Expansion Update:
Interior of barn, new property
“We’re finding man-eating holes in the barn floor.”
In the last newsletter, I asked people who wanted to serve on a non-profit board to contact me for opportunities, and I must say, the response was far more than I anticipated. We have two new board members, and I still need to interview two more potential candidates. Hopefully, by the time this newsletter goes to press, I will have done just that. I am humbled to be a part of the board, and I look forward to the challenges we face this year.
One of those challenges is the new property we purchased last year. Thanks to Susan Blue at Community Services Group and to Ron Kratofil and John McHenry at Goodwill Industries, our interest payments on the new property have been taken care of until 2012. After that, the Homefields board will have to step up and take over the payments. So the board is currently discussing how we are going to do that. It will be no easy task, and we have some tough decisions to make. I wish we could say that donations alone will take care of it, but they won’t. We appreciate everything our readership and donor base does for us, but the property payments are substantial, and it will just take more than we normally receive. That being said, we are looking at several options, and I’m optimistic that it will all come together.
Speaking of the new property, Tom and Linda Strauss, Terry Blue, and I have been working to clean up the barns at 128 Letort. We have already filled one 20-yard roll-off dumpster, and we have an empty one sitting there waiting to be filled. Two sections of the barn have been cleaned, and we are working on the large center section. So far we have pulled 7 manure spreader loads of loose straw out of that section, and we have only scratched the surface. The straw is being put on the Goodwill compost pile, so it is going to good use. The straw is 2 feet thick in some sections, and we are finding man-eating holes in the barn floor, which is making the clean up interesting. See photo. Andy Frye stopped in to help us one Saturday, so I want to thank him for his contribution. Tom Strauss has smashed old wire chicken crates with the backhoe and has taken over 500 pounds of metal to the recycler, and there is at least that much still left to smash. If anyone knows an organization that could help us with the clean up, I’d really like to talk to them. I estimate that there are about 120 to 150 work hours needed yet to clean up the property.
Linda had the good idea to call Paul Risk Associates to see if the barns can be salvaged or whether we should bulldoze them under. Paul plays in our fall golf tournament and has helped Homefields in the past with his contracting expertise. Paul was on vacation, but his son Steve met Tom and me at the property and said that the main section of the barn has good bones but some of the add-ons should be taken down. Again, everything costs, and we need to plan what the priorities are and what time line we are looking at. If you love demolition, contact us and we’ll listen to your ideas.
Board member Allison Hawthorne is heading up a task force to discuss financial concerns and property overview and planning. This will determine the direction the board will be going in the upcoming months. The committee will be looking at fundraisers, grants, and just what do we do with the new property and how that fits with our existing property and mission statement. This will not be an easy task, but I believe, in the end, the board will have a better idea as to what and where our efforts should be directed.
Dr. Jeanne Marie Rose is a new board member. She is working with the Millersville students who are developing a Homefields public relations campaign.
I want to thank board member Suzanne Ollar for the Homefields residents’ dinner that was held at Millersville University in March. The food and service were great. Everyone seemed to have a good time.
I know the next paragraph is a touchy one right now, but I need to ask for your help. Everything Homefields does costs money, and our two sources of income are you (our generous donors) and the fall golf tournament. This year there are some extra costs with the 128 Letort property, and we lost money with the Harley raffle, so we are about $4,000 short until the proceeds come in for the golf tournament later in the year. Anything that you can do to help would be greatly appreciated. Even donating time to help clean the barns or cut the brush would save us the money to hire someone to do it. Telling us what you can do will help us build a database of people we can call. We appreciate all that you do for us.
Sincerely,
Jay Groff
President, Homefields
