It also is not clear how long Cain has been in charge at the center or when the action of hiring her took place. Cain said Wednesday she has been asked not to comment on the situation.
A reporter requesting a copy of minutes from the last board meeting was told they would be released after they are approved at the next scheduled meeting, which is April 18. Kentucky open meetings law allows for a public body to withhold meeting minutes as preliminary until after the next scheduled meeting but does not require it.
The center and the board have been through some big changes in the past year.
In July, it was announced that the center lost a roughly $130,000 contract for providing Homecare services, which includes meal delivery and other home management services, to seniors in the community. Board members at the time decried the lack of time to answer a lengthy request for proposals when the contract was awarded by Bluegrass Area Development District to the private company Lifeline.
In December, the board adopted new bylaws that required at least 51 percent of the board be appointed by the city of Danville and Boyle Fiscal Court. The move made the board a public entity, primarily for the purposes of receiving funds for services such as the Homecare program without competing for contracts from agencies such as the BGADD.
Some past members were at first apprehensive about the changes because they said they had been informed incorrectly by BGADD that all members would have to resign. There also was worry on the part of some about one of the few non-public center's becoming politicized if some control was ceded to local governments.
After initially voting against changing the bylaws, the board reversed course and approved the reconfiguration once it was made clear all members would not have to resign in order to include a new majority of public appointees.
Ultimately, longtime board member and longtime Chairman Odis Clark, Vice Chairman Hershel McKinley and board member Joyce Houser stepped down. Members Edna Coffman, Emanuel Gray, Vi Wilmot and Owens remained. Danville named City Commissioner Gail Louis and Margaret Jones. Boyle Fiscal Court appointed Rachel White and Bob Rowland, along with the joint appointment of Janelle Wheeler.
The center received $67,500 from the city of Danville and $71,000 from Boyle County in the current year's budgets.
