Agenda - Council - 11/26/2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Musgrove noted that there are some issues going on that they cannot talk about; however, it behooves them that they are giving money to this organization that they have not done due diligence to understand the financial situation of this organization. She asked what other cities spend on funding Alexandra House. City Administrator Hagen said he is not sure what other cities are contributing to Youth First; however, the City's contribution has not changed over the years. He added that they can consider an adjustment to this amount if they would like. Councilmember Musgrove explained that it would likely be more of a matter of adjusting their contribution up or down based on the Alexandra House needs. Councilmember Specht stated the $5,000 contribution to the Alexandra House seems to be a good amount and he would not look to increase it. He said he struggles with not fulfilling the 2024 commitment to Youth First as they committed to contribute a certain amount and Youth First made their budget around this. He stated he would support still sending them the last payment of 2024 that they committed to. Councilmember Woestehoff explained that the Youth First budget is done by the City of Andover. He said there were some issues with fiscal oversight in the budget and the organization is currently pursuing recovery of around $30,000 from the former Executive Director. He stated he sees this as a very bad time to pull a commitment from an organization that is already short on funds. Councilmember Howell shared that she does not support Youth First based on their efforts based on racial-driven policies. She said she finds it irresponsible to dump more money into something that has not had good oversight. She stated she would be more in favor of giving the contribution that is committed to Youth First to the Alexandra House. Councilmember Riley noted that they made a commitment to Youth First and he thinks they need to follow through with it. Mayor Kuzma agreed. Councilmember Woestehoff said he would like to know more about what other cities give to the Alexandra House to see if there is a greater need. He noted this is a great organization worth supporting. Councilmember Musgrove asked if they were no longer going to be financially supporting Youth First if they needed to have a Council liaison on the Board. Councilmember Woestehoff said no. City Administrator Hagen stated that Council appointments happen in January and they can remove Youth First from the list. City Council Work Session / October 22, 2024 Page 11 of 15