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New hospitality and senior center planned for former ambulance building
By Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff Writer
HAMILTON, Ill. - The City of Hamilton will build a new hospitality and senior center over the course of the next two or three budget cycles, Mayor Stephen Woodruff said on Monday.
“This is a two- or three-year program,” Woodruff said. “We will take our time and build it right.”
The city's former ambulance building on North 17th Street will be incorporated into the center along with a new 56-by-120-foot addition, front porch and awning.
The site had been considered for new senior housing, but another Hancock County city landed that project.
The new building would replace the hospitality and senior center on Broadway.
“We've run into a parking problem downtown,” Woodruff said. “The building we're using now is becoming dilapidated, and it doesn't fit seniors' needs.”
The center serves as a senior citizen meal site in Hancock County and headquarters for the Hamilton American Legion. The building is rented out for wedding and baby showers and has a small pool (billiards) room that sees plenty of use.
The new facility will serve the same functions, Woodruff said, but will be more adaptable to residents and community needs. A smaller, easier to heat or cool portion of the center will be used on a daily basis, but be expandable into a larger space when required.
Although the city has not completed designs, Woodruff expects the cost of the project to be $100,000 to $160,000.
“We're looking for donations and we're looking for grants,” he said.
He acknowledges that grants will be difficult to find and secure in the current economic climate, but said, “if there's one out there, we're going to apply for it.”
In anticipation of designing costs and moving the project forward, the city has targeted $50,000 for the first stage in its 2007-2008 spending plan.
Woodruff said the city will plan a day meeting with seniors in order to make sure special needs are met. Previous evening meetings did not draw enough participation.
Woodruff hopes to start construction this fall and have the “shell” complete by late fall or early spring.
In a related subject, Woodruff said Hamilton needs a third volunteer group to help with economic development.
The city already has two established volunteer organizations, the Hamilton Merchants Association and Hamilton Community Development Coalition, that have spearheaded Hamilton's recent community development projects.
The new group would pursue new business leads, search for grants, work on business retention and become involved with other communities in mutually beneficial economic and community development projects.
“We've been teased with motels and restaurants,” Woodruff said. “We need to cinch one of them up. We need to be able to bring Hamilton to the table with other groups.”
The Hamilton mayor position is part-time.
Woodruff, owner-operator of Woodies Barber Shop, Broadway, Hamilton, is self-employed.
Woodruff also asked city council members to approve a resolution supporting a Hancock County Board plan to investigate sites for the location of a barge construction business along the Mississippi River in Hancock County, Ill.; contact state and federal legislators and officials to pursue construction and funding of the barge construction business; and conduct necessary travel, on-site visits of barge construction facilities and meetings.
The county board is funding the effort, Woodruff said.
The idea behind the project is to capitalize on the formation of the Southeast Iowa Regional Economic and Port Authority in Lee County by having barges built in the Illinois shallows and floated out to the channel in the river.
A member of the Hancock County Board recently traveled to Louisiana to pursue the idea of building barges away from hurricane country.
“This is a two- or three-year program,” Woodruff said. “We will take our time and build it right.”
The city's former ambulance building on North 17th Street will be incorporated into the center along with a new 56-by-120-foot addition, front porch and awning.
The site had been considered for new senior housing, but another Hancock County city landed that project.
The new building would replace the hospitality and senior center on Broadway.
“We've run into a parking problem downtown,” Woodruff said. “The building we're using now is becoming dilapidated, and it doesn't fit seniors' needs.”
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The new facility will serve the same functions, Woodruff said, but will be more adaptable to residents and community needs. A smaller, easier to heat or cool portion of the center will be used on a daily basis, but be expandable into a larger space when required.
Although the city has not completed designs, Woodruff expects the cost of the project to be $100,000 to $160,000.
“We're looking for donations and we're looking for grants,” he said.
He acknowledges that grants will be difficult to find and secure in the current economic climate, but said, “if there's one out there, we're going to apply for it.”
In anticipation of designing costs and moving the project forward, the city has targeted $50,000 for the first stage in its 2007-2008 spending plan.
Woodruff said the city will plan a day meeting with seniors in order to make sure special needs are met. Previous evening meetings did not draw enough participation.
Woodruff hopes to start construction this fall and have the “shell” complete by late fall or early spring.
In a related subject, Woodruff said Hamilton needs a third volunteer group to help with economic development.
The city already has two established volunteer organizations, the Hamilton Merchants Association and Hamilton Community Development Coalition, that have spearheaded Hamilton's recent community development projects.
The new group would pursue new business leads, search for grants, work on business retention and become involved with other communities in mutually beneficial economic and community development projects.
“We've been teased with motels and restaurants,” Woodruff said. “We need to cinch one of them up. We need to be able to bring Hamilton to the table with other groups.”
The Hamilton mayor position is part-time.
Woodruff, owner-operator of Woodies Barber Shop, Broadway, Hamilton, is self-employed.
Woodruff also asked city council members to approve a resolution supporting a Hancock County Board plan to investigate sites for the location of a barge construction business along the Mississippi River in Hancock County, Ill.; contact state and federal legislators and officials to pursue construction and funding of the barge construction business; and conduct necessary travel, on-site visits of barge construction facilities and meetings.
The county board is funding the effort, Woodruff said.
The idea behind the project is to capitalize on the formation of the Southeast Iowa Regional Economic and Port Authority in Lee County by having barges built in the Illinois shallows and floated out to the channel in the river.
A member of the Hancock County Board recently traveled to Louisiana to pursue the idea of building barges away from hurricane country.
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