The Connections Area Agency for Aging will stay in the Creston Senior Center for the next year following approval of a new lease by a 6-1 vote at Creston City Council Tuesday night.
Connections will continue to provide meals and and services to senior citizens out of the 116 W. Adams St. location.
The mealsite will provide meals between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. along with educational and recreational activities. That is cut from the hours of operation in the first proposed lease of 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Ward 2 representative Rich Madison voted against renewing the lease.
“I’m not here to kick the mealsite to the curb,” said Madison. “But, at the same time, a meeting room is something that our community has been begging for for a long time.”
The new lease will allow anyone to use the space as long as a request is submitted 48 hours in advance. It also continues the previous agreement that other groups and organizations can share the space during hours of operation at the Senior Center.
Ward 3 representative Gabe Carroll and Ward 4 representative Marsha Wilson agreed the space should be advertised as available more frequently.
“I think we should offer it up more as a community meeting space for people,” said Carroll. “Because it is there and it is available.”
“I think it needs to be publicized that we have it there,” said Wilson. “If it’s publicized, maybe we will get more uses out of it.”
The city of Creston will continue to cover the cost of operational expenses such as electric, gas, garbage, water and sewer charges.
The lease officially started Saturday and will run until June 30, 2018.
New handicap parking spot
A new handicap spot was unanimously approved by the council to be placed in the area of 311 W. Adams St.
The handicap spot will be located in front of Strand Theater.
“We would take the first space west of the no parking area for the theater,” said Kevin Kruse, public works director.
Construction of the parking spot will require paint and signage.
“All we would have to do is make a handicap spot and paint it blue,” said Mayor Gary Lybarger.
The request was initially brought to the council by Tammy Day June 6.
Cooking competition
Cub Scouts Pack 129’s request to close the west Depot parking lot Aug. 26 for a cooking competition was unanimously passed by the council.
The entire event will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and will be a fundraising event for the Scouts.
The entry fee into the competition is $30 which will pay for the costs of the event. Scouts and parents will be judging the event.
Fundraising will come from pulled pork sandwiches being sold for $5 during the event.
The fundraising will help allow kids to become scouts who couldn’t afford to do so. The money raised will also provide some scouts an opportunity to go to camps who couldn’t have gone otherwise.
A band will be providing music from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. that night and will be free of charge to watch.