The new Lucas Community Center (LCC) was open over the Labor Day weekend for residents to see the progress still under way on the old Liquid nightclub. Events were planned daily Friday through Monday in the partially remodeled building and on the property grounds.
“It’s like an open house,” explained LCC Board Member Linda Waggle who sat at a table selling raffle tickets for a beautiful quilt hanging behind her as well as passing out numbers for the over sixty items donated for their silent auction.
“We wanted to show people what we’ve accomplished so far. We ripped out the insulation and painted all the decks and cleaned up the volleyball courts. We’ve done a lot of painting. We have a house of prayer that’s going to be open 24/7,” stated Waggle.
Saturday’s events hosted a farmer’s market, car show, ice cream social, and movie night with all proceeds going toward the LCC project. Sunday brought basketball, corn hole, and volleyball tournaments. Monday ended with a garage sale and poker run. All proceeds will go toward the remodeling of the building.
Many items have already been donated to the community center. An arcade game stood in the corner, ready for when the electricity in that part of the building is turned on. Waggle said they planned to have a game area for children and youth.
The LCC members plan to bring more than just the community center to the building. “We hope to offer Christian counseling and the Food Pantry will be coming in. There are some storage spaces we might turn into a Clothes Closet. We’re hoping some type of restaurant will move in here to offset some of the cost.” There’s even talk of blocking off other areas to make offices that can be rented.
Waggle said the restaurant would share a common area where people could sit and eat and visit, but the restaurant has been identified yet. Besta Fasta Pizza is still considering the space, but that hasn’t been finalized yet. “It’s really a matter of whether or not it’s financially feasible for her to make the move,” explained Waggle.
The former owners of the building stripped the building so bare that even the electric plugs were removed as well as every piece of lighting. A great deal of work still needs to go into the building to make it usable for their purposes. “I’m hoping we are up and running by the end of the school year, but we’ll see,” explained Waggle.
“There’s even someone wanting to donate a playground in where the third volleyball court used to be,” stated Waggle. The other two volleyball courts are cleaned up and ready to use.
During the Labor Day fundraising event, sign-ups were available for anyone in the community who wanted to help. Waggle asked that people write down what the skills they offer. “Chances are we’ll call you,” she told one gentleman who was retired but a former construction worker.
The Smith family visited the community center on Saturday. “We currently live outside of town but we’ve made an offer on a house back in town and this place would be really close to us,” said Mrs. Smith. “I’d love it for my kids to come to after school.”
For more information, visit the Lucas Community Center on Facebook.
