Friends of the library kicks off community center capital campaign

The Kingston Friends of the Library recently donated $6,250 toward construction of a new Kingston community center in the Village Green. The donation is part of the Friends’ agreement to donate a total of $25,000 over the next five years toward the future center, which will house a new library.

“This is a really significant decision for the Community Center Foundation. It means a lot to the credibility of the fundraising effort,” said Kingston resident Bobbie Moore, executive director of the Community Center Foundation and president of the Village Green Stewardship Committee.

Moore said by Friends of the Library dedicating the money Sept. 10, it shows community commitment in getting the capital campaign underway for the center.

Money for the center’s construction will come from community donations, grants and future loans, Moore said.

Early estimates of the center’s cost are in the neighborhood of $6 million, she said.

According to the Community Center Foundation’s business plan, a future project to accommodate ferry traffic will widen State Route 104 and remove about 25 percent of the current community center site.

A new facility is “desperately needed,” said JoAnn Cratty, who used to work on the Kingston Community Center board before the county took over running it about eight years ago.

“(The current building) is old and rickety and not really healthy and there’s no money in the budget to keep it clean,” Cratty said.

The current building also does not meet the code set by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Although there is a ramp, it is too short and steep to meet standards, she said.

Cratty and Moore agreed that the Kingston community would like to continue stewardship of the new building once it is built.

“The seniors had been running the community center and supporting it from bingo games and a concession stand and were able to keep up the community center on our own,” Cratty said. Cratty is also the president of Kingston’s Super Seniors and represents her group on the Kingston Village Green Stewardship Committee.

“When the casinos came to the area, bingo sloughed off and we didn’t have any other money-making activities and that’s when the county took over,” she said.

The original plan for the future community center was approved back in 2000. When the county acquired the Navy property located on West Kingston Road, plans changed and were re-approved in August 2007, Moore said.

The future community center site is planned for the crest of the hill behind the Navy duplexes which will be demolished in the near future.

To join in the fundraising efforts for a new community center or make a donation, contact Bobbie Moore at (360) 297-2845.

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