2017 FILE PHOTO — People play games, carve wooden figurines and go through sewing supplies on a typical Thursday afternoon at the Toledo Senior Center.
As the Board of Lewis County Commissioners and the nonprofit Lewis County Seniors board works to come up with a lease agreement for the county-owned senior centers, staff at the county has also been working to draft an agreement that would allow the senior centers to serve alcohol in the buildings for fundraising events through the remainder of the year.
On Monday, Ron Averill, with the seniors board, said the group still has concerns on how to fund the programs once the county stops providing about $375,000 annually for the centers in 2018.
The commissioners announced its intention to defund the centers in late 2016, but extended the funding through 2017 after criticism from residents and patrons of the centers.
“We are still working on that area and trying to bring our costs under control,” he told commissioners. “One of the things that would really help us is we need to have a couple fundraisers between now and the end of the year to help. It would be helpful to get a resolution so we can serve liquor at those functions.”
Averill said the addition of alcohol could bring more people to the events and, in turn, raise more funds for the operation of the programs.
Steve Walton, director of central services for the county, informed Averill that staff members have worked to draft a lease agreement that would allow alcohol for fundraising events.
The county has a similar agreement in place with the fairgrounds.
On Tuesday, in a different meeting, Walton said the resolution was almost ready to go.
To address the issue, the county would form a separate lease agreement with the seniors board that would allow alcohol in the centers for events through the next couple of months.
Walton also informed commissioners that the seniors board had delivered a draft lease agreement for the centers as a whole starting next year. Originally, the county presented the agreement to the board earlier this year. It included a $100,000 contribution to the senior programs that would cover rent, utilities and various other operating expenses. Since that time, the seniors board has made several changes to the lease.
The revised lease from the seniors board will be reviewed by county staff and legal counsel.
The lease to allow alcohol, and the lease to run the programs and rent the facilities in 2018, are separate from one another.
