Vertical Raise provides details on ACK Civic Center fundraiser

KEESEVILLE | Last week, local residents, stakeholders, and officials filed into the Ausable-Chesterfield-Keeseville Civic Center to learn more about its current fundraising efforts with Vertical Raise. Friends of the ACK Civic Center is currently looking to raise $40,000 to complete a much-needed gym renovation. The funds raised will go towards scraping the damaged surfaces, replastering the walls and ceiling areas, and repainting the entire gym. According to the February committee meeting minutes, Adams Brothers Painting in Plattsburgh provided an initial estimate of $50,000 to $55,000. The lift should deduct $16,000 from the overall cost, and if the scraping is done in-house, it might reduce it by an additional $10,000. "Over time, wear and tear have taken its toll; peeling paint and deteriorating plaster not only impact the appearance of the facility, but also create potential safety concerns," stated volunteer Alayna Joy, who started the online fundraiser on Vertical Raise last month, in a previous interview. "Our goal is to restore the gym to a clean, safe, and welcoming environment for the entire community, especially the kids who practice, compete, and build lifelong memories here." Jacob Maher from Vertical Raise showed attendees how to access the online fundraiser and make a donation. At the time this article was written, almost $1,000 had been raised. So far, some work has been done on the gym. New padding was installed on the end walls; the existing bleachers were removed; and the floor was replaced. Curtains were lined along the back of the existing stage, and they'll remain up until the renovations are complete. About $40,000 was spent on the new gym floor alone, which is lined with black lines for basketball, blue lines for volleyball, and green lines for pickleball, said Bruce Garcia, a member of Friends of the ACK Civic Center, in a previous interview. A little over $15,000 was saved by volunteers tearing up the existing flooring themselves. Once the gym renovations are completed, the ACK Civic Center will be able to offer even more than it does currently. From hosting a farmers' market to using the gym stage for theater productions, the possibilities are endless. Renovations to the 55,000-square-foot brick-and-mortar building began about five years ago with a roof replacement. A brand-new boiler system was installed downstairs, and now the downstairs bathrooms are being renovated. Several of the rooms were updated to accommodate current tenants, including the JCEO (Joint Council for Economic Opportunity of Clinton and Franklin Counties, Inc.) and Dynamix Fitness & Wellness, as well as future tenants, such as the Town of Ausable. "I think we're just a few weeks away, maybe a month tops, from closing our current town office [on Ausable Street]. And once that happens, we'll sell the building down there, which will make the town a little bit of money, and then we can reinvest it elsewhere," Town of Ausable Supervisor Tim Bresett said. "So, we're going to come out positive in this scenario." One project on the horizon is turning the former library upstairs into a designated community space. To do so, however, an elevator needs to be installed to make it accessible to people with disabilities. A lift has already been installed to enable those with mobility issues to access the gym. "This building is such an asset to the community," Garcia said in a previous interview. "And if we continue to maintain it, it will be here for another 100 years or so." For more information or to make a donation, visit app.verticalraise.com/fundraiser/austable-chesterfield-keensville-civic-center-facility-renovation-fundraiser.

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Vertical Raise provides details on ACK Civic Center fundraiser

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