Monday evening, members of the Plymouth Common Council approved the creation of a single agreement with the Marshall County Council on Aging that will help to provide transportation services in the city and funding for maintenance for the city-owned building on West Harrison Street.
Last month the council tabled any decision to allow time to discuss the single agreement with Jackie Wright, Executive Director of the Marshall County Council on Aging. There was some concern that creating one agreement may jeopardize the federal grants they receive for transportation services throughout the county.
Sean Surrisi, the City Attorney spoke with Wright who said combining the two agreements into one is acceptable as long as it specifically spells out what portion of for transportation and what portion is for maintenance.
Prior to preparing the 2019 budget, the Council on Aging asked the Mayor to consider an increase of $2,000 bringing the total for transportation to $10,000. The city currently pays $5,000 for maintenance of the Older Adult Services building that they own.
During the Council meeting Councilman Gary Cook asked if there was any documentation on how the maintenance funds are used. He also suggested moving $2,000 from the maintenance funds to the transportation fund to increase it to $10,000.
Councilman Jeff Houin motioned to approve a unified agreement with $5,000 for maintenance and $10,000 for transportation services. The motion passed with 6 votes and one abstention, that being Councilman Bill Walters who drives for Older Adult Services.
