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Town Seeking Block Grant For Project
On April 23, the town of Goshen held the first of two required public hearings about the updated plan for the proposed community center and the grant that the town is applying for to cover the construction costs for the facility.
The town held similar hearings last year before applying for a Community Development Block Grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. The town didn’t receive that grant, so it’s applying again with an amended plan for a smaller facility.
Last January, the town purchased property for the community center with grant money secured through Sen. Mark Warner’s office. The property, located between the town’s firehouse and rescue squad, was the site of the town’s original school building, which is still standing on the property. The original plan was to build a separate building on the property, while the revised plan is for a smaller building that will be essentially an attachment to the original school building, which will become the new town office.
The community center will have space to accommodate services from the Rockbridge Area Health Center, the Valley Program for Aging Services, the YMCA and the Rockbridge Area Resource Authority food pantry. It will also have a “flex space” that will be used by several other organizations at different points.
“As I’m sure you know, it can be a challenge to access a lot of those services and amenities here in Goshen, and we do have some great nonprofits who are actively trying to bring mobile versions of a lot of those services here,” said Jeremy Crute, the regional planner for the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission who is helping the town apply for the grant. “But having a dedicated space would allow them to provide even more, and more consistent service to the area, to ensure that you don’t have to drive half an hour or more to see a doctor or to take a fitness class or to get access to healthy food.
“Ultimately, we’re just hoping to improve the quality of life here in Goshen by ensuring that all of those amenities are easily accessible and available here in town,” he said.
The grant application is due June 12, and the town will have to hold a second public hearing about the community center before then, this one focused on the amenities that will be offered at the facility. That hearing is currently scheduled for June 5.
The town will likely learn whether it has been awarded the grant either in late 2024 or early 2025. If awarded the grant, the town hopes to enter into a contract with the DHCD in the spring, at which point it will have two years to complete the project.
“This will be a long process, but one that we believe will be a worthwhile one and one that will hopefully bring some helpful and needed services and amenities [to Goshen] more often and better than before,” Crute said. -Several members of the public spoke during the public hearing.
Jeff Shaffer raised concerns over the cost to the town for any operating expenses associated with the building, including maintenance, utilities and cleaning services.
“The biggest problem I have with this whole thing is that it was sold as misinformation to begin with,” he said. “Y’all have said it’s not going to cost the town anything, and that is a lie.”
Tyleigh Breeden suggested looking into using solar power for the building to help reduce the electric bill for the facility, as well as potentially hosting events in the building that could generate revenue to help cover those costs.
Glenn Thompson asked if there was any money in this grant to help with infrastructure improvements, such as sidewalks or waterline repairs. Crute said that this grant did not include funds for those kinds of projects, but that the town is hoping to apply for other grants to help with some of those costs.
“There’s a lot of waste going on in town with the money,” he said. “You don’t charge anything for these events. I don’t know what you spend on the bands, but you could put some of that money into the town and the people who need it.”
Shaffer commented that the town had previously budgeted $12,000 for the events it hosts, but had lowered that amount to $8,000 in the current fiscal year.
“They don’t want to tell you that, but we know because we go to the meetings and hear it,” added Sandra Shaffer, a former Town Council member.
“So my question is why can’t you take some of that money and put it back into the infrastructure?” Thompson asked Mayor Tom McCraw and the Council members in attendance.
The meeting was adjourned shortly after, as attempts to return the focus of the meeting to the community center failed.
