After the McCracken County Fiscal Court cited a $1 million budget shortfall and proposed cutting funding for the center at their budget workshop on Tuesday, Mayor Brandi Harless expressed her support on Facebook, saying the center is a very important organization to the city.
"They provide meals, programs, travel opportunities, and more to the seniors in our community. They are a generous organization that does a lot not only for Paducah/McCracken County but also for the region as they have stepped up to support other counties in the Purchase area," Harless said.
On Wednesday, City Manager Jim Arndt sent a letter to Christine Thompson, the center's executive director. Arndt had heard that Thompson feared that their use of a city-owned building on H.C. Mathis Drive might be in jeopardy, and assured her this was not true.
Arndt also referred to a conversation with Thompson where they had discussed the possibility of putting the Senior Citizen Center in the proposed Aquatic and Wellness Center, but they mutually agreed that it would not meet all of the center's needs, especially related to preparing and providing meals. He said leaders assured Thompson at that time that senior citizens would have access to the facility even if they didn't move there.
You can see Arndt's letter at the link below. Here is the Facebook statement from Harless:
"The City of Paducah remains supportive of the Senior Center by housing their organization in the Parks and Recreation building and either covering or sharing the cost of that facility as we always have. The McCracken County commissioners, separate from the City of Paducah, has proposed to stop their funding to the Senior Center this year due to a budget shortfall.
The Senior Center is a very important organization to the City. They provide meals, programs, travel opportunities, and more to the seniors in our community. They are a generous organization that does a lot not only for Paducah/McCracken County but also for the region as they have stepped up to support other counties in the Purchase area.
During the pandemic, the city has also worked closely with the Senior Center to help them continue serving our community.
A conversation occurred in January with the Senior Center about utilizing the new wellness center as their new home. All agreed that wouldn’t work out so it was decided that things would stay the same, and we would work to partner so that Senior Center members have access to the wellness center in addition to the HC Mathis building.
We continue to look for ways to partner with the Senior Center so they can continue their mission of serving our community."
On the Net:
Jim Arndt letter to ThompsonPrevious Story
