Senior kitchen passes inspection: Card says it’s a done deal

“We have passed with flying colors.”

That was the word from Public Works Commissioner Jay Card Jr. who reported Wednesday afternoon that he just completed an inspection of the Senior Activity Center kitchen with a Suffolk County  Department of Health Services official.

After spending $110,250 over a period of almost four years, the Silver Circle lunches that were previously prepared in the kitchen can be resumed, relieving the crew at the Presbyterian Church from having to prepare the lunches for delivery to the approximately 20 members of the group and their aides.

As reported on May 9, the original violations cited back in 2009 grew and prices escalated resulting in what looked like an already expensive project at $56,000 to escalate dramatically. And each time Mr. Card and his predecessor, Mark Ketcham, thought he had complied with requirements, Health Department officials would toss another set of requirements their way.

Thanks to about $72,000 in state grant money, $8,000 from the Shelter Island Senior Foundation and $7,500 from the Lions Club, not all the money had to come out of local coffers. And there’s still about $14,600 left in grant money that can be applied to another project, Mr. Card said.

Because some parts of the project were able to be tackled by the Public Works Department, some money was able to be saved, Mr. Card said.

When he took the Reporter on a tour earlier this month of the changes that have taken place, he said then he expected the inspection would go smoothly this time. That May 9 Reporter story outlines all of the work that has taken place at the Senior Activity Center since the project began.