The laundry committee proposed that it would be more beneficial to the company to have its own tablecloths, napkins and kitchen towels rather than hiring a linen service.
It would save the center $7,000 to $9,000 the first year, even considering the small increase in utilities.
Executive director Kim Collier said the "in-house" laundering service would not add to the labor cost because the work would be performed by the Harlan Center staff.
Committee member Anne Fox said having a washer and dryer on the premises should not create any extra work on the staff and likened it to having a laundry room next to the kitchen at home.
"At home, I can be doing laundry and dinner simultaneously," Fox said.
A total cost estimate of $2,953-$3,653 was given for the project, which includes appliance installation and the cost of purchasing linens and cleaning solutions.
The committee also discussed the possibility of renting the center's linens, dishes and glassware to other places as well.
Fox said renting the linens to events that are held outside the center could prove to be beneficial to the center.
During the discussion, members agreed that it would be wise to charge a deposit or some type of breakage fee in order to replace anything that may be damaged during the time the items were rented out.
A committee will be organized to discuss the proposal further, and it will be brought back to the committee before a decision is made concerning the renting of the items.
Among other items voted on during the meeting, the committee agreed to keep the center's building insurance premiums with Grange Insurance instead of going with a quote from Harris Insurance Agency.
Members agreed that dealing with a local agency could be easier, but they said the differences in the two companies' quotes had a huge bearing on their decision. The annual premiums currently being paid to Grange are $8,517.55, while a quote of $9,893 was made by Harris.
Committee member Charlie Dozier said he would much rather deal with a local company than a company from out of town, but he had to consider what was in the best financial interest of the center.
"Business is business," said Dozier.
The committee also agreed to grant the request of Gladys Hoskins for $1,000 to be used for the Christmas parade sponsorship.
Hoskins said the money would be used to hire a band from Virginia and to purchase awards to be given out for floats.
Collier said what a tourist committee usually looks at when granting funding for a project is how much it will help attract tourists to the area.
"Does it bring people in to stay at motels, eat in restaurants and shop in our stores? This must meet the criteria to qualify for funding," said Collier.
Committee member Kathy Jones said she felt the funding for the Christmas parade would be money well spent.
Hoskins agreed to run public service announcements in Pennington Gap, Va., concerning the parade in order to attract tourists from that area.
In other business, the committee agreed that a financial committee should be appointed to go over financial matters at a six-month interval each year. Since the fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, the committee agreed that the financial committee should meet in January of each year.
The committee said requests for granting of any funding for projects during the year would be discussed at the January meetings.
"This would give us an opportunity to look back and see what is happening," Dozier said.
Committee members also agreed to move the regular meeting dates to the third Tuesday of the month. They agreed this would allow better time to have all financial statements ready for the meetings.
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