County looks to fix up Colony's community building

Though a misunderstanding briefly threatened to derail the county’s plans to help fix up the community building in Colony, all was cleared up in the end.

On behalf of the commission, County Clerk Melissa Jones sent a letter to residents of the Colony area enquiring about their interest in contributing to the cost of maintenance needed on the old building. However, the letter was not received quite as intended and led to concern in the Colony community that the county intended to demolish the building if it isn’t repaired.

Jones and the commissioners were quick to reassure the community members who attended last week’s regular meeting that this is very much not the case.

Rather, the commission’s intent was to offer Colony the same as has previously been given to other community buildings: a set contribution to the repairs, with assistance from the community itself to cover the rest of the cost.

“We’ve done this in Beulah and Aladdin and they bought into it and they have done parts of it, and we’ve done some of it – it’s kind of a shared deal and it worked well,” said Commissioner Fred Devish.

“People have come together and that’s where our thoughts are: if you want to keep it going, we’ll help to keep it going, but you need to help us keep it going.”

With this misunderstanding cleared up, the conversation turned to what exactly needs to be done for the building.

Facilities Maintenance Supervisor Larry Schommer said that he had prepared an estimate of the cost after reviewing its current state. The estimate is around $18,000 for materials (not including labor); however, as he is as yet unsure whether the roof needs to be replaced, the estimate could drop to $13,000 for materials.

The building has not gone unrepaired by the Colony community in recent years.

Community members noted that the steel roof, for example, was last replaced five or six years ago, while Dakota Lumber recently replaced the windows.

The siding has been replaced with vinyl – not the best choice, they admitted, but what was affordable at the time.

The door to the south sticks because of moisture, but representatives said the community is not unhappy with the overall condition.

Community members acknowledged the suggestion in the letter that the building could eventually be used for more events, such as meetings, baby showers and weddings, but said that this is unlikely to happen.

However, the community does want to see its voting location remain intact and the hall is also used for blood draws.

Around 55 to 60 voters are registered in the area, but many vote by mail.

However, community members feel it’s important to maintain this voting option for those who do prefer to fill in their ballots at the poll.

Devish also spoke to the historical nature of the building and its importance to provide “a sense of community to the people that are there”.

Commissioner Bob Latham explained that the $5000 offered to fix the building matches what was offered to Beulah and Aladdin. The commission would not be comfortable to increase the amount as it would be unfair to those other communities.

“Basically, what we’re asking is: we’ll put five grand into it, but can you guys get some money rounded up so we can do the whole project?” Latham asked.

Jones pointed out that it would not necessarily be a financial donation – it could be in the form of labor, which would reduce the associated costs.

Considerable discussion took place of ideas to raise the needed money. Commissioner Kelly Dennis, for example, suggested fundraisers, as have been done to support other community buildings in the county, and said he would happily kick off the process with a donation himself.

Community members agreed that they would be willing to try, but due to the small number of people living in that area, would prefer not to be “under the gun” to raise the money. The commissioners offered assurance that there is no timeline and the intent of sending out the letter was to gauge interest, not to announce a deadline.