County supervisors pledge $5K more to Adair Community Center project

The Adair County supervisors pledged an additional $5,000 toward the new Adair Community Center project at their Wednesday, Nov. 24 meeting. The finished building is projected to cost about $750,000.

Adair Public Works Director Ryan Billheimer came to the supervisors asking for the additional money as that will help the city reach a finish line of another $66,000 they need to qualify for additional grant money, as that is oftentimes dependent on community support.

“We applied for the Community Attraction and Tourism Grant, and for those of you that are familiar with it, it weighs heavily on community support,” he said.

Some of the supervisors pointed out that the communities of Stuart and Orient have been able to benefit from tax incremental financing dollars off of wind turbines in their areas. While Adair has had that opportunity also, they have chosen to not tap into it. That weighed heavy in the board’s decision to unanimously approve the additional $5,000.

In a follow up interview after the meeting, Billheimer told the Free Press that the cement pad and footings have already been laid for the community center, which he hopes will be completed by late 2022.

Adair once had a community center, but when the city council at the time was presented with a proposal to bring Dollar General to town on that property, the benefits to the town of that store far outweighed the aging, inefficient community center and “filled a void,” even for grocery sales in the town, Billheimer explained.

Adair has also received a $25,000 grant from MidAmerican Energy and another grant from USDA for this project.

In other county news, the board:

• Approved the fiscal year 2021 GAAP annual financial report be posted on the county website, approved the internal advance resolution and the TIF indebtedness certification.

• Approved the resignation of Karen Varley from the tourism council and appointed Greg Dudley.

• Approved a courtyard use permit for Greenfield Chamber/Main Street and Development for Nov. 26 Christmas festivities.