BY DAN HILDEBRAN
A board member of CareerSource of North Central Florida told the Lake Butler City Commission that his organization is looking for office space in town.
The state’s regional workforce board connects job seekers with employers. According to the organization’s website, the agency now has offices in Gainesville, Lake City, Starke, and Old Town.
Eugene Dukes told commission members during their May 20 meeting that CareerSource is looking to open offices in each of the counties it serves.
“And (one) would be here in Union County, it would be open five days a week, eight to five, and it would be manned,” he said.
Dukes added that two or three people would staff the office, and that in addition to career services, the office would assist Union County residents with Veterans benefits and other social services.
“So, it would basically be a one-stop shop,” he said.
Dukes said CareerSource has ample funding for the office and that in the past, Union County residents have not gotten their fair share of services offered by the organization.
The board member suggested that the old railroad depot might be a good spot for the office.
“It would be centrally located,” Dukes added. “It would be providing a service that (brings) state and federal dollars… to these clients.”
“If we need to lease it or rent it or pay utilities, we would be also willing to do that,’ Dukes said. “But my feeling is that the less we have in rent or lease or whatever, the more we’ll have left over to provide for our clients. But it would be a true service that, in my opinion, we’ve never had before.”
Dukes said he was not looking for an immediate response from commissioners to the idea, but that CareerSource hoped to begin the project in July.
