Town to open community center

The residents of Granger are making use of the community building in their town.

The building, originally the town’s school building, was the site of a major renovation project on the building’s main floor, which now houses the Sweetwater County Library System’s Granger branch. Granger Mayor Sandy Allen said the library has more space than it used to, saying the Town Council has had the opportunity to host its meetings in the community center.

An open house is scheduled for Feb. 27 and takes place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Allen said the town continues to seek name ideas for the building and will give visitors an opportunity to suggest their ideal names.

Originally, the building was to be named after World War II general George S. Patton, but the name was ditched last year when a new mayor and Council was voted in during the 2014 elections. The community has no ties to Patton.

While the main floor has been renovated and a new elevator built to address access through the Americans with Disabilities Act, Allen said they look forward to renovating the basement and second story of the building.

Allen said the plan to install an air-rifle range in the basement that could be utilized for hunter’s safety qualification shooting, while the second story would be a exercise area for the town’s residents.

While they have the dreams, the question of how the town would fund those renovations remains unanswered.

“We’re not sure where the funding would come from,” Allen said.

The community building became vacant after Sweetwater County School District No. 2 moved the Granger classrooms out to a new school building located at the edge of the town.

Granger used funding from the State Lands and Investments Board consensus grant to help pay for the renovation. The town did face some setbacks during the renovation as a result of asbestos abatement and roofing needing to be completed, along with construction of the elevator.