Transportation is Now a Reality for Kearney Senior Citizens

The Kearney Enrichment Council has been working on ways to help senior citizens with transportation for several years. The Enrichment Council now finally has the means to achieve that goal with help from Clay County Senior Services (CCSS) and the City of Kearney.

This five year dream has become a five month reality - Kurt Hamilton, Enrichment Council Executive Director

On November 6, the Enrichment Council announced that it had applied for a $10,000 grant through CCSS. Clay County Senior Services generously doubled that amount and allocated a grant of $20,000 to be used toward the purchase of a vehicle. This amount is in addition to the normal annual grant CCSS gives to the Enrichment Council for senior programming.

The $20,000 was half the amount the Enrichment Council needed to be able to cover the total cost of the vehicle. The City of Kearney came to the rescue just two weeks later.

On Monday, November 16, the City of Kearney passed a resolution that granted the other half of the amount needed for the vehicle. The city committed $20,000 of CARES Act funding to aid in the purchase of a vehicle to assist seniors and youth in accessing programs and other basic necessities.

“We believe that because Kearney has no public transportation, CARES Act funding is appropriate to assist in safely transporting citizens on necessary trips,” said Mayor Randy Pogue at Monday’s Board of Aldermen Meeting.

“This was a five year dream and has become a five month dream very quickly, and we are very excited to bring this to Kearney,” said Enrichment Council Executive Director Kurt Hamilton. “$40,000 was the target goal; we have raised a little over $41,000 currently with gathering about 1k of donations since the city jumped in as well.”

The Enrichment Council is looking to purchase a 15-person shuttle van that seniors could easily enter and exit. The vehicle will be used to bring youth and seniors to programs at the Old Firehouse Community Center, help transport seniors to the senior center, and take seniors to the food pantry and other locations.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story