Ball Ground gets federal funds for senior center

Ball Ground has gotten Cherokee County to reallocate $196,114 in federal funds to build a new senior center. CITY OF BALL GROUND.

Ball Ground has gotten Cherokee County to reallocate $196,114 in federal funds to build a new senior center. CITY OF BALL GROUND.

The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners has approved a request by Ball Ground to transfer $196,114 in Community Development Block Grant funding, previously designated for other city projects, to an effort to build a senior center.

The county board voted to reallocate funds that had been designated for water-related and curb-and-gutter projects that were unable to meet the low- to moderate-income objectives of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development CDBG program.

Federal rules require the money to be spent in a timely manner and on a qualified project, and the senior center qualifies, officials determined.

“The city of Ball Ground has proposed that a new senior center be constructed at the site of a former fire station and has city council approval to move forward,” according to a staff report to county commissioners. “An engineering consultant and an architect have been retained.”

Ball Ground is prepared to provide $50,000 in matching funds, according to a resolution recently passed by its city council.