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Spencer Area Activity Center May Be About To Close

March 22, 2022 Steve Schwaller

(Spencer)– The days could be numbered for the Spencer Area Activity Center. Scott Tenkley, President of the center’s board of directors, told the city council Monday evening increasing costs and a decrease in attendance that was compounded in recent years by covid have forced them to make some difficult decisions. He says utility costs alone run about $12,000 to $14,000 a year. On top of that he says they would need to hire a new director and other personnel…

“Our director, Cindy Jones, is retiring at the end of June, at the end of our fiscal year, which means that we will need to hire a new director. Cindy makes well less than she should and hiring a new person would be probably a 30 or so thousand dollar increase over what we’re paying Cindy. We also would look to hire a janitorial staff who the previous board terminated. So all in all we’re looking at new payroll starting July 1st of somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000 in new payroll which would also present new losses that we’re not facing right now.”

Tenkley says as a result, the center’s board of directors have set April 15th as the date for anyone with a viable plan to keep the facility open to present that.Otherwise he says the center will close this coming June 30th…

“If a solution is found, a new board will be seated and a new director will be hired and things will continue, hopefully in a better light than they have been lately. If no viable option is found, the building will be auctioned off and our assets will be sold. That, those proceeds and the proceeds of the gift that we’ve been given, we will do an application process of some sort and divy those proceeds out to nonprofits in the community.”

Mayor Steve Bomgaars said the center did not seek funding from the city in the upcoming fiscal year, as it has in the past. He said he’d be an advocate for the city funding the operation at the same level it currently does…

The comments were made at the conclusion of Monday’s city council meeting. No action was taken as the matter wasn’t an official agenda item.

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