Parks and Rec seeking funds to feed Active Life’s seniors

Published 11:00 am Friday, March 18, 2022

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The Troup County Parks and Recreation Department requested permission from the Troup County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night to apply for a series of grants for the LaGrange Active Life to feed the community’s in-need senior population.

These grants do not require a match from the county.

The first request was for an $18,000 to $20,000 grant that will be used to fund the LaGrange Active Life’s food costs.

Dan Wooten, the aging services manager of the Troup County Parks and Recreation Department, said the LaGrange Active Life is applying for the grant from the Three Rivers Area Agency on Aging [TRAAA] and plan to use it to assist in feeding the area’s homebound seniors in food donations and material aid.

“This would be in a case where a senior may not have a microwave to heat up their home-delivery meals,” Wooten explained.

The LaGrange Active Life was additionally offered an additional $50,000 grant from TRAAA to its existing grant that would be reimbursable. This additional grant would cover food costs for seniors who visit one of Troup County’s three centers to eat lunch, Wooten explained.

The LaGrange Active Life is additionally requested to apply for another reimbursable $30,000 grant to purchase furnishings, such as a $10,000 to $20,000 steamer for the LaGrange Active Life center. The center’s current steamer has already accumulated over $1,000 in maintenance repairs, Wooten said. Other expenses this grant would be used for include purchasing updated furnishings for the West Point and Hogansville centers.

The LaGrange Active Life is additionally seeking approximately $25,000 from the United Way of West Georgia’s food assistance program to assist with feeding area seniors in need, Wooten said.

Wooten said the department will eventually attempt to apply for capital funds to purchase a 15-passenger van for the Hogansville Active Life.

In other business at the meeting:

The solicitor’s office requested to make a current temporary part-time victim & witness advocate position a permanent full-time position. The part-time position has been vacated and will not be filled. Funding for the new position will be covered by funding previously allotted funding at a rate of $19.25/hour plus benefits, Solicitor General Sandra Taylor said.

The board approved on first reading a beer and wine application for 7755 West Point Road and at Highland Pines ASP LLC.

The board denied an application for a resident to apply for a manufactured housing unit application at Jarrell Hogg Road. The applicant had planned to allow transients to stay on his property and potentially create a mobile home park in the area. The request was denied due to safety concerns the planned unit could impose on potential occupants. The request was previously tabled at the board’s March 1 meeting.