Perry council orders bids for Boys & Girls Club kitchen after heated debate over lease funds

City of Perry City Council voted Jan. 14 to send the Boys & Girls Club kitchen project out to bid and asked staff to return to the council for an award after more than an hour of debate about accounting for lease payments and who may lawfully hold and spend those funds.

The vote followed a presentation by the Boys & Girls Club director (identified in the meeting as Emily), who described an ongoing request to replace or expand the Club’s residential-size kitchen to commercial capacity and said the organization had paid more to the city than the city had reinvested in the facility. “The Boys and Girls Club has paid the city $176,000 more than the city has invested in the property that we have,” Emily said during her presentation.

The matter drew repeated questions from council members about the underlying lease, bank accounts and whether funds the Club paid to the city should be held in a separate account for capital improvements. Council discussion ranged from procedural concerns — whether the purchasing process and bids had been handled correctly — to allegations about transparency and whether the Club’s funds were used properly while the property remained city-owned.

John (identified in the meeting as presenting motions on purchasing) moved that “the city of Perry purchasing department to bid this equipment out, bring it back to the council, award to bid and purchase it.” Council members voted as follows: Council member Brian — yes; Council member Hampton — yes; Council member Woodcock — no; Vice Mayor Landry — yes; Mayor Kettering — no. The motion carried 3–2.

Council members and staff asked for clearer documentation before committing funds. Multiple speakers noted inconsistent figures in available records: at one point council discussion contrasted a lease figure of $6,000 (monthly, per the lease presented at the meeting) with other references — including a line in minutes or reports that referenced $85,100 — and an asserted $70,000 balance in a parts bank account linked to facility funds. Emily said the $6,000 lease was the amount shown on the current rental agreement and urged the city to reinvest lease payments in the Club’s facility as originally agreed.

Council members asked staff to assemble and present the lease paperwork, bank statements, and any prior agreements that describe how lease money is to be used. Several council members also requested a round-table meeting between city staff (including the city manager and finance) and Club leadership to reconcile records and to consider establishing a separate ledger or bank account so future receipts and expenditures are easier to track.

The council’s motion directs staff to solicit competitive bids for equipment and the broader expansion work where needed and to return to the council for a final award. Council members said they will consider the documentation gathered when they take the award vote.

The project discussion was one of the meeting’s longer agenda items and included multiple interruptions and procedural challenges as members and presenters sought to clarify what work — equipment only versus a construction/expansion project requiring wiring and hooding — was included in the current ask. The club said its current kitchen is residential-sized and cannot support the intended commercial use; the proposed work includes hooding, electrical upgrades and additional space in the facility known in the meeting as the Duck Pond building.

Next steps: purchasing will produce bid specifications and solicit bids; staff will present the bids, supporting lease documentation and a recommended award at a future council meeting.