By Adam Hocking

Editor

MARSHFIELD — After the Finance, Budget, and Personnel Committee gave initial approval on May 19, the common council gave final approval on a budget resolution Tuesday night moving $22,000 from the city’s contingency budget to help pay for the relocation and operation of the Marshfield Senior Community Center.

The senior center is moving temporarily because the current facility lies directly south of where the new Everett Roehl Marshfield Public Library will be built. The seniors will move into the space once held by the Hallmark store in the Marshfield Mall.

The current Marshfield Senior Community Center will be demolished close to the start of construction of the new library, which is anticipated to break ground on July 31. The senior center was initially planned to be razed toward the end of the library construction project, and that change in plans made the seniors’ move to the mall location eligible for contingency funding.

“The contingency budget is an amount that the city sets aside every year as part of its annual operating budget for unexpected things that may arise,” Barg said. He added that typically the annual contingency budget is around $130,000 for Marshfield, but this year’s amount was closer to $200,000.

“It’s not intended to be spent on anything that should have fully been anticipated at the time of the budget process,” Barg said.

The $22,000 will help repurpose the mall space for the seniors and pay the monthly lease, which will be $3,000 per month. The $22,000 is the difference between the cost of relocating and operating the senior center in the mall location and the money saved by tearing down the current senior center and no longer having to pay its operation costs. Mayor Chris Meyer added that there would be financial and logistical savings by demolishing the senior center early and not requiring the library construction crew to have to work around it.

Barg said that contingency funds would not have to be used to help fund the seniors’ mall location in 2016 as it will be a planned part of that year’s budget. The lease calls for the seniors to move into the mall space on July 1 this year.