At the Apalachicola City Commission April 6 regular scheduled meeting, city commissioners approved in concept a partnership agreement between the City of Apalachicola and the Franklin’s Promise Coalition.
The agreement calls for Franklin’s Promise on behalf of the city to act as the lead agency in overseeing and coordinating the rental of space at the City of Apalachicola Community and Youth Service Center, formerly the old Apalachicola High School.
Since entering into discussions over a year ago with the Franklin County School District to transfer ownership of the old school to the city, officials have been looking for ways to make the facility independent of already dwindling tax dollars once the city took possession.
Franklin’s Promise is a long-serving alliance of concerned citizens, business partners, agencies, organizations, and churches that desire to make Franklin County a better place for all, through the coordination of available resources within the County to address unmet and ongoing needs.
The shared vision of both the City of Apalachicola and Franklin’s Promise is to reinvent the old high school and adjoining grounds as a hub for recreation and community service programs and organizations. The benefit for the community will be the co-location of services in one convenient and accessible place. The benefit for the organizations involved will be the sharing of a collective client base, increased communication, and collaborative opportunities. However, the greatest benefit for all will be the sharing of expenses to reduce operational overhead, which would allow more resources to go toward direct services.
The agreement also calls for providing space at no cost to appropriate non-profit organizations; however, each organization will be required to contribute to the utilities, and insurance requirements to operate the compound. The estimated cost for such will be $250 per organization (per space, per quarter, less than $84 per month) with the need to acquire at least 20 participating organizations.
A committee, which will be comprised of the participating organizations renting space at the facility, will make recommendations to the city for signage, a comprehensive approach to addressing the heating and cooling requirements, other improvements, and daily operations.
Plans also include common services and facilities to consist of a computer lab, at least two furnished classrooms, a large meeting room, a large activity room and break room.
However, the concept did cause some in attendance to raise concerns.
Former Apalachicola Postmaster, Judy Stokowski-Hall, questioned whether the facility was accessible to persons with disabilities and the idea of Franklin’s Promise collecting rent from other organizations on behalf of the city.
Stokowski-Hall also echoed concerns voiced by Dixie Partington earlier in the meeting on whether some of the recent actions taken by the city were in direct competition with local businesses. In addition, she brought up zoning issues and questioned who would be responsible for paying the water and sewer utilities at the facility.
The agreement calls for Franklin’s Promise on behalf of the city to act as the lead agency in overseeing and coordinating the rental of space at the City of Apalachicola Community and Youth Service Center, formerly the old Apalachicola High School.
Since entering into discussions over a year ago with the Franklin County School District to transfer ownership of the old school to the city, officials have been looking for ways to make the facility independent of already dwindling tax dollars once the city took possession.
Franklin’s Promise is a long-serving alliance of concerned citizens, business partners, agencies, organizations, and churches that desire to make Franklin County a better place for all, through the coordination of available resources within the County to address unmet and ongoing needs.
The shared vision of both the City of Apalachicola and Franklin’s Promise is to reinvent the old high school and adjoining grounds as a hub for recreation and community service programs and organizations. The benefit for the community will be the co-location of services in one convenient and accessible place. The benefit for the organizations involved will be the sharing of a collective client base, increased communication, and collaborative opportunities. However, the greatest benefit for all will be the sharing of expenses to reduce operational overhead, which would allow more resources to go toward direct services.
The agreement also calls for providing space at no cost to appropriate non-profit organizations; however, each organization will be required to contribute to the utilities, and insurance requirements to operate the compound. The estimated cost for such will be $250 per organization (per space, per quarter, less than $84 per month) with the need to acquire at least 20 participating organizations.
A committee, which will be comprised of the participating organizations renting space at the facility, will make recommendations to the city for signage, a comprehensive approach to addressing the heating and cooling requirements, other improvements, and daily operations.
Plans also include common services and facilities to consist of a computer lab, at least two furnished classrooms, a large meeting room, a large activity room and break room.
However, the concept did cause some in attendance to raise concerns.
Former Apalachicola Postmaster, Judy Stokowski-Hall, questioned whether the facility was accessible to persons with disabilities and the idea of Franklin’s Promise collecting rent from other organizations on behalf of the city.
Stokowski-Hall also echoed concerns voiced by Dixie Partington earlier in the meeting on whether some of the recent actions taken by the city were in direct competition with local businesses. In addition, she brought up zoning issues and questioned who would be responsible for paying the water and sewer utilities at the facility.
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