Community center committee turns to the Web

Staff report
GRAND JUNCTION — With a population of 824, Grand Junction is now looking to the world’s 7.2 billion people to help overcome one last fundraising hurdle for a new community center on Main Street.

The backers of a new community center have turned to crowdfunding — raising money via the World Wide Web — to raise the final $30,000 needed to make a six-figure state grant a reality.

Grand Junction’s planned community center project received the green light last month for a $220,000 Vision Iowa CAT (Community Attraction and Tourism) Grant.

To raise the final $30,000 for the grant, the New Grand Junction Community Center Committee has launched a GoFundMe campaign.

To make a donation to the community center fund, visit gofundme.com and enter the Grand Junction Zip code, 50107, in the search box.

Click on the “Gr.Jct, IA Community Center” link and follow the directions for making a donation.

The $1.1 million project includes the construction of a one-story building that will include three meeting rooms that can open up to accommodate groups of more than 200, plus restrooms and a kitchen.

The building will house the city hall and council chambers. Residents envision a new center large enough for receptions.

The Vision Iowa grant program provides financial incentives to communities for the construction of recreational, cultural, educational or entertainment facilities that enhance the quality of life.

City officials and committee members are committed to breaking ground on a new center in the spring.

“We are almost there,” according to Diane Wise, chairwoman of the community center committee. “Our crowdfunding campaign will send us over, so please go online and donate generously to the new community center.”

Riddled with mold, the town’s former community center — created in the late 1980s from two Main Street storefronts with connecting doorways — closed this summer after being condemned.

At that old location, a resident once fell through a moldy kitchen floor, trapping her leg.

In 2012, the city of Grand Junction agreed to raze four of six buildings on the south side of the 200 block of East Main, with plans to raze the remaining two buildings when funds became available.

Grant funds from Vision Iowa will allow the final teardown of the old buildings.

The site can then be prepared for new construction.

In addition to the online campaign, donations can also be made directly to the community center fund by sending a check to New Grand Junction Community Center, P.O. Box  383, Grand Junction, IA 50107.

Donations of grain or stock can also be made to the community center fund.

For more information on the fundraising, contact Wise at 515-370-1675 or by email at wiseone@netins.net.