The Boys & Girls Club of Marshall County’s efforts to replace much of its Plymouth facility with a new, larger one received a major boost Monday. The Plymouth Common Council narrowly voted to contribute $500,000 to the club’s $1.9 million capital campaign.
Representatives from the Boys & Girls Club say their current clubhouse, which was built as a restaurant in the 1940s, is inefficient and not conducive to the club’s purposes. They believe the new 10,000-square-foot building will be able to accommodate 200 children at a time, up from the current limit of 144. That will allow the club to serve children ages five through seven, something it is not able to do in its current space. The existing gymnasium would be retained, according the the plan.
The Boys & Girls Club suggested that the city spread out its payments over a five-year period. However, the council instead voted to make a one-time payment of $500,000 out of the city’s Rainy Day Fund, with the intention that the city will place $50,000 in the fund for each of the next five years. While the entire Plymouth Common Council appeared to support the contribution, Shawn Grobe, along with Mike Delp and Don Ecker Jr. requested more time to consider the financial arrangements and voted against the measure.
During a work session of the 2017 budget Monday, Clerk-Treasurer Jeanine Xaver expressed concern that the use of Rainy Day funds would limit money for city projects. She noted that the city already gives the Boys & Girls Club $35,000 a year from its Promotion of the City budget. On top of that, the city plans to spend about $176,000 to relocate a sewer to help with the rebuilding effort.
In any case, the city’s $500,000 donation still hasn’t gotten its final approval just yet. A public hearing must first be held on the appropriation of that money from the 2016 budget. Then, the measure would need to receive state approval.
