Public Library Board Says Expansion Needed Due to Growth Requires Library-Owned Space Used by Senior Center

No Response Yet From Community Action, Who Funds Senior Center

Raymond Durbin, Chairman of the Edmonson County Public Library Board, speaks at today's public meeting.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
The Edmonson County Public Library says their rapid growth over the past year is now requiring more space in order to properly administer the Library programs. It's space that they say they already own, but those volunteering at the Edmonson County Senior Center say otherwise. However, the Library says they have the documentation and a plan that explains it all.

The Library Board recently voted not to renew the lease agreement with Community Action of Southern Kentucky, (CASOKY), located in Bowling Green, which provides the funding for the local Senior Center. CASOKY serves a 10-county area that includes Edmonson, Butler, Hart, Logan, Simpson, Warren, Allen, Barren, Metcalfe, and Monroe Counties. The current lease will be complete at the end of this calendar year.

We reached out to local Senior Center director Marlene Webb about the situation but she directed us to her superior, Director of Community Action, Carla Brown. Calls to Ms. Brown were unanswered and a voicemail was not returned. Calls were also made to Kathy Fugate, listed as Senior Center Program Director for Community Action, which also went unanswered and un-returned.

We received a call yesterday from Rhonda Gipson, who said she had been a volunteer at the Edmonson County Senior Center for the last two years who wished to share her comments with us on the matter. She said the Senior Center was notified two months ago that the lease was being renegotiated. She said they later found out the lease was being terminated and they would have to be out by December 31st.

"We realized after we started talking about it, we realized (former) Judge (Executive) N.E. Reed had donated the building and dedicated it to the Senior Center and the Public Library," she said.

She said that Raymond Durbin, Chairman of the Library Board, told them that they needed Senior Center space for storage and even if they paid $1,000 per month, it wouldn't matter.

Rhonda Gipson speaks on behalf of the Edmonson County Senior Center at the EC Public Library meeting.

She spoke at today's public meeting at the library and said much of the same thing she told us on the phone yesterday.

In the documents we obtained, it is clear that the property and entire building were deeded to the Edmonson County Public Library Service Corporation of Brownsville, Kentucky on October 19, 2009 from Edmonson County government. Nowhere in the deed is the Senior Center or other entity listed. The deed was signed by then Judge Executive N.E. Reed and former Library Board Chairman Bob Kleire.

A copy of one page of the EC Public Library deed.

Current Edmonson County Judge Executive Scott Lindsey spoke at today's public meeting and said the Fiscal Court has no authority to act, since the Library owns the property and building, and can choose whether or not to renew the lease agreement made with Community Action of Southern Kentucky.

Lindsey confirmed in today's meeting that the building was dedicated in 2008 and the first lease was signed with Community Action in 2010, which was a three-year, renewable lease, and other than a few minor details, has gone unchanged up until now.

Community Action has only been required to pay 20% of the total utility bill each month for the use of the center. Rhonda Gipson said in today's meeting that the seniors should have never had to pay anything, since the building was dedicated to them when built. According to the Library's numbers, Community Action has paid an average of $225 per month for the use of the building dating back to 2016.

"In 2009, this entire building was signed over to the Edmonson County Public Library Board," Judge Lindsey said. "I wasn't here. I'll be honest with you, until I started doing research, I thought the Senior Center owned the senior part of it, I had no idea. But that's not the case, according to the deed."

Lindsey said he is trying to find the exact trail of the grant funding that went into the original project, which cost around $1.7M to build, but so far, none of the known grant language indicates anything other than funding earmarked for a library and tech center.

"I want what's best for everybody. I'm not pro-one or the other," Lindsey said. He said prior to becoming judge, he worked 14 years in senior care and that seniors are a big part of who he is.

Community Action faced a similar situation with the Head Start Program in Edmonson County in 2017. They had a similar agreement with the county for the use of the Community Center and Gym, also for a percentage of utilities. That equaled around $300/mo.

Then Judge/Executive Wil Cannon said the county needed the space for office use and storage, and the playground area was not a good fit with the courthouse being in close proximity. We also attempted contacting Community Action at that time about the lease agreement but got no response.

