Editor’s Note: This article was updated Monday, March 14, 2022, at 5:35 p.m.
MOUNT VERNON — This year’s Knox County Senior Levy distribution awarded funds to each organization that applied, although several organizations received less than what they had hoped for.
The funds, dispersed at the Knox County Commissioner’s discretion, are awarded to organizations who intend to serve people age 60 and above, groups that do not discriminate in any fashion, and organizations that work to provide seniors with necessities such as quality food, healthcare, and transportation.
A total of $1,181,121 will be awarded this year as a part of the distribution. Only one organization, Task Force for Older Adults, was granted all of the funds it requested, receiving $25,000. The Station Break received the most funding, and was awarded $590,000.
Although the Knox County commissioners hoped to establish a committee to best evaluate and assess the appropriate funds each organization should receive, they were ultimately unsuccessful.
The commissioners, along with County Administrator Jason E. Booth, consequently decided each organization would be awarded the same funds that they were granted last year. The Fredericktown Senior Activity Center, which was closed in 2021 due to the pandemic, received the $55,000 that it had been granted in 2020.
Commissioner Bill Pursel noted that many of these organizations receive money from other grants, as well, and emphasized the impossibility of meeting all of the needs of each organization.
“(That’s) not the world that anybody lives in,” he said.
Centerburg Senior Services received $223,000 this year from the Senior Levy, although it requested $351,171.
According to CSS director Lisa Wilson, the organization will use the money to fund its Meals-on-Wheels program, operate its senior center, and provide transportation to doctor’s appointments. Because the organization received less than it requested, certain programs will have to be eliminated, Wilson said, although she has not yet determined the specifics.
Centerburg Senior Services is an organization that has also received funding from other sources to help it meet more of its clients’ needs. Funding from a large grant from the Knox County Foundation, for example, was enough to cover the installation of a new drainage system in the center’s basement, the re-siding of the building’s exterior, and the addition of new handicap parking spaces.
Wilson said the organization has reached out to United Way of Knox County seeking additional financial assistance for the Meals-on-Wheels program, but has not yet received a final word regarding whether or not this will be possible.
Last year, United Way granted Centerburg $5,000 to fund the center’s exercise program.
Several other organizations also received levy funding:
–JFS-Adult Protective Services Division, $70,121
–Sanctuary Community Action, $145,000
–Center of Hope Knox County, $60,000
–Sew Special Network dba: That Place on Market, $13,000
The hope is there will be a functioning committee by June, according to Pursel. The committee is expected to be made up of about six people, who will thoroughly assess how each organization utilizes their funds.
Because the funds are provided in increments each quarter, once the committee is established, it will start work this year on determining if each organization is receiving appropriate funding.
Next year, when applications are submitted with new requests for grants, the committee will be able to provide a more comprehensive review of each organization’s mission and plans for how they will use the funds they receive.
Pursel also acknowledged that in recent years, there has been a “pattern” of the same organizations requesting funds, and stressed that anybody who works with seniors is welcome to apply for the funds each year, especially now that there will be a more organized system in place to distribute these grants.
