Standard Examiner correspondent?

PLAIN CITY — City council members rejected a request from Bountiful Baskets to use the city Senior Center free of charge to distribute food baskets during the cold weather months. ?Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op that uses volunteers to create and distribute food items such as seasonal fruits and vegetables in baskets. The items are purchased in bulk at deep discounts and local produce is bought first when available. Those who pick up the baskets pay $15 per basket of produce. Anyone can join the co-op.?”It occurs on two Saturday mornings a month, it shouldn’t conflict with anything else,” said Councilman Brent White. “Currently the group has been picking up (baskets) at Barker Park in Pleasant View and are looking for a site. Some residents from here have been picking up from there.”?”I wonder if we could do it at cost,” Councilwoman LaFray Kelley said. “I hate to not charge at all when we charge residents” to use the Senior Center. ?Kelley asked if the Bountiful Basket co-op was a nonprofit organization.?”As far as I know it is not a business, no one makes any money here,” White said.?City Recorder Diane Hirschi said it would be a cost for the city if a city employee needed to open and close the building and clean up. She asked if the city would want to just give Bountiful Baskets a key and let them open, close and clean up themselves.?White said he wouldn’t want to put the burden of opening, closing and cleaning up for Bountiful Baskets on a city employee.?Councilwoman Beth Koford said her only issue with the use of the Senior Center for Bountiful Baskets was a possible conflict with someone else who wanted to rent the building.?”Why don’t we just bag it?” said Mayor Jay Jenkins, “We’ll tell them no on the ?Senior Center.”?