FARMINGTON — At the July 25 selectmen meeting a new use for the Community Center was approved as was the sale of a lawn mower used by Parks & Recreation Department.

Supplies for the food pantry at W.G. Mallett School will now be stored in the unused computer lab at the Community Center following a unanimous board vote.

“I was approached by Kristen Wroble and Katie Hallman about the food pantry they have been doing at Mallett School for quite some time,” Matt Foster, Parks and Recreation Department director, said. “They have been requested to find a new location because of space issues. This last school year they provided groceries for 100 families, multiple meals.”

It’s a pretty significant thing they are doing in the community, Foster noted. They need storage space, there is an old computer lab that’s out of the way at the Community Center that would be a good location for them, he stated.

Once a month supplies are delivered, unloaded and repackaged, Foster said. “Later that day families would come and pick everything up,” he noted. “It’s pretty much a one day thing.”

The food pantry also has a backpack program which provides meals to food insecure children on weekends, the Community Center could be needed for that, Foster said. The entire downstairs wouldn’t be needed for that, he noted.

“I think it is a good thing for the community,” Foster added.

Selectman Joshua Bell asked if organizers had mentioned working with the Care and Share Food Closet in Fairbanks, was told the two were separate. Foster said he could talk with them about it.

“There are several food programs in the area,” Selectman Dennis O’Neil noted. “There’s a tremendous need. They all have different rules, different availability for pick up and different sources of food. So you don’t necessarily get the same thing.

“The one at St. Joe’s Church has been extremely effective, doesn’t have a requirement to qualify.”

There could be some shame, people at school not wanting to be seen taking handouts, O’Neil suggested.

“There is still a need, particularly with children and their ability to function during school, through the weekend to have food,” he noted. “I think it is a hell of a thing, I am all in favor of it.”

Chair Matthew Smith had talked with Hallman, she likes the location of the Community Center as it is near the school. If the pantry using the Community Center gets to be too much, it can be brought back to the board, he noted.

The Select Board also authorized the sale of the department’s 2013 Kubota zero-turn mower with the funds going into the Parks & Recreation Equipment Reserve Account.

“Have you squeezed every bit of life out of it?” Smith asked.

“No, it’s still in OK condition, that’s why I want to get rid of it now,” Foster replied. “It is one of our newer mowers. We have kept up with the maintenance on it.”

It has been a decent mower, isn’t quite what the department needed, he noted.

Also a member of the Bonney Woods Corporation board of directors, Foster suggested selling the mower to that organization as it needs one.

“Bonney Woods is one of the oldest non-profits in either the state or the country,” Foster said. “They have done a lot as a non-profit for the town. Bonney Woods is open and free to the public. They really align with what the Recreation Department does.”

Foster said he wants to get as much as he can for the mower while being reasonable with what it is worth to help support a local organization. The current value of the mower isn’t known, Foster will have to do more research on that to get a trade in value.

“I appreciate all that Bonney Woods Corporation does for the community,” Bell said. “I would rather stick to policy, put it up for sale and allow others to bid as well.”

O’Neil agreed, noting Bonney Woods could potentially get the mower a lot cheaper if it was put out to bid or sold at auction.

When asked if there was a selling policy, Bell said there wasn’t one, advertising equipment to the public allows everyone a chance.

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