The village of North Syracuse’s Community Center will soon be getting a face lift.
The village board voted unanimously at its Feb. 26 meeting to apply for a Community Development grant to fix up the center, which is used daily for a variety of activities.
“We get $50,000 Community Development funding every single year,” Mayor John Heindorf said. “This year, we’re going to put in another application because of the federal stimulus, which means there’s going to be money filtering from Housing and Urban Development and on through the county, so they suspect they’re going to have more money.”
The money will be used to improve and expand the parking lot and signage at the center, as well as for some interior repairs. Another $100,000 grant, if approved, will be used for repairs to sidewalks along Main Street from Seneca Federal Savings and Loan building as far as the village can go.
“The one project, the $50,000, we’re guaranteed the money, basically,” Heindorf said. “The other money, we hope we get.”
“I think putting money into this facility is a wise choice,” Trustee Mark Atkinson said. “I think it’s a great decision.”
In other business:
Representatives from The CanTeen teen center in Cicero spoke before the board members to thank them for their support of the facility.
Three teens, along with CanTeen Director Toni Brauchle, all expressed gratitude to the board for helping to provide financial support for the struggling center, which found out earlier this year that, due to the state’s financial crisis, it would lose much of its funding. The village, along with the towns of Clay, Cicero and Salina, has provided the center with money as well as moral support.
Brauchle also reminded board members of a couple of fundraisers the center will be holding.
“We’re fundraising our butts off right now,” she said. “The Friends of the CanTeen will be hosting a spaghetti dinner at the Cicero Senior Center on March 7 from 3 to 7 [p.m.]. Also, we have a big ‘Raise the Rent’ benefit coming up April 26. Our CanTeen Classic Golf Tournament is being planned as well, and that will be May 17. And we’re also doing a ‘dough-raiser’ at the McDonald’s in Cicero — that will be in May also.”
Brauchle said the community has provided substantial support for the center.
“People are coming out of the woodwork to help us with ways to fundraise and to help us out of the state budget dilemma,” Brauchle said. “We are in holding mode right now. We’re waiting on the state budget to see what that’s going to look like once everything trickles down and the county decides how they’re spending their money. We’re hoping that there will be some youth development funds coming to us in some way, and then we can plan accordingly. Right now, we’re just doing what we can to keep
