Boys and Girls Club unveils hopes for $5 million community center at Ruder

Don Bennett wants to see a new Boys and Girls Club facility in Columbia Falls, and his hope is to start on it sooner, rather than later.

Bennett, the President of Freedom Bank, presented plans Monday night for a 33,600 square foot facility to the School District 6 board of trustees.

The hope, Bennett said, is that the board would donate outright, or provide a long-term lease for $1, on a plot of land just north of the current Ruder Elementary gym.

He estimated the building would cost about $5 million. Bennett and the Boys and Girls Club have collectively assembled a steering committee for the project, including architect Ron Nash, superintendent of schools Steve Bradshaw, Boys and Girls Club Director Cindy Hooker, Bennett’s wife, Barbra and Kathy Anderson of Schellinger Construction.

Bennett presented an aggressive timeline for fundraising and groundbreaking, saying he’d like to see the project start construction by next year.

The idea is to completely fundraise the entire project, so the Club doesn’t have any debt when it moves in.

Trustee Larry Wilson suggested the Club look at the former Canyon Elementary School, which already has a gym, kitchen and other amenities like the new building would have. Bennett said they had looked at Canyon and the former Plum Creek “Cedar Palace” offices, but have decided to build something in new Columbia Falls.

Bennett said he was looking at the project like a “warm piece of clay,” in that he was willing to work with the district.

The district is looking to potentially expand Ruder Elementary in the future, but it’s still a few years off — the hope is to dovetail a potential project sometime in 2020, when the junior high bond expires.

Bennett said the new structure would be open to the public throughout the day, so people could use the building, which would include a gym, offices, technology rooms, a commercial kitchen and other amenities. In short, the vision would not just include the Boys and Girls Club, but would be a community center.

From an educational standpoint, Hooker noted that about 100 students in Columbia Falls are considered homeless and the Club has been working with the schools to extend its programs into the Boys and Club after school programs.

The club currently uses a small church across the street from the Glacier Gateway Elementary as its Columbia Falls offices and the school lets it use the gym and playground.

The Club serves about 65 kids a day, Hooker said, but has more than 100 members total. It runs programs after school until 6:30 p.m. and offers all-day summer programs as well.

Trustees made no commitments to the project. There’s still a host of details to work out. If the school and the club can’t reach an agreement, Bennett said the club would move forward with the project at a different location.

The board is expected to take up the matter formally at its next meeting in March.