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Volunteer leaders urge town to preserve community center, seek matching grants and avoid selling town lots
Summary
Community center volunteers recounted decades of maintenance and fundraising, requested town support for operating costs and matching funds for a $750,000 grant that requires an $85,000 local match, and urged officials not to sell town-owned lots used for community events.
During the public-comment period, a community center board representative (Speaker 4) delivered an extended appeal that the town support the center’s operations and honor past cooperation. The commenter described decades of volunteer work, two roof replacements funded in part by local fundraising and a $30,000 Putnam County Foundation grant, and asked the town to "take the burden off of us for working so hard to make ends meet." She said the center has programs unusual for similar facilities and that staff such as Todd and Barb work far beyond what their pay covers.
The commenter urged the town to prioritize repairing and restoring existing buildings instead of building a costly new town hall and warned against selling town lots that the community uses for events (tractor pulls, fireworks). She cited a specific grant opportunity that would provide about $750,000 if the town can raise an $85,000 match and asked the board to pursue such grants and consider solar installations to cut electric bills; she also requested the town follow the contract terms that linked town support and center stewardship.
