Last week, the Central Kansas Dream Center made significant progress on the renovation of the third floor of their building. A pump truck arrived and began pumping cement up a long hose, and workers began spreading and filling the floor to level it prior to framing new living spaces.
The construction project will transform the former Roosevelt Junior High classrooms into nine apartments that will be used by married couples going through training, as well as travelling missionaries. Next week, old classroom windows will be replaced with new arched window where the new prayer chapel will be, Becker said. Architectural plans are also in for the elevator.
“We are putting in a medical clinic room up there too,” Central Kansas Dream Center Executive Director Kim Becker said. She would like to find a dentist that could make visits, and will be exploring what kinds of equipment would be needed to accommodate that. The tax credits the Center was awarded last year could help make this happen sooner.
In 2016, the Dream Center was awarded $200,000 in tax credits through the state to help. So far, they have sold $56,000 worth. Finding donors hasn’t been easy, Becker acknowledges.
She hopes that with recent changes to the Kansas tax code, business owners, people who own rentals, and people who have pass-through income who will once again pay income tax this coming year will find tax credits something worth considering. They have about six months left to sell the remaining $134,000.
Essentially, by taking part in the tax credit program, donors who, for example, spend $5,000 would get a $2,500 tax credit to use against their Kansas tax bill. Those credits can be rolled over for the next five years. The Dream Center would receive the other $2,500. Tax professionals may be able to identify other benefits for individuals on the federal side, Becker said.
The third floor project isn’t the final box to be checked off, however. Becker shared a new goal for the Center, to expand the number of days the soup kitchen is open to seven days a week. To do this, they want to offer a Saturday brunch and a Sunday supper.
Feedback from the community includes a desire to for more church groups to help with this, but many are unable because of conflicting work schedules. Becker says by mid-July they will be organized enough for the pilot project to begin. The soup kitchen recently acquired an outdoor walk-in freezer thanks to a $10,000 donation from 100 People Who Care of Barton County.
The CKDC board is optimistic about all the progress being made to help men and women in Barton County and from beyond. Those wishing to learn more about the tax credit program can contact Kimberly Becker, director at the CKDC, at 620-282-4014, or by email at centralks@gmail.com.