<< Back 7/3/02 Commissioners balk at leasing senior center By Don Hendershot Representatives from Heritage Hills senior project apparently won’t get initial help from the county. Helen Bryson, director of Jackson County Council on Aging, and Mary Barker, director of the Southwest Commission’s Area Agency on Aging, unveiled plans for Dillsboro Crossing at the Jackson County commissioner’s June 6 regular meeting. The group was seeking financial support from the county in the form of a five-year lease of space in the proposed Heritage Center Building. Dillsboro Crossing will provide rental apartments plus recreational and educational facilities for seniors, along with townhomes and condominiums. Jim Dukes, speaking on behalf of the group, asked commissioners to consider leasing 9,600 square feet of space that could be used for a senior center plus offices for the Council on Aging. Dukes said that while the county would be leasing 9,600 square feet, it would have access to the entire 17,700-square-foot facility for activities and functions. The lease price was $8,600 per month. There was consensus among commissioners regarding the need for enhanced senior care in the county, but there were also concerns about leasing. “I don’t like leases. Is there any way the county could purchase such facilities?” asked commissioner Roberta Crawford. Commissioners decided they wanted more time to consider the proposal and asked the group to return for the next commissioner’s meeting June 20. At that meeting, Bryson told commissioners the Council on Aging was just looking for direction. She said that Heritage Hills, the council and other agencies in the area had been studying the issue for four years. She said the group thought the Dillsboro Crossing plan was a good project but that they would work in whatever direction the commissioners suggested. Commissioners suggested that representatives from the group meet with County Manager Ken Westmoreland to see what options might be available. Westmoreland said the county was concerned about partnering with a for-profit enterprise. “The county must keep its impartiality so it can be an advocate for all the citizens of the county,” Westmoreland said. He said he had met with Bryson once and that there would be meetings in the near future. According to Westmoreland, the county is considering short-term and long-term options. He said the county is aware that seniors in the county are outgrowing present facilities. Bryson said the Council on Aging and Heritage Hills had been working for four years under the assumption that the county was not ready to take on another capital project and that was the reason the lease agreement made sense to them. “Now we’re looking at a number of options from empty buildings to vacant land,” Bryson said. “We liked the idea of partnering to make all the services fit together. There are still options that might include Dillsboro Crossing. We will work with Dominium to see if they could reduce rent. But we will also look throughout the county,” Bryson said. Westmoreland said he hoped to have options for the board to consider before the end of the year. He said if commissioners agreed upon a plan that the county could include funding in next year’s budget.