The City of Atlantic’s Personnel and Finance Committee discussed for 45-minutes, Wednesday, the issue of whether to sell the Senior Center as is, fix the roof and sell it, or fix the roof and hold onto the building. In the end, the committee decided to punt the matter to the full City Council for further discussion and action at their next meeting.

City of Atlantic Personnel and Finance Committee

The Atlantic Elks Lodge was sold late last year to Bev Moffatt. Representatives with the Lodge said they learned in late December that the Senior Center might be available for purchase as their new home. The Elks are looking for a place to hold their bingo and other events, and have offered to buy the Senior Center as is, make the necessary repairs to the roof, and share the facility with Senior Citizens during the day, as is currently the case.

City Administrator John Lund says a realtor told him the fair market value of the building, as is, would be $59,000 to $63,000. If the City pays for the roof repair, that would up the value to between $86,000 and $88,000. The roof has been leaking since last August, and must be replaced. The cost of that project was estimated at $36,255.

In addition to the roof factor, the City receives about $2,000 per year in revenue from the Senior Center. Operating costs range from $4,244 to $4,323. Officials say payback on the roof “Is not mathematically feasible from ongoing revenues. The Fund balance for the Senior Center Fund at the end of FY 2018, was $11,069. The City admits the building has not been a high priority on physical updates, and while the structure itself is solid (minus the roof issue), it could use additional investment.

John Lund says the City Council could activate levy a 13.5-cent tax (per thousand dollars valuation) to pay for the roof repair, and accordingly lower the employee benefits levy by the same amount. Those funds ($30,000), combined with the remaining balance of the Senior Center Fund, would allow the roof to be repaired. And, the Council could use the Elks to use the facility without charge in the evenings. It would no longer be rented out for other purposes, and still allow the Senior Center to be used from 10:30-a.m. to 3-p.m. as it is today.

The Committee had a hard time deciding whether to recommend to the Council that the City sell the building outright to the Elks, or fix the roof. Lund said the building would be better off under the Elks’ control/ownership. He said the building would be on the tax rolls – earning money for the City – it would be under better management, and their Fair Market Value offer, is very reasonable. Council/Committee person Chris Jimerson, who sits in on the Committee, says it would be a “win-win.” The Elks get a new place, and the Seniors still have a place to go to that’s easily accessible and familiar to them.

Council/Committee person Kathy Somers said she didn’t want to sell the building because the City wouldn’t be able to control what goes on there, with regard to Seniors being allowed to sharing the building, and it may, in the future may be useful to the City as a Police Station if necessary, or used for parking space if the second floor of City Hall ever gets modified as discussed over the past several years (Including the addition of an elevator).