Groundbreaking for new Endeavor facility

The Village of Endeavor conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for its new multi-purpose facility this past Sunday at the building site, located between the Lions Park and the elementary school. Posing with shovels were members of the Village Board, Library Board, Planning Board, Building Committee, Police Department, General Engineering Co., and a representative from the Department of Commerce.

 

Endeavor breaks ground for new civic center

The Village of Endeavor kicked off it project to build a new multi-pupose facility with a groundbreaking ceremony held Sunday morning, at the start of that day’s Lions Chicken Festival activities.
The building will be located between Lions Park and the Endeavor Elementary School, and will house Village Hall, the library, police department, as well as a community/senior citizen center. The 6,000 square foot building is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $785,000, but the village is actively working on seeking donations and looking for ways to work in-kind to match a $340,000 grant they just received from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.

Village President Kevin Boodry said that the grant and donations received so far have already amounted to about 55-60% of project costs. The board will be opening bids for the construction on August 7th.

Among the donators was former resident Ada Mills Donner, who contributed a generous $100,000 amount. In her family’s honor, the village has decided to name the new building the “Ada Mills Donner and Melvin R. Donner Civic Center.

Along with that, all members of the village board, planning and building committees, and library board have made generous contributions of between $500 and $1,000, Boodry said. The village’s goal is to have the building funded 100% through the grant, donations, and in-kind labor, but if that doesn’t happen, arrangements for funding through Royal Bank have also been arranged.

The building will focus on energy efficiency. Plans are to allocate 1,800 square feet to the library, 2,600 square feet to the multi-purpose/senior center area, and 1,600 square feet to the village hall/police/secure storage areas. It will have the capacity to hold 250 people for events.

The location was chosen for its easy access from the highway, and its proximity to areas that are active in the community – the school and park. Boodry believes that in the future, that part of the village will be its new “center.”

Special guests at Sunday’s ceremony included Al and Cheri Gibeaut, who led the audience in singing “America,” County Board Vice Chairman Paul Wade, State Representative J.A. “Doc” Hines, Sandra Herfel from the Department of Commerce, Endeavor’s oldest resident Henry Gauger, and Donner family representative Royce Donner.