Chairman Rick Burgess raised a question about the purchase and sale agreement
with TriCounty Community Action Program for the old elementary school. One
condition of the agreement was that TCCAP demonstrate by the end of 2006
that it had sufficient funds to renovate the building. In October, the
agency, which wishes to use the building for Headstart and other community
service programs, presented a list of its funding sources to the school
board, including a $300,000 grant from the state's LCHIP program. Burgess
said that he had talked on the day of the school board meeting to LCHIP
officials and that they told him the award still needed to undergo a final
internal review. He therefore suggested that, even though LCHIP has been
holding the $300,000 for the Ashland school project since 2001, the state
agency might still not give it to TCCAP. He felt that the purchase and sales
agreement therefore could be invalid and might have to be renegotiated. The
board decided to wait until its next meeting before considering the issue
further.