Support the Timberjay by making a donation.

Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Pavilion dedication draws huge crowd

Jodi Summit
Posted 7/13/16

GREENWOOD TWP- The new pavilion at the Greenwood Town Hall was the center of attention, Saturday, as over 400 community residents and friends attended a fundraiser barbecue dinner and dedication …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Pavilion dedication draws huge crowd

Posted

GREENWOOD TWP- The new pavilion at the Greenwood Town Hall was the center of attention, Saturday, as over 400 community residents and friends attended a fundraiser barbecue dinner and dedication ceremony.

Organizers estimated about 500 attended the barbecue rib dinner. “We prepared enough ribs for 350 and ran out,” said Dean Panian, the guiding force behind the project. “This is a great turnout!”

Jarri Ankrum, who gave an update on the project at Tuesday’s town board meeting said about 50 people volunteered at the event, and most didn’t even get to eat, because the food ran out.

Ankrum presented the township with another check to cover the current outstanding bills. She also asked the township to consider an additional $5,000 donation to cover the estimated cost for the remaining landscaping work, mainly installing sod. She told the board that area contractor David Desannoy had just donated $1,000 worth of gravel to help landscape the hillside between the new tennis court and the pavilion.

The board quickly agreed to three other requests: to move the horseshoe pits closer to the bocce ball courts, to develop rental guidelines and rules for the pavilion, and to allow their committee to brush out the area between the bocce ball courts and County Rd. 77.

Ankrum noted that the request for an additional $5,000 donation, to cover new sod, black dirt and loam, still meant the township would be footing the cost for only about 10 percent of the pavilion’s estimated $150,000 value. As of now, a little less than $69,000 has been spent to build the pavilion, since most of the labor and some of the materials were donated.

The board agreed to help with this cost, and decided to also pay for landscaping and sod work on the sloped perimeter of the new tennis court, to prevent gravel from being tracked onto the court. The tennis court is not quite completed, with striping and net installation still underway. The board also approved having snow guards and gutters placed on the west edge of the storage building roof, which is adjacent to the court, to prevent snow and rain damage.

Initially the project was approved in February, by the town board, which agreed to contribute $10,000 in township funding for the project, which had an initial budget of approximately $30,000. Plans for the project changed as community donations poured in. The project also received a $9,878 grant from the IRRRB, which was used to help pay for the electrical and handicap accessibility features.

The rest of the funds were raised privately by the Greenwood Community Recreation Board, a newly-formed non-profit group. The group sent out a fundraising appeal, and hundreds donated to the project, allowing construction to begin in the spring.

At the dedication, Panian, who also spearheaded the construction of the four new bocce ball courts that are adjacent to the pavilion, said the strong support of board members was essential to the completion of the project.

“Our board really pitched in,” he said. “Without them this wouldn’t be here.”

Panian said the completed project was even better than he had initially imagined. The pavilion was built to comfortably seat at least 100, and is surrounded by outdoor picnic tables and barbecue grills. It was designed to be low-maintenance, with a stone exterior and wood-paneled ceiling.

He said the generous response to the fundraising meant they were able to go “above and beyond” the initial plans.

“This will make Greenwood a friendlier place for the entire community,” he said, noting the pavilion can be used by all area residents, not just Greenwood. The town board is expected to set rental/reservation policies at this month’s meeting.

Two bocce ball leagues have been using the new courts this summer, and the new township tennis court is nearing completion. The township has bocce ball equipment available to borrow by contacting Greenwood Town Hall.

The cost for the pavilion was kept low thanks to donations of labor and materials from many area contractors and suppliers, including Aaron Dennie Construction, Jack Williams/United Landscapes, Seppi Brothers, Dean Esala, Reichel Electric, Laurentian Monument and Stone, SPEC Mix, and Pohaki Lumber.

Greenwood Community Recreation Board members are Jarri Ankrum, Gene Baland, Norene Butalla, Jet Galonski, Judy Politano, Renee Aro, Byron Beihoffer, Roger Butalla, Dean Panian, Dave Fazio, Brian Zak, Cope and Peterson, and Loren Turner.

Deb Warner’s granddaughter Harley helped draw the winners of the many door prizes. Renee Halloway won the etched Lake Vermilion mirror, and Micah Banks won the sunset sailboat cruise, and Jan Hanson won the hand-made quilt donated by Johnnie Schlieske. Many other door prizes were also awarded, including gift certificates from local businesses.

The members of the Women’s Bocce Ball League did their part to help the fundraising effort, donating 13 silent auction baskets.

The committee is still looking to raise a little more funding to complete the landscaping around the pavilion. Donations can be mailed to:

Community Rec Area

P.O. Box 703, Tower, MN 55790

For more information, call Jarri Ankrum at 218-750-7236