HOBSON CITY — The Hobson City Council will give consideration next month to establish two funding avenues designed to restore and preserve the historic former C.E. Hanna School.
Mayor Alberta McCrory told The Anniston Star last week she considers restoration of the present CityHall a centerpiece of efforts for restoration of the town itself.
Council members heard a presentation at its Monday regular session from Jennifer Maddox, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama, headquartered in Anniston and serving nine area counties.
The foundation, which has been in operation for 22 years, helps with establishing and managing funds for philanthropic purposes and was previously involved with Hobson City’s building of a new playground.
“We have talked a long time about renovating this building,” McCrory said in introducing Maddox. “It’s time we do what we need to do to get started.”
Maddox explained the foundation brings expertise in working with donors, managing money, “and doing it in a way which inspires confidence.”
“We are very transparent,” Maddox said. “We currently manage over $60 million in assets and we invest those assets so they get an investment return.”
Maddox explained the idea of setting up two separate funds for the school renovation.
One is a non-endowment fund where the funds would go directly to restoring the school. The second fund would be established as an endowment where funds earned from the investment would be marked for maintaining the building in perpetuity.
“We can be a partner with Hobson City in accomplishing what you want to do,” Maddox said. “You want to raise money to renovate this facility.”
She said the foundation is also currently working with the city of Oxford to raise money to establish a childrens’ museum.
Maddox said the foundation would be available to help identify potential donors willing to participate in the process and added the foundation could also be used to help with any grants that might be acquired for the project.
Councilman Frederick Striplin said he would like to have a month to further look at what would be required, then bring it back before the council at the Jan. 10 council session.
“I’m not against it,” Striplin said. “I just want more time to understand it.”
“Another reason to use the foundation is we don’t have the capacity to do this,” McCrory said. “We don’t have the capacity to raise the kind of money we need to raise. And, I don’t want us going out there raising the kind of money we need to raise without having the foundation. I think that takes away a lot of suspicion where people may have doubt that we are spending the money on what they are giving it for. We don’t want to raise millions of dollars with people questioning what we are doing.”
“We have people who are ready to give,” McCrory added. “We have people who asked me to let them know what we are doing, tell them our plan, and then they will go from there. They want to know we have a plan. There are people in this community who are serious about making this happen.”
City attorney Jake Mathews said the longevity of the foundation speaks well for the integrity of the foundation and recommended Maddox deliver a proposed memorandum of understanding for the council to review prior to the January meeting.
Council members agreed unanimously with Mathews’ recommendation.
