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New grant being pursued for Russellville Community Center
RUSSELLVILLE — With an application unable to be submitted last year, the effort is being renewed to secure state grant funding for repairs to the Russellville Community Center.
Though it was sparsely attended, grant administrator Mike Kleinpeter and architect Henry Stellema of DLZ Corporation conducted a public hearing Wednesday evening to outline those needs, as well as the timeline for submitting a new application.
The town and the community center’s stewards are pursuing a $500,000 public facility grant through the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA). Of this grant, $100,000 is to be contributed from money raised locally for the effort.
After they are submitted, applications are scored by OCRA, and their projects are funded until the money is allocated. Kleinpeter noted a specific score of 450 to be eligible for funding, but the idea is to be as high on the list as possible.
“I give applause to everyone who’s involved in this place, as old as it is,” Stellema first said about the building’s current upkeep. “You’ve done well with the resources that you have with that.”
With this said, replacing the building’s roof has been the main concern. Other items include an exhaust hood in the kitchen that needs to be replaced, as well as drain pipes that are not in good shape. Replacing doors and capping an unused chimney are also needed.
“This is replacing pretty much in kind,” Stellema said about the roof replacement.
He noted that the current building code requires a quarter-inch-per-foot slope, though it was an eighth-inch when the center was built. It would have tapered insulation, while some tectum panels would have to be replaced.
Stellema provided that the roof would be made of thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) membrane and come with a 30-year prorated warranty.
The building, once Russellville High School and then an elementary school, is used for a variety of events, including weddings and school alumni functions, as well as the town’s annual Halloween social. It can also be used as a meeting place after a disaster situation.
Kleinpeter noted that over 50 letters of support for the grant have been submitted, which would bode well for its OCRA scoring.
To a query from the Banner Graphic, Kleinpeter related that the project’s application was not submitted last year, due to documentation of the center as a nonprofit not being received. The town also has to update its System for Award Management (SAM) registry.
The new proposal is due by Oct. 20, after which OCRA will do a site visit. With applications due by Dec. 22, award announcements are anticipated sometime next February. If the project is approved, final design would be done by next August.
It was not made specific how water leaks are being “Band-Aided” now to mitigate further damage, especially through the winter. Some temporary repairs, though, have been made.
Russellville Town Council President Cary McGaughey and Clerk-Treasurer Martha Mandleco attended the hearing.
Another public hearing on the project is set for Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.