09/21/2026
October 1, 2026 Beaver Island COA Changes in Brief
The COA budget has been approved for 2026-2027 as presented to the board on 9/9/26.
We have eliminated the BI site coordinator though attrition this year as Dawn has decided to retire on 9/28/26 and the mainland COA office will be handling your services. We are actually doing that now for some BI seniors and it is working. There will be NO decrease in services it will just be done differently. Nothing is convenient for every one, but we think this will help with all the issues we heard about over the last year. You as an islander will just need to plan a little in advance just like you do for other services such as banking on BI. In fact we will be adding more supportive services and will be working with community members for more activities you want.
We will have a COA day once a month where Tara and Sheri/Sally/or myself will go to the island on the 3rd Friday of the month. This day we will sell vouchers, discuss programs, have our Special Senior Meal, have fun activities and recruit volunteers.
Office related services will be handled by the COA office on the mainland.
Vouchers will be able to be ordered via email, phone or mail. They will also be able to make payments this way with our new credit card system that should be up and running by 10/1/26. We have mailed packets sent out on 9/21/26 outlining the changes to all the seniors on BI who have utilized our services this past year and these packets will also include all needed forms for our other programs so that you have them on hand immediately whether you use them or not.
We are also looking at a new way to do vouchers on BI electronically via a scanned card. This process is still in the research phase to see if it is cost effective.
We have heard you! We understand that you feel our office there was not convenient with our hours. You can now contact the COA for services Monday - Friday from 8a-4p just like the mainland.
