Commissioners approve up to $2,000 for HoneyPine Garden Club landscaping at senior center

Kristen (representing the HoneyPine Garden Club) described a volunteer project to add plantings and landscape features around the Madison County Senior Center and asked the Board of Commissioners to contribute the remaining funds to reach an estimated $4,000 total cost.

Kristen said the club has already raised about half the estimated cost through plant sponsorships, a bingo fundraiser and corporate sponsors and asked the board to provide roughly $2,000 so plantings can be installed in the spring. She said club members will volunteer installation and provide follow-up training to senior center patrons so the landscaping is sustainable.

Andrea Shipley and Ms. Payne were identified in the meeting as staff members who had been consulted and who support using available unspent senior center wages in the current fiscal-year budget to cover the county portion, subject to board approval and ordinance rules on reallocation.

After brief discussion about timing and the pending budget amendment, a motion to provide up to $2,000 for the project was made and seconded; commissioners voted in favor and the motion carried. The board and speakers emphasized that the club will volunteer labor and that the funds requested are for plants and materials only.

Chairman noted the board will address the necessary budget amendment at an upcoming meeting to permit the finance director to apply wages that were not spent in the senior center department. The board encouraged public participation in the HoneyPine fundraisers and thanked club members for volunteering.