Logan County Board approves funding for Hope on Fifth in two parts

 

[June 19, 2024] 

The Logan County Board met on Tuesday, May 18th for the June voting session. This month the meeting was quite short with very few topics requiring extensive discussion before the vote.

There were seven board members present for the meeting including vice-chairman Dale Nelson leading the meeting. Additional members in attendance were Michael DeRoss, Hannah Fitzpatrick, Keenan Leesman, Bob Sanders, Gil Turner, and Jim Wessbecher.

Among the voting items on the agenda for the evening was a request for $100,000 for the Hope of Fifth project in Lincoln. On hand to witness the vote were Regional Housing and Supportive Services board members Don Gura, Lori Jackson, Patti Schonauer, Kim Turner, and Dea Welsh.

During public comments at the beginning of the meeting, Nelson invited Kim Turner to offer any new updates or comments on the Hope on Fifth cash request. He said RHSS had provided the financial breakdowns that the board had asked for pertaining to what has been done at the site and what is yet to do and the dollars involved.

Turner offered additional comments, saying that the kitchen has passed the inspection of the Department of Public Health and is now available to be rented out, which will provide a revenue stream for Hope.

She had talked with Carle Health Care and learned that they are moving forward as best they can. One big hurdle there was the broadband internet provider and Carle Administration has approved talking to I3 about services for their offices as that is the provider for the building on the whole.

Turner had met with the local Salvation Army offices and had learned that they would like to move their base of operation from the Keest Center to Hope on Fifth, and have submitted the appropriate requests to the higher ranks in the organization. They are hoping for a positive outcome, and for Hope that would mean another lease and more revenue.

Turner also said that the local Emergency Management Agency had reached out to see if there was a possibility that Hope could be used as a cooling center. Turner said that is a very real possibility.

There was a question from the board about the conversations last week regarding funding from the Carle Foundation. Patti Schonauer said she had looked into that and had found that the foundation supplies funding to Carle entities only, and not to outside sources. She said therefore RHSS cannot seek funding from that foundation, but at some point Carle’s facility in Lincoln could perhaps ask for funding.

The public comments ended at that point.

Later in the evening when the motion came up, it was made to fund Hope on Fifth $100,000. Nelson made an immediate motion to amend, dividing the $100,000 into two purses. The first would be $45,000 to be awarded immediately. The second would be $55,000 to be awarded when the RHSS could provide a signed lease agreement from Carle Health Care. He said this addressed the concerns about investing money in a portion of the project that was not yet solidified and at the same time would give the RHSS some funding to move forward with.

During the discussion time, Gil Turner said he was troubled by not giving the RHSS the full amount, because he was concerned about cash flow. He asked Kim Turner if she had an idea of how soon the lease with Carle might be signed. Kim Turner said she felt that it would happen within the next 60 days. Gil Turner then asked if the RHSS could maintain its cashflow and keep working for 60 days with only the $45,000. Kim Turner said they certainly could.

With no further comments or questions, the vote was taken on the amendment and approved unanimously. Next the vote was taken on the original motion “as amended” and that motion also passed unanimously.

The board meeting was adjourned a few minutes later, and before leaving the building, the RHSS board members spoke to the Logan County board, thanking them for their contribution.

[Nila Smith]