According to the property owners of the Main Street Center where Head Start relocated, Community Action of Southern KY now pays $2,225 per month for rent.

Edmonson Co. Judge/Executive Scott Lindsey speaks at today's public library meeting.

In an interview with Mr. Raymond Durbin yesterday, Durbin said neither he nor the library board were against seniors.

"I'm 77 years old. I am a senior and I'm probably older than most of the people that are in the senior programs, but I want them to have a permanent home so that they don't have to be moved around again," he said. "This isn't about getting rid of the seniors. Our library programs are growing so fast that we can't keep up, and that credit goes to our new director, Alicia Edwards and her staff. What they're doing is amazing."

Durbin then provided statistics on the programs facilitated at the library over the past year. In a written report, it showed that school-aged programs had a 400% increase in participation since the previous year, along with a 367% increase in adult programming, and a 100% increase in infant, toddler, and preschool programs.

"There's just some misinformation out there, unfortunately," he said. "We never told anyone we need the space used by the seniors for storage. We need it for children's programs. My heart leans towards children because they are the future, and so many of our programs are for children."

Durbin, a decorated Vietnam veteran, is a volunteer at South Edmonson Elementary. He has been the recipient of many awards and recognitions for his veteran and volunteer service, including Edmonson County Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year in 2021.

"Again, we are not against seniors," he said. "At the time, N.E. Reed thought this was good spot for the seniors, but needs change and now it's time for the seniors to have a home of their own somewhere else. N.E. and I were very good friends. We were classmates and I ate breakfast with him on the morning he passed away. We were close."

He said the library has a 5-year expansion plan and they are currently working with an architect to explore all options.

One point where he wanted to be clear is that county taxpayers pay a specific library tax on each year's property tax bills. He says that money should only be used for library programs.

"Part of our federal and state taxes go to fund things like Community Action. Are they trying to find a home for the seniors? It isn't fair for taxpayers to pay a library tax and part of it go to other programs while they already pay taxes that are going to fund Community Action."

The current library tax rate for Edmonson County is 7.1 cents per every $100 in property value.

No one from Community Action attended today's meeting. Ms. Gipson also told us yesterday on the phone that we probably wouldn't be able to reach anyone from Community Action as several of them were in Seattle for a work trip.

Gipson said a petition has been circulated for those looking to keep the Senior Center at the Library building. At today's meeting, she said over 600 signatures had been obtained for the petition.

The center provides various programs and interaction with the seniors, including meals during the week. They also have a van offered for senior programs and food deliveries, as well as a commodity program for those over age 60. The center is run by mostly local volunteers. Ms. Gipson was very passionate in her remarks to the library board today on behalf of the seniors and received a round of applause at the conclusion of her time.

Questions still remain unanswered as to where Community Action stands on the matter. In their 2023 annual report, they showed a total revenue of nearly $21M, with approximately $15M of that coming from federal and state funding. That of course is for the entire 10-county area.

According to their 2022 tax return (form 990) CASOKY listed receipts of over $18M with over $10M being spent on salaries and benefits.

A portion of the 2023 Community Action of Southern KY annual report.

The largest portion of their received funding, according to their annual report, was at the federal level and appropriated for Head Start and Health and Human Services. No specific financial info was available for Senior Centers, but it showed $663K appropriated for senior citizens. The report did not break down how their funding is spent across the board.

About three dozen attended today's meeting. Durbin told everyone they could stay for the rest of the meeting after the Senior Center discussion ended, but most everyone left.

Durbin confirmed that the board voted to not renew the lease with CASOKY in May of this year after attempts to renegotiate the lease with them went ignored. He said they also voted that Community Action would not have to pay any more rent for the remainder of 2024 for the Senior Center while they search for a new home.

Durbin said that the Library building was a perfect place for the Senior Center when the facility was first built because it was huge in comparison with the original library, now the home of the Heritage Centre on Washington Street, and the new library didn't need all the available space at that time. He said the library's needs have changed drastically since then, which has prompted this action.

"We have no ill will against our seniors and wish them the very best," he said.