A call for Council for a Healthy Dent County (HDC) members to contact the Salem mayor and board of aldermen and urge them to continue allowing the organization to not pay rent and utilities was circulated by HDC, its director confirmed Friday.
The request started as an email from her and was also circulated in print, HDC director Sherry Lea said. The print version did not contain its source.
“The current City of Salem Board of Aldermen are looking for ways to cut expenses and raise revenue and has been looking at the possibility of charging Healthy Dent County rent and utilities at the Salem Community Center @ the Armory,” the email and note stated in part. “We feel that our continued partnership should remain as is with the city not charging rent or utilities and HDC making improvements to the building and keeping a community center open for our citizens.”
The email and the paper form of it included the cell phone numbers and emails of the mayor and board. The cell phone numbers are not included on the city’s website. It also included the personal email address for alderman Shawn Bolerjack, who serves as board president.
Lea said she has visited with mayor Greg Parker, alderman Bolerjack and other aldermen to discuss funding.
“I’m really protective of my organization. This partnership is important to us,” said Lea.
Salem aldermen met for a special closed session Monday night and a closed session after the regular meeting Tuesday night to discuss contracts. No action was taken at either meeting.
Parker said that he thinks HDC should “pay their fair share,” and he plans to recommend that the board of aldermen vote as such. However, that decision ultimately rests with the board, Parker pointed out.
“A partnership is people working together,” he told The Salem News Thursday afternoon.
He has said many times since being elected in April that he’s not afraid of being the “bad guy,” a sentiment he reiterated Thursday, explaining that he’s not afraid to make decisions that aren’t in line with the status quo.
“I want the citizens to know that during my term as mayor, I try to do what’s best for them,” said Parker.
As part of the lease agreement between the City of Salem and HDC, originally signed in 2010 and updated in May of 2017 (to last 10 years), aldermen have an obligation to review yearly HDC’s finances.
According to Bolerjack, reviewing HDC’s finances is one of a litany of different ways the city is addressing the city’s need for a balanced budget. The board of aldermen has raised electric rates by 24% and instituted a $10 monthly connection fee, raised sewer rates by 50%, and raised various other fees. The board has slashed capital improvement projects, laid off staff members and eliminated cost of living and merit raises for city staff for FY 2022-23. There will be more to cut from the budget, he said, following years of problems with utility billing and collections and decisions that have resulted in a deficit for the city.
Some of those cuts could be at the expense of HDC. The lease agreement provides the details of what the City of Salem is obligated to do as the owner of the community center facility, as well as what HDC is allowed to do with and in the building.
That agreement includes forgiven rent for the first year of the lease (2017-18) and includes a maximum monthly rent of $1,000. The agreement also states that the city would pay HDC’s utilities for the first two years, after which HDC is required to annually provide financial statements to the City of Salem within 60 days of the end of HDC’s fiscal year so that the city can determine what amount of rent and utilities, if any, HDC should pay. HDC’s fiscal year runs from July to June.
Lea told The Salem News she provided FY 2021-22 financial statements to the city Sept. 27 this year. Lea and Parker provided The Salem News with copies of HDC’s FY 2021-22 financial report.
The agreement:
• states the City of Salem is responsible for all of the Salem Community Center @ the Armory’s maintenance and repairs.
• authorizes HDC to be able to remodel and renovate, but requires prior written authorization of the mayor and the board of aldermen, no matter how small the project.
• as HDC’s landlord (lessor), the city is responsible for things at the community center like maintenance costs, general insurance and cleaning supplies. The City of Salem has budgeted $16,000 for such costs in FY 2022-23—$6,400 had been spent year-to-date according to City of Salem Finance Director Stacey Houston’s first quarter financial report Sept. 30. Over the past five fiscal years combined, beginning with FY 2017-18, the city has spent $54,000 on those items, according to numbers provided by Parker.
• states that things like the electric system, plumbing, roof, HVAC, etc. are all the city’s responsibility to repair. The city spent $296,000 for roofing, tuckpointing, HVAC and building envelope during recent projects with Energy Solutions Professionals. Total spent on the projects was $1.5 million.
The City of Salem has continued to pay electric, water and sewer at the community center and not charged rent. The city budgeted $30,000 for the community center’s utilities in FY 2022-23, $14,000 had been spent YTD, as of Sept. 30. Over the past five fiscal years combined the city has paid $114,000 in utilities for the community center, according to numbers provided by mayor Parker.
The City of Salem also donates $10,000 per year to HDC in quarterly installments.
Bolerjack said Thursday that he hasn’t made his final decision yet on possible rent and utility charges for the center, and none of the other aldermen have expressed to him that they have made their final decisions. Aldermen met for a closed session to discuss contracts Monday night. No action was taken.
“No one is looking to close the [Salem Community Center @ the Armory],” Bolerjack told The Salem News. Bolerjack expressed that he believes that it’s appropriate for the board to review budgeted revenue and expenditures related to the Salem Community Center @ the Armory in much the same way it has been reviewing the same city-wide.
Bolerjack said that he is confident that the city can come to an agreement with HDC.
“I’d prefer us to all come to an agreement and put this behind us,” Parker told The Salem News.
The correspondence from Lea to HDC members went on to read:
“With the expansions to the building, including the new basketball gymnasium, we have put in over $3 million to make the facility a place where health, education and community meet.
“For any concerned citizens wanting to contact the City Council personally to express support in the continued partnership of the City of Salem and Healthy Dent County to continue to work in unison for the betterment of our great community. Please use the following contact info:”
The email and flyer went on to list the names, cell numbers and emails of the mayor and board.
Lea told The Salem News that she understands the city’s position because of her role as a citizen member of the City of Salem Finance Committee, which is responsible for making recommendations to the board of aldermen regarding the city’s annual budget.
“I know that the city’s not singling us out,” Lea said Friday morning. “As a citizen, I appreciate aldermen looking at ways to cut expenses and increase revenue.”
Lea strongly emphasized the value she said she sees in the partnership between the City of Salem and HDC. Lea explained that many of the things that HDC has accomplished over the years wouldn’t have been possible without the city’s support, but also believes that HDC can continue to be a great asset to the city as well.
“This is a partnership…we’d do anything the city asked us to do,” said Lea. “I see it as the city having eight more employees out here for $46,000. They’ve been so good to us.”
Lea also brought up what she believes to be a common misnomer that people have regarding non-profits.
According to Lea, HDC’s tax designation is no reason to end the year without a net profit that can then be used to further the organization’s goals. The net income line on the 2021-22 financial report given to The Salem News lists $116,040.42.
“I have to run it like a business and secure diverse revenue streams,” said Lea. “Non-profit is a tax designation.”
Lea quoted something that she said she heard at a Meramec Regional Planning Commission meeting.
“Just because we’re not for profit doesn’t mean we’re against it,” she said. Lea said that they are trying to continue cultivating a “place where health, education and community meet.”
For more on the story and a look at the Council for a Healthy Dent County’s finances see thesalemnewsonline.com and the Nov. 1 edition of The Salem News.
