New Springs building will serve seniors, community

WESSINGTON SPRINGS — As each day passes, a new senior/community center gets closer to fruition in Wessington Springs.

The 3,500-square-foot center is being built just south of Main Street near Springs Inn to replace an aging structure on Main Street.

The current building’s roof leaks, and the wooden floor is deteriorating, said Lowell Stanley, president of Wessington Springs Senior Citizens. Yet senior meals are still served there to roughly 45 people each weekday, and a group of people plays cards there in the afternoon.

“The whole building is in bad shape,” Stanley said of the current center. “It’s almost impossible to remodel.”

While Wessington Springs has some sites for meetings, including Springs Inn, the Jerauld County 4-H Building and the American Legion hall, the town doesn’t have a community center, said Brian Bergeleen, building committee chairman.

The new center will feature two large rooms separated by a folding curtain, a kitchen, restrooms, storage room, and pantry and cupboards.

Aside from a senior center, the building can be used for other events such as family gatherings, graduations and meetings, Bergeleen said.

The project’s price tag is roughly $280,000, with about $145,000 raised in pledges and in-kind donations, Bergeleen said. Some contractors have donated work such as leveling the lot and labor for installing footings. Two homes were demolished for the project.

Construction started this fall, with the project expected to be done about Dec. 31, Stanley said.

The senior citizens group received a $107,500 Community Development Block Grant from the state for the project, Bergeleen said. The donations will serve as the local match for the first $100,000, while the rest will be used to pay for District III Planning’s professional services in Yankton, he said.

About $40,000 is left for fundraising, and Bergeleen said he hopes that can be acquired as soon as possible.

“We’re on the downhill slide,” he said. “Some people were waiting to see some progress. Now we have walls up and rafters up and it’s going to become a reality.”

The senior citizens also have been coming up with ideas for activities and programs to help bring in some revenue, Bergeleen said.

Both men said the new center will be a great asset to the community.

“You want to attract people from all ages,” Bergeleen said. “Being a progressive community like we are, it’s just a piece of the puzzle that’s going to fit in there and make a beautiful addition to our town.”

Stanley added: “We’ve been really looking forward to it for a long, long time.”

As for the current building, its future has yet to be determined. The building might need to be demolished if a use can’t be found.

Anyone who is interested in donating to the center can send a donation to Senior/Community Center, P.O. Box 47, Wessington Springs, S.D. 57382.

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