Senior Center reopening delayed; workspaces available

Senior Center

opening on hold

New Keystone office space available for remote workers

lorri sughroue

Associate Editor

McCOOK, Neb. — Any plans to open the city’s Heritage Senior Center, shut down since March because of coronavirus, have been put on hold.

Because of rising positive cases of the virus in the Southwest Nebraska Public Health District, plans to open the center will occur after Labor Day, said its director, Beth Siegfried, at the McCook City Council meeting Monday. If positive cases are still increasing at that point, the center will postpone re-opening.

At past McCook City Council meetings, city staff and Siegfried had discussed re-opening the facility, as senior centers in other near-by towns have re-opened.

Ten new COVID-19 cases and two deaths have been reported in the Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department district.The latest cases bring the total to 80 confirmed COVID-19 cases.  Fifty-four of the cases have recovered with a total of three deaths.

Although the center is closed, more meals than usual are being requested, Siegfried said. From March through June, 12,200 meals have been delivered, an average of 486 more meals per month than what’s usually served at the center, she said.

She gave a shout-out to all the volunteers and staff at the center, but added she could still use more volunteers for delivering meals.

Also at Monday night’s meeting, the council heard an update on the Economic Development Plan Citizen’s Advisory Review Committee meeting on July 27, 2020, presented by Andy Long, McCook Economic Development Corp. director and Sean Wolfe, a member of the advisory review committee.

Long said during the required public hearing that the top priorities include workforce housing and retail recruitment.

With the increase of remote workers, now is the time for people to invest in McCook, he said. That’s because people can work remotely for a company located in an urban area yet still raise their children in a safe community like McCook, he said.

To capitalize on that, seven offices have been created on the fourth floor of the Keystone Business Center, outfitted with technology-based office equipment needed in today’s world, he said. These will be offered to entrepreneurs, home-based businesses or remote workers who need a private office space and related equipment. A soft opening is planned for Tuesday, Sept. 1.

MEDC programs Long briefly reviewed included

-Workforce Housing Incentive grant program: $60,000 allocated. The incentive is to encourage housing developers to build multiple housing units in McCook, with the incentive providing $10,000 reimbursement for each eligible living unit. The incentives can go toward infrastructure needs such as gas lines and the maximum sale price per home must be under $275,000 to be eligible.

-Housing match, $20,000. The MEDC partnered with Cambridge and Benkelman for a regional proposal that was awarded a $405,000 grant. The pool of money will be distributed between the three communities to build workforce housing, with the first home built in Benkelman. McCook will utilize the money to build a home on West 9th and Q.

-Early Childhood Education New Provider Scholarships/Start-up Funds: $17,150. The program has been utilized by several local individuals to provide more daycare options, with funds being used by one person to assisted in purchasing an existing daycare and who will expanding infant openings and another who will expand her daycare operation from 12 to 30 children.

-SWNCBC DPA with Rehab Grant: $5,000: The MEDC partnered with Southwest Nebraska Community Betterment Corp. for a downpayment assistant program. The MEDC paid $1,000 in grant writing and $5,000 in matching funds and has been able to award more than $70,000 in down payment assistance to seven McCook households who closed on a primary residence.

Gary Wiemers, a member of the citizen’s advisory committee, has resigned. Current committee members are Long, Sean Wolfe, Leon Kuhlen, Jordan Johnson, Sarah Renner, Jeanette Peters and Danielle Johnson