By Jackie Gorski
Lifestyles Editor
SILVER LAKE – The town of Silver Lake broke ground Tuesday on Sycamore Street for its community building.
Silver Lake Clerk-Treasurer Tonya Conley thanked everyone in attendance at the groundbreaking who helped make it happen.
“We are here today because of what you have done. You have either helped us plan, you’ve donated money, or helped with insurance. All of you have done something here, and this is the reason why we’re able to do this,” she said. “And I want to thank you all so much for everything that’s been done.”
Conley said it’s been three years of planning from start to finish.
The initial idea was to have the community building built where the old Silver Lake school was, but the lot was not big enough. Rick and Diane Kerlin donated 3-1/2 acres on Sycamore Street, where the community building will be built. The town received just under $2 million in grant funding for the project and just under $800,000 in donations. There were over 100 people who came together, Conley said.
“And it’s a great spot because it’s by our beautiful park that K21 (Health Foundation) and the Kosciusko (County) Community Foundation helped us to have. And then our goal is to put a memorial to the school on the school lot,” she said.
Town Council President Hugh Murfin thanked Conley and everyone who worked on the committee for the community building, saying they’re the ones who got the job done.
Jim Hoch, principal architect with Hoch Associates, said the architectural firm has done a lot of projects over the years, and the Silver Lake community building is quite special.
“I don’t know of anywhere so many people stepped up in a critical moment, and there were a lot of them,” he said, adding he saw people step up repeatedly during critical times.
He said the community building is going to be a wonderful facility for the community, which will include a full-size gymnasium, a walking track, a fitness center, a community center where meetings can happen, as well as future town offices.
Kosciusko County Commissioner Sue Ann Mitchell said she wanted to share how much work has gone into creating the community building.
“What a great benefit it’s going to be for your community,” she said, adding that North Webster has a community center that the town is very much proud of.
She said she knows the community building will make the community come together.
