Council to consider county grant, building purchase
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
The City Council is tentatively scheduled to take a major step in determining the future of Burlington’s Senior Center July 18 when it considers formally accepting a $200,000 grant from Racine County to purchase the Knights of Columbus building at 587 E. State St.
The County Board unanimously approved the grant June 12 at the request of County Executive Jonathan Delagrave.
A move is needed because the county is planning to demolish the Western Racine County Service Center at 209 W. Main St. – which currently houses the senior center – late this year or in early in 2018, according to M.T. Boyle, Delagrave’s chief of staff.
That building has major maintenance issues, estimated to cost $15,000 to $35,000 annually, including a roof containing asbestos, Boyle said.
While many of the other services offered at that building have been outsourced through a cooperative agreement with the City of Burlington, the biggest hurdle to a cost-saving demolition remains a suitable facility for the local seniors.
Boyle said Delagrave championed the senior center to the County Board despite the fact that it is the only community in which the county is involved in senior programming.
“We’re happy to do it,” Boyle said. “We are committed to the western side of the county.”
County’s role would end
However, while the grant will provide the funds needed to move the senior center, it will also effectively end the county’s “role as a landlord and benefactor” for the local seniors center, according to the memo Delagrave prepared for the County Board.
“For the county to do this – that’s wonderful,” Burlington Mayor Jeannie Hefty said. “We appreciate the unanimous vote from the county.”
The resolution puts the ball squarely in the city’s court. The major condition on the grant from the county is that all $200,000 be used to purchase or renovate the KC building.
The city currently has an accepted offer at $180,000 on the building, meaning there will be at least $20,000 remaining for needed repairs and alterations, according to City Administrator Carina Walters.
“It’s in good condition,” Walters said. “I don’t think there’s anything that’s a red flag.”
Beyond the purchase price, the biggest expense appears to be the need to create an accessible bathroom facility in the building, according to Hefty. Everything else in the building is on one floor and accessible for people with disabilities.
Walters said the parking lot also needs attention, but most other issues appear to be cosmetic.
Building has kitchen
The building includes a commercial-grade kitchen that would accommodate the center’s continued participation in the county’s Meals on Wheels program, which delivers hot meals to homebound seniors on a regular basis, Hefty said.
“The seniors are excited,” Hefty said. “They wanted a place of their own.”
Hefty said the goal is to turn ownership and maintenance of the building over to the seniors. The seniors will likely launch their own fundraising campaign to provide for furnishings and other fixtures in the building, according to Hefty.
Both Hefty and Walters said the city will seek continued input from the senior citizens group as it moves closer to making the move a reality. Hefty said the seniors were scheduled to tour the building Wednesday.
Walters said the City Council will likely consider a memorandum of understanding with the county at the July 18 meeting. If the council agrees to accept the agreement, the city will then move to close on the purchase of the building.
Walters said she couldn’t speculate on a timetable for the seniors to move into the building because it was still early in the process and the full extent of the building’s needs has not been determined.
Immediate need met
In the past few years, the city has entertained discussions of possible shared facilities with both the county and the Burlington Area School District. Among the possible needs for Burlington are a new City Hall and public library. However, in recent months both the county and the school district have cooled to the idea of a shared facility.
With the county’s decision to demolish the Western Racine County Service Center, the most pressing need became finding a facility to house the senior center.
By purchasing the KC building, the city would effectively mitigate the need to find a transitional facility for the seniors – something that appeals to the city, county and seniors, according to Hefty.
-
-
-
-
-