The Williston Area Economic Development Partnership does more than promote the development of the immediate area of Williston. It recently made a promise to help fund a new community center/ firehouse in Froid, