Residents and staff from the Effingham senior center told the Atchison County Commission on Friday they want a written assurance that county funding will keep the center open after the draft budget included a $100,000 appropriation to Project Concern.

Deanna Sunderman Paul, manager of the Town and Country senior center in Lancaster, told commissioners she has run the Effingham center for 11 years and described daily attendance and meal-delivery needs: “On Mondays, I have 10 to 11 people. Tuesdays, I have anywhere from 10 to 15 people. Wednesdays, I have 20 plus people. Thursdays, I go back down to 11,” she said, and added that the route for home-delivered meals serves “20 people out in the county” beyond the seven city meals delivered directly from the center.

Sunderman Paul told the commission she supports the $100,000 appropriation only if the county secures a memorandum of understanding with the Project Concern board that “solidifies that our appropriation will keep that center open.” The presiding commissioner replied that the $100,000 figure was the same as the prior year but noted that Project Concern is a separate entity and that appropriations do not create an automatic operational obligation: “If they reject that funding, there’s nothing we can do because they are their own entity,” the presiding commissioner said.

Project Concern’s new director, Talena Bromley, who said she began Aug. 25, described riding a delivery route and meeting county residents: “I rode with 1 of our drivers on the first run to the county, And we went to 21 homes. There is a need. I see the need.” Bromley said she met seniors who were “waiting for you to come” and that the personal contact mattered to those households.

Other speakers from Effingham, including Kathy Martin and Brandy Folsom, urged the commission to preserve the social functions and meal service the center provides. Commissioners said they will work with Project Concern on an MOU and that the appropriation in the draft budget is not a unilateral guarantee of continued operations; the county requested that Project Concern and its board enter into written terms to clarify expectations if funding is provided.

Commissioners also acknowledged outstanding questions related to the sale of the Senior Village facility and the disposition of those capital proceeds; the county clerk said she would provide the final sale amount to requesters. The budget will be formally considered at the Sunday hearing at 10:15 a.m.