Community Center soon to go to bid

After more than five years of raising funds, the board for the Palouse Community Center project plans to call for bids next month.

The board has submitted the final construction design to its building inspector. Once the board receives the inspector’s approval, it hopes to put the project out to bid by mid-May.

Palouse contracts county inspector Dan Gladwill to do its inspections.

“We expect to break ground this summer,” said Scott Beeson, board member.

For years, the group coordinated fund raisers which earned almost $250,000 for a new community building to be built in downtown Palouse.

Last year, a $100,000 donation from Lois Hanson, widow of Raymond Hanson, bumped the fund total to almost $360,000.

Beeson said they plan to use their funds in combination with a loan to build the structure.

Located in downtown Palouse, on a site which was used for several years as a corn maze, the one-story building will be about 50 X 90 feet. It will be next to the Open Eye Consignment shop which served as the former community center.

It will feature a main community hall with a kitchen and retail space. In addition to housing community events, it will be available for private parties.

The board was on the verge of going to bid last year, but a last-minute estimate on the cost of the design altered plans.

To lower costs, the board instead altered the design of the building by shortening the length of the building by 10 feet and taking out the plans for a small loft.

Excavation costs are expected to make up a large portion of the project.

“It’s not good ground. That’s why we have a huge excavation cost to get all that bad ground out,” Beeson said.

Beeson said with a laugh he had no idea what the construction crews might dig up as they prepare the center site. He added the crews will probably wait until August to break ground because the soil there stays wet longer.