Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Shared Kitchen Ithaca topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
IURA committee grants time extension to Shared Kitchen Ithaca to finish IURA-funded work
Summary
Shared Kitchen Ithaca won a committee-approved extension to complete its IURA-funded program after delayed opening and onboarding; staff said vouchers and accounting remain pending and that staff can grant limited additional short extensions if necessary.
Shared Kitchen Ithaca told the IURA Economic Development Committee on Nov. 18 that it needs more time to complete work funded by an IURA grant because its program opened later than planned and onboarding took longer than expected.
Rod, speaking for Shared Kitchen Ithaca, said the operation exceeded one recruitment metric—reaching 16 members by month five—and currently has about 17 members, but only roughly five participants currently qualify for the IURA grant under program rules. "We set out to get 16 members by the end of the first 12 months of operation. We hit that 16 member level in the fifth month, so we're way ahead of schedule," Rod said, while acknowledging the timing mismatch with the grant deadline.
Nels, the agency staff member, told the committee the program began later than anticipated because of site control, equipment purchases and fundraising; staff reported roughly $9,000 in vouchers pending and a grant award amount shown in the packet (text in the packet was unclear). Staff also said the agency can approve up to an additional 90 days beyond staff-authorized deadlines in some circumstances but emphasized that the contract uses 2023 funds and the project will need more time to complete documentation, voucher processing and final disbursement.
The committee voted unanimously to extend the project timeline (the draft resolution references an extension to 06/30/2026; the committee asked staff to correct wording such as "due to delays") and to request that Shared Kitchen representatives attend the next agency meeting if staff needs clarification before final approvals.
Next steps: staff will finalize extension paperwork, correct drafting errors in the resolution language, and follow up on outstanding vouchers and accounting.
