The Marshall County Commissioners moved a request for funding by Dustin’s Place along for approval of the Marshall County Council.
The organization provides grief counseling for children and families at no charge. The founder of Dustin’s Place, Viki Brown, had come before the Council in December seeking $180,000 as a partial match to a Lilly Foundation grant of $316,000 to lease a dedicated space for the organization at the LifePlex in Plymouth. The LifePlex had pledged a $1-a-year lease for 10 years, and the money would be used for renovations, programs, and salaries for the organization to expand its services.
To date, Brown has pledges of support from the communities of Bourbon ($10,000), Culver ($18,000), and Plymouth ($50,000) and in December the Marshall County Council pledged $75,000 right away and an additional promise to provide up to $150,000 depending on the success of Brown’s other fundraising efforts.
President of the Commissioners, Stan Klotz, stated that he was not against the program but was opposed to the county giving money to a not-for-profit organization that was leasing, rather than owning the building they were in.
Commissioner Jesse Bohannon, who was President of the Council in December when the first request was heard, said that previous organizations requesting such a grant also did not have a lease in place at the time of the request, adding that he supported the pledge.
The Commissioners voted their approval for the Council in disbursing the original pledge of $75,000 to Dustin’s place by a 2-1 margin with Klotz the no vote.
