Thursday evening community members attended a meeting held by the Tyrone Community Partnership to discuss possibilities for the use of the former Citizens social hall as a proposed community center.
The purpose of the meeting was to determine the degree of support from the community that would translate into volunteers and patrons for the proposed project. The support from area organizations would also help in staffing and utilization of the center after its opening.
Last night individuals were able to express their opinions about what events the proposed center could be used for in this area and also gave an opportunity for people to express their opinions on if such a center was even necessary.
The meeting was the next step for the Tyrone Community Partnership after the organization submitted a letter of intent to Reliance Bank that stated its interest in purchasing the building.
According to Bob Bilger, spokesperson for Reliance Bank, there is another party who is interested in purchasing the social hall.
Bilger said the bank wants to move quickly to weigh out the two offers on the building. With the sale of the last Citizens fire truck last week, the bank will be able to make the final decision on the social hall by the end of October.
Some of the questions that were addressed at the meeting included how the building would be maintained, managed, staffed, and how could other area organizations help provide support.
One community member brought up the issue of parking while another person brought up the issue of logistics. The main question addressed was the issue of financing.
Members of the Tyrone Community Partnership said they have done extensive research on the amount of money the building used to make when it was run by the Citizens Fire Company. According to the members of the Partnership, the research shows the amount of money that will be projected through community functions held at the social hall will be enough to pay the monthly mortgage on the building.
The organization has also applied for grants to help pay for the building, but they are not relying on the grants as the sole means of income.
The members of the Partnership said the problem the Citizens Fire Company had was the lack of personnel and membership to keep the social hall functioning in a proper order. That is why the group wants to garner enough community support so that the same thing does not happen to them.
If enough interest was not shown by other area service organizations at the meeting held on Thursday, then it would be evident to members of the Tyrone Community Partnership to withdraw their letter of intent from the bank.
However, at the end of the meeting, Tyrone Community Partnership members believed that there was enough support shown from area service organizations to move ahead with their plans to purchase the social hall.
