want peace and quiet. I don't have a lot of hassles from the residents." She added, "A common response I hear from new residents after a few weeks is, 'I should have moved here sooner.'"

As a resident I do like the location and the set up. Like nearly everyone who moves here, my wife and I went through some fairly serious downsizing, which was not a bad thing. Each apartment has a storage room which is quite helpful. But looking in the storage room is a constant reminder, "You can't acquire a bunch of stuff because you have no place to put it."