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Dunn, Wells clash on funding senior center

By J. FRANK LYNCH
jflynch@theCitizenNews.com

Fayette County Commission funding of a new senior center building is either a great idea long overdue or the beginning of a Democrat-like “slippery slope” toward more public funding of otherwise private services.

That clash of philosophies erupted last week as the commission voted 4-to-1, over Commissioner Linda Wells’ strenuous objections, to take on the project, whose cost is still unknown.

So, after years spent trying to raise private money for a new building, and still little to show for it, the non-profit agency known as Fayette Senior Services may finally have found its benefactor.

Thursday night, the commission voted to take over the planning, construction and financing of a new Senior Services Center, even though nobody knows how much it will cost.

Senior Services has been dreaming of a 21,000-square foot facility for several years, with an estimated price tag of about $3 million. The agency has raised only about a quarter of that, according to reports.

A site within the county government campus, across the parking lot from the Justice Center, had already been set aside. That’s not far from the 100-year-old house on Lee Street where Senior Services has been located since its founding.

Though the legalities must still be worked out, officials hope that funds raised privately by Senior Services can be transferred to the county and go toward the project.

The senior center’s director, Andy Carden, could not be reached for comment.

The county will likely fund the balance of the construction cost within next year’s capital improvement budget, said Commission Chairman Greg Dunn. Once finished, the county will own the building out-right and lease it back to the non-profit.

A suggestion that the county do Fayette Senior Services a favor by taking on the project first came up for discussion at the county retreat in November.

At the time, four of the five commissioners expressed support even though details were vague.

But the project can move forward now that county staff has some direction, said Dunn. The loyal seniors active in the program deserve to know that, he said.

“I just think we ought to tell the world what we’re going to do,” he said.

But Linda Wells, who cast the lone vote not to proceed, said a dangerous precedent was being set in regards to non-profits.

“I think this is a slippery slope,” she said. “This is going to be recorded in Fayette County history as the start of a really bad precedent.”

Addressing the other board members, an angry Wells continued, “Are we Republicans or are we Democrats? Are we going to try to be all things to all people? If we commit to this, we’re going to have to commit to everything that people request of us and we’re going to have to raise taxes.”

Wells said she had prepared detailed notes about the issue but didn’t bring them to the meeting because it wasn’t supposed to be discussed.

She lashed out at Commissioner A.G. VanLandingham, who brought the matter up for consideration during the staff topics portion of the agenda, at the very end.

“You told me last week that you were going to wait until after the first of the year to address this,” Wells charged, to which VanLandingham replied that he couldn’t remember the conversation.

Wells said she was also concerned with the size and some luxuries proposed in earlier versions of the building. She also urged county staff to take a close look at just how many residents the center actually serves, suggesting that the return on investment isn’t that great.

On an average day, just 60 Fayette County residents take advantage of any of the non-profit’s programs, said Carol Chandler, executive assistant to the commission.

Dunn dismissed Wells’ concerns by stressing that the county won’t be giving anything to Senior Services, and in fact will own the building.

“I’m no flaming liberal, or at least never have been accused of being one before tonight, but I think we ought to do this,” Dunn said.

Wells offered that she would be more comfortable entering into an agreement if Fayette Senior Services was operated by the county. Fayette is the only metro Atlanta county that allows a non-profit group to provide programs for its aging population, Dunn said.

But even though owning the agency’s building seems like a sweet deal, Dunn said he would rather not have to take on the senior services as a county department anytime soon.

That would mean hiring on at a minimum 12 additional employees, which would translate into about $600,000 annually to the county budget, Dunn said.

“The county already has enough employees,” said Dunn.