Johnston County searches for new Clayton, Benson senior-center space as JCATS details federal grants, EV and microtransit plans

Johnston County officials said April 7 they are searching for new senior-center space in Clayton and Benson while the county's transit agency is expanding services after winning federal grants and adding vehicles and technology.

The county's Community and Senior Services representative, Josh Jensen, told the Board of Commissioners the building the county had expected to use in Clayton was sold despite a handshake agreement on a right of first refusal. Jensen said staff analyzed attendance at the Clayton senior center by geocoding nearly 600 addresses and found "about 40% of them are Clayton citizens," a figure he said the county will present to the town of Clayton in discussions about operating support.

Why this matters: senior centers provide meal programs, activities and social services relied on by older residents; losing facility space or operating-money arrangements could disrupt services and require the county or towns to identify new buildings or budget lines.

Jensen summarized several parallel transit and facility developments for JCATS (Johnston County Area Transit System). He said the county secured roughly $4,000,000 in federal funding for construction of a new facility and is finishing an additional $2,100,000 in improvements to…