The Colony Town Council welcomed representatives from Quality of Life Health Services and Carpenter’s Cabinet to its meeting Tuesday evening. (W.C. Mann for The Tribune)
COLONY – On Tuesday evening, the Colony Town Council welcomed Chris Warnick, founder of Carpenter’s Cabinet, a Falkville-based nonprofit food pantry ministry. After Warnick shared his vision for establishing five food pantries in the region (Warnick joked that, after he retires from his full-time railroad job, he wants a different place to go each weekday!) and explained the procedures for setting up a pantry under the Carpenter’s Cabinet umbrella, the council voted to establish a pantry in Colony.
The location of the pantry has yet to be determined, but spaces in the Educational Complex and Community Center will be examined to determine the best place. Meanwhile, Colony will have to name a board of directors and pay legal nonprofit setup costs expected to be around $550.
Carpenter’s Cabinet is an established ministry with pantries in Falkville and Holly Pond in partnership with the North Alabama Food Bank. Once set up, Colony will be able to purchase food in bulk from the North Alabama Food Bank for only 14 cents per pound; donations to the town’s pantry will be tax deductible.
Carpenter’s Cabinet is a Christian ministry whose volunteers regularly pray with and distribute Bibles to their clients. Colony’s council members all seemed to support the ministry approach but, on Warnick’s advice, they will meet with their Town attorney to make sure that all the program’s activities on Town property follow the law.
The council also welcomed Tim Wofford and Tameka Vinson of Quality of Life Health Services (QOL), who came to share information about their organization’s services including primary care, lab services, pharmacy services, vision care and behavioral (mental) health care.
Vinson also introduced services such as QOL’s mobile units that can bring a rolling medical office to rural communities, and “telemedicine,” basic health care services offered through video conferencing.
The council plans to have QOL back later in the summer for a community health fair but has not set a date.
Other council business
The council voted to close the park’s concession stand bathrooms for the season, after it was determined that repair to damaged equipment would carry a high price tag.
Councilman Curtis Johnson noted that the Town needed to have someone with ServeSafe certification to oversee the kitchen at the Educational Complex. Councilman Samuel Ashford offered to get the certification, and the council voted to pay for him to attend classes later this summer at Wallace State, and for testing.
During his report, Mayor Donnis Leeth told the council that he is in talks with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) about road repairs in the community and noted that ALDOT had informed him of possible matching fund grants that the Town could possibly receive.
The Colony Town Council meets at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at Colony Town Hall, with work sessions at 5:30. The public is invited to attend.
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