Betterment Club Members Support Bringing Back Community Building

Several Goodman Betterment Club members gathered at the Goodman City Council meeting on Tuesday night, showing their support to build back a community building.

The original building was built by the Betterment Club several years ago but was destroyed in the April 4, 2017, tornado that swept through town.

City council members have recently grappled with how best to utilize the approximate $67,000 they have received in insurance money to possibly replace the building.

Betterment Club member Clyde Davidson presented two rough estimates from local builders. One estimate, from L & M, features utilizing the existing concrete pad and building a 40 x 50 foot structure with a kitchen and enclosed bathrooms. That estimate is $74,250, he said.

A second estimate, from G3 Unlimited, encompassed different features and came in at $52,221.

Davidson said the two estimates give city council members an idea of how much it would cost to rebuild the community building.

"We would very much like to put it back into use," Davidson said. "We would like to see it move forward."

In other business, the council voted to approve $5,800 for a new handheld meter reader. The meter reader device had to be sent out to be repaired. Though it is working again, city officials felt a back-up system was needed. During the three months without such a device, city officials had to average previous months to arrive at a water bill total.

City council members also:

• agreed to try to host the Kansas City Southern Christmas Train again and contact officials for consideration

• discussed rebuilding a gazebo with community help

• voted to take out an ad in the newspaper, advertising for a Recreation Director. Current director Heith Lewis is wanting to retire from his post.

General News on 02/07/2019