The good folks at Lend A Hand of Boulder City are anxiously awaiting tonight’s City Council meeting that they hope will end with the approval of their project to renovate the ABC Cottage near the library for their new home!
In case you don’t know, Lend A Hand here in town helps our elderly and disabled folks with assistance around the house, companion care, and transportation needs. They have a whole (mini) army of wonderful volunteers who have helped take care of our local citizens for some 30+ years.
Currently, they are crammed into only 1100 sq. feet in their tiny cottage at 400 Utah Street, which for a long time now has left them quite cramped. We spoke with the Director, Shannon Eckman, who says, “after almost five years of working with the city and the county, we’re extremely excited to get into the building and get going!”
The new location will be 2899 sq. feet and gives them more office space, storage and cleaning areas, and laundry services to help their clients. It will also allow them to expand their services to help the blind, for example.
Larry Archuleta, the Board of Directors President tells us, “We’re excited and have been working on this a long time. Lend A Hand certainly needs the space as we are growing tremendously.”
The project is expected to cost an amount not to exceed $1,481,790 for construction, and the bulk of the costs are being provided by a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). These are federal funds provided by HUD which are limited to very specific projects that benefit low or moderate-income individuals, the elderly, or disabled persons. Because of Boulder City’s relatively high medium income, we don’t often qualify for this program for local projects. But this one meets the requirements!
“We look forward to renovating Cottage 3 at ABC Park for use by Lend A Hand. Using funds provided by the federal Community Development Block Grant program results in minimal impact to the City budget,” said Taylour Tedder, City Manager. “For years, Lend a Hand volunteers have provided critical services to elderly and mobility-challenged members of our community. Work for the project will include renovation of the interior making it suitable for office use, meeting space, and a lobby area for patrons. Work will also include new sidewalks, landscaping gravel, and exterior improvements.”
The full CDGB grant amount is $1,102,456, and the city will use the Acquisitions and Improvement Fund to provide the balance of the costs for the project of $320,000.
You can read the full section of the Agenda Packet here, and the measure is item 3 on the Consent Agenda this evening. We wish this very worthy organization the very best on this project!
If approved, work will begin shortly and is expected to take six months. And if you’re looking for a way to help your community, consider becoming a Lend A Hand volunteer! It’s a great way to serve, and they definitely need our support. Learn more on their website HERE.
