Pictured: The Pipestone Senior Center was located in this historic building, the Carnegie Library, until it became structurally unsound. (photo and article by Jill Fennema)

Members of the newly elected board of directors for the Pipestone Senior Center requested additional funding from the Pipestone County board last week.

President Joann Weets and Treasurer Steve Weets met with the board via Zoom and asked the board to consider funding their group at a higher level.

Pipestone County has given the Pipestone Senior Center $3,000 in the past to cover some of their expenses. Earlier this year, the senior center had to move out of its location at the historic Carnegie Library building because stones from the building’s exterior were falling off.

The group moved to a temporary location along Highway 75 on the southeast side of Pipestone, but that building has now been sold, so they need to move out by the end of the year.

The group is looking at the old Pizza Hut building as a potential new location. The Pipestone Economic Development Association could buy the building and rent it back to the group for $1,000 a month. The former restaurant has kitchen facilities that would need to be remodeled, but once that work is done, they could bring back the Meals on Wheels program.

The Meals on Wheels food is prepared by Good Sam, but First Lutheran Church is currently being used as the location for pick-up.

The Senior Center board also asked the City of Pipestone for additional funding and was waiting to hear back. Weets estimated that the group’s operating expenses for the next year would be about $40,000; he thought they would be able to meet about $30,000 of those expenses.

County Board Chairman Bruce Kooiman said that whatever the county board decided to do for the Pipestone Senior Group, they should also do for the other senior groups throughout the county. The Jasper and Woodstock groups have stopped meeting and the Edgerton seniors have decided to stop meeting until April 2021 because of COVID-19 concerns.

The board made no decision regarding these matters.