Citizens update city on progress funding community center

By Tony Ends
EDITOR

Citizen volunteers charged with siting a senior citizens-community center in Brodhead updated finance committee members on their progress last week.

Ellyn Popanz has been 5 years with the effort, Sharon Wolter, 10 years. Speaking for the seven members of the center sub-committee, they shared unfolding challenges, which all communities engaged in building projects must face.

For the citizens group in Brodhead they are challenges with an exceptionally tight timeframe.

– A $500,000 Community Development Block Grant application for the project won’t be decided much before Sept. 1.

– Both funders and professional fund-raisers say raising at least another $500,000 that this grant requires in match will be extremely hard to do by Nov. 6.

– Spelling out details and costs of the project in a ballot measure for the Nov. 6 general election must be written by Aug. 29.

Boris Frank, who’s helped hundreds of municipalities construct libraries, community centers and clinics, met with the center sub-committee July 5. Almost overnight, Frank submitted thereafter a full, detailed proposal for launching a campaign to raise the matching funds.

Read the rest of the story in the July 18th edition of The Independent-Register.