| Donations
sought for hall renovation
By now, you have probably heard about the Cottonwood Community Hall Renovation Project. With your help, over the past two years, Prairie Horizons volunteers have been able to bring community projects and events that you have requested, to build skills, improve our quality of life and enable us to learn from each other as a community. Now, city officials and local Prairie Horizons volunteers are finally partnering up to make your Community Center a brighter, more friendly and updated facility! 
The Cottonwood Community Hall has been a central gathering place for all community members, young and old. Such a building is intended to be a cozy, inspiring and inviting place. It is a place which brings people together for celebration, support, for learning, working and playing. It is invalu-able community space that belongs to the entire community, and will for many generations to come. If you have attended an event at the Community Hall, you may have noticed that it is in desperate need of many basic upgrades. The kitchen is outdated. The basement and bathrooms do not have proper access. The facility is dark, and lacking natural lighting in most every room. While func-tional, there is very little appeal to the building. In the fall of 2007, you spoke up at the Visioning Rally held at Prairie Elementary, and your Horizons members are doing something about it! We hope that together, we can remodel a Community Hall that we can all share in and be proud of. Once completed, the new and improved Community Hall will be able to host a wider variety of events and activities, such as workshops, cooking classes or community movies. By the end of 2009, we hope to begin the renovation of our Community Hall in downtown Cotton-wood. Preliminary architect’s plans include the following changes: · The kitchen will receive a complete facelift, including new cabinetry, flooring, and paint as well as a more efficient rearrangement of the appliances. Kitchen patrons will also appreci-ate new appliances and an added window. · Bathrooms on the main floor will also be expanded, and upgrades to meet accessibility codes and standards. · The main Hall will receive new energy efficient picture windows and lighting. · Prairie Community Library and the basement will receive a new handicap accessible en-trance. · Both basement areas will receive new windows, allowing natural light into the now gloomy space. However, the costs for these initial proposals are already $350,000. The City of Cottonwood will be seeking an Idaho Community Development Block Grant for $150,000 as the primary source of fund-ing for the project. The City of Cottonwood, Prairie Horizons, and the Prairie Community Library have also made significant cash pledges. However as you can see, this will not be enough to com-plete this already scaled-back project. This is why we are writing to ask for your help. Your Community Hall needs your donation to help pay for the much-needed restoration and repair of the building. Many other groups, organizations and area businesses have already pledged their commitment and support. Please join us! Your gift of $25, $50, $100, $500, $1000 or more will immediately go to renovation costs or for the purchase of new lighting or appliances for our hall. All donations will be acknowledged in the Cottonwood Chronicle and look for your name on “The Wall” in the main hall after the completion of the project. A donation to the Community Center is not just updating a building. It is investing in our children’s futures and preserving our rural way of life. Please know that any amount you give will truly make a difference! Thank you for your participation in this very important project! Sincerely yours, Shelli Schumacher, Cottonwood City Council Chinh Le Ostrander, Prairie Horizons |
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