The Greene County board of supervisors at its Aug. 11 meeting approved $15,000 in funding for the new Greene County Community Center, paid at $5,000 a year for three years. The fundraising committee had submitted a request for $25,000 over five years. The money will come from the county’s Dreyfus fund.
Diane Wise spoke on behalf of the application, saying it was the first Dreyfus application from Grand Junction. She explained that the committee asked for a five year commitment because members anticipate a need to borrow against other money pledged over five years. A five-year funding commitment would make borrowing easier.
The supervisors have in the past not made a commitment longer than three years, and they declined to set a new precedent.
Supervisor Guy Richardson said that “other sources for this type of funding” would be available soon, referring to gambling proceeds from Wild Rose Jefferson and disbursed by Grow Greene County Gaming Corp. “From going through the process, we know that those type of funds have been used for exactly this type of project in other communities. I see that as probably a more appropriate source of funds for something like this,” he said. “I know that the talk of the non-profit thus far… has been that they’ll look not only to fund the Community Foundation, but they’ll fund community projects in Greene County. They’ll be looking for ‘wow’ projects. This is a ‘wow’ project…. It’s exactly the kind of thing they’ll look for.”
Wise reminded Richardson that construction is slated to begin next spring because of the extreme need for the new building. “We know what you’re talking about with future funding, but that’s in the future. The community needs the building now,” Wise said.
Steering committee member Larry Pote was also at the meeting. “In a three year period maybe that funding will kick in, and that’s a perfect time frame. But I can tell you from the emails that are going around right now, there are so many people wanting to tap into that a year and a half or two years before it’s even available, it makes your head spin,” Pote said.
“It’s going to be a few years before those requests dwindle down. Those first few years those funds are available the request rate will be extremely high,” supervisor Dawn Rudolph said. “They’re all going to want a piece of the pie. They’re all thinking right now what they can use that money for.”
The proposed community center has a price tag of about $1 million. If all the grants the committee has applied for were funded, the committee would be about three-fourths of the way to the total. The committee recently received a $25,000 pledge from Home State Bank and a $10,000 donation from Jefferson Telephone Company Charitable Trust.
A benefit supper and auction are planned for Friday, Aug. 22, starting at 5:30 pm at the building site on Main Street in Grand Junction. Click on the ad/link on GreeneCountyNewsOnline to see the items up for auction.
The proposed community center has a price tag of about $1 million. Pote said that if all the grants the committee has applied for were funded, the committee would be about three-fourths of the way to the total.
