BROOKINGS – The Brookings Activity Center is a hub of activity for the community, and after 13 years of solid use, the floor in the main room is wearing out.
It has hundreds of pairs of feet on it every week, and where the floor’s seams meet, the laminate has worn away to the point where when it’s mopped, the water gets in and soaks into the wood underneath, causing the floor to warp. The folks at the center have resorted to caulking the wide gaps that have appeared as a stopgap measure until they can fully replace it.
According to Leah Benson, the center’s vice president of board and head of the fundraising committee, that will cost $11,000.
“It needs to be replaced. We literally have hundreds of people in there every week. Rotary meets there every Tuesday, every Monday night we have a dance that runs from 60-110 people. We have at least four exercise groups in there a week. On the weekends, it might be the gamers, it might be a family reunion or a rummage sale, a birthday or anniversary celebration. It gets a lot of use,” she said.
The activity center has set aside $2,000 from its general fund for this floor project, and members are discussing ways to fundraise the remainder of the cost.
There will be a simple donation bucket at the center for free-will donations, and a pancake feed is being considered. Since the activity center is a 501(c)(3) organization, donations are tax deductible.
Besides dropping donations off in person, they can be mailed to the center at 320 Fifth Ave.
They will be raffling an antique quilt donated to the center. The queen-sized quilt is 93 inches by 92 inches.
“The top is the antique part. It was donated to us already assembled, then the ladies added a border to make it queen-sized and put on the backing,” said Traci Saugstad, the director of the Brookings Activity Center.
The price for a raffle ticket has been set at $5 each or five for $20.
Those who want to purchase a ticket can go to the Senior Center and ask Benson or Saugstad for one. Posters with contact information for members who are selling tickets will be put up at some local businesses.
The bid that Midstates Flooring gave them is only good for three months, putting them on a tight schedule. Benson would like to have the floor worked on ahead of the end of July, when they will host Senior Olympics.
But that is a very optimistic timeframe, she said.
“That building touches this whole community in so many ways. When you think of how many organizations and how many families have elderly people that use that place, it’s just astounding,” she said. “I’m just going to keep plugging away at it and hope that the community is as generous as they are for so many other wonderful worthwhile projects.”
Contact Eric Sandbulte at esandbulte@brookingsregister.com.
