Mayor puts senior center ball in county’s court

CLAYTON — Mayor Jody McLeod figures County Commissioners can afford to help Clayton’s senior center build or find a larger home. After all, he notes, they’re sitting on $250 million in savings.

“I’m appreciative for the fact that they have saved this money, and I know that something can come up and wipe a big chunk of change out really quick,” McLeod said in an interview. “But my goodness, a quarter of a billion, the highest reserves in the county’s history, and they can’t throw a couple million dollars to give these people some more space?”

The mayor got his $2 million figure from a meeting earlier this year about the Clayton center. Among those on hand were town leaders, a county commissioner, representatives of the Clayton Center for Active Aging, and Community & Senior Services, the agency that oversees Johnston’s senior centers.

“A part of that conversation, there was a building over on Barber Mill Road,” McLeod said. “Maybe it used to be a plaza building. Anyway, a nice commercial building that was on the market for, like, a couple of million dollars.”

“And it would have been suitable in the back for JCATS,” McLeod said, referring to the Johnston County Area Transit System. “It would have been suitable in the front for the seniors.”

County Commissioner April Stephens thought so too, McLeod said. “My question to April was that that’s only a $2 million investment and y’all are sitting on $250 million in cash reserves, the highest reserves in this region, and that would solve a lot of problems,” he said.

“She agreed, but the rest of the county commissioners did not; there’s not going to be any money going to a new facility for seniors, which was sad.”

Clayton would most likely contribute some dollars to a building for seniors, the mayor added. “More than likely, yes, if it was something that we could consider reasonable,” he said.

“Because I’ve got so much on the list that needs attention,” McLeod said, referring to the town’s many priorities. “Now we’re trying to bring something in that is not on the priority list,” he said of a senior center.

Butch Lawter is chairman of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners. “We appreciate Mayor McLeod’s sentiment regarding the county’s fund balance,” he said in an email.

But the fund balance, Lawter said, serves specific purposes. “As we’ve discussed numerous times in our board meetings, these savings have enabled us to reduce property tax rates, ensure financial stability and maintain a triple A credit rating,” he said.

The savings have also allowed commissioners to plan for future county, public school and community college building projects.

Lawter said the county was working with the town and Community & Senior Services, a federally funded agency, to find more space for the Clayton center. It is also working with others, including state lawmakers, on funding for both space and senior center services, he said.

“We are always open to exploring more ways to serve the senior citizens in our community,” Lawter said.

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