Aldermen hear appeal from the Union County Good Samaritan Center (6-2-2026)
Seated left to right:
- Franita Farr – Ward 3
- Parks Smith – Ward 1
- Drew Horn – Ward 2
- Keith Conlee – Alderman at Large
- Will Tucker – Ward 4
- Jeff Olson – Mayor
- Megan Kirk – City Clerk
- Regan Russell – City Attorney
The board heard an appeal from the Union County Good Samaritan Center for assistance and advice on purchasing the building they currently operate from. For 39 years, Good Samaritan has provided food and financial assistance for rent and utilities to county residents in their time of need.
You can read a copy of the agenda by clicking here and view a 22-minute video of the meeting below, courtesy of our videographer Kim Davis.
Appeal from the Union County Good Samaritan Center
(Timestamp 10:30) Mayor Olson called on Sharon Duley from the Union County Good Samaritan who was supposed to make her personal appearance at the beginning of the meeting. For 39 years, Good Samaritan has provided food and financial assistance for rent and utilities to county residents in their time of need. Ms. Duley appeared to seek the board’s assistance and guidance in purchasing the building where their facility is currently housed at 845 Sam T. Barkley in New Albany.
The Union County Baptist Association owns the building and has allowed Good Samaritan to operate there rent free for the past 13 years. The Baptist Association no longer has need of the building and is proposing to sell it for an asking price of $235,000, which Ms. Duley said was negotiable. They have given Good Samaritan until the end of June to declare whether they intend to purchase the building for their own use.
Good Samaritan has determined that it’s in their best financial interest to purchase the building since they have installed things like walk-in refrigerators and freezers. However, they need help with financing and fundraising. They have been researching grants, fundraising opportunities and discussing financing possibilities with the Bank of New Albany. Ms. Duley said they had only been aware of the situation for two weeks and have so far applied for a Toyota grant. Ms. Duley asked the board’s help with possible financial assistance or guidance on seeking additional funding resources and said a public endorsement of the fundraising effort would be helpful.
Good Samaritan is completely funded through grants and community donations from residents, businesses and local churches. Most of that money goes straight into Good Samaritan’s work supporting the residents that they serve. Good Samaritan only uses the back of the building currently and they are considering leasing out the part of the building they are not using to get some more income for the organization, if Good Samaritan ultimately purchases it.
Mayor Olson said he would be happy to talk with Good Samaritan’s directors at any time and implied that he would speak to Ms. Duley after the meeting
Other Department business
(Timestamp 0:40) Billy Jean Stroud from Community Development gave an update on New Albany’s America 250 celebration and revealed the vote winner for the new city flag
(Timestamp 3:45) Bill Mattox from New Albany Lights Gas & Water presented several agenda items. All items were approved.
(Timestamp 7:35) Building Inspector Eric Thomas addressed the board about the abandonment of Woody Cove which is off Road Hill Drive. Woody Cove is a platted street that was never fully built and that the city has no interest in completing it at this time. The board needed to declare their intention to abandon it in the minutes.
City Services
(Timestamp 17:20) – City Services – The board approved City Attorney Regan Russell request to close the objection period for $5.5 million in bonds to cover general obligations for the following two years. Mayor Olson presented the other City Services items. Olson also said that the state had awarded New Albany $672,000 for the downtown drainage project and said the city would likely apply for another $400,000 – 500,000 in DRA loans. The total project was estimated to cost about $1.4 million to improve flood control in the downtown area of New Albany. The board approved a request to advertise for engineering services connected to the drainage project.
The board then voted to move to executive session.
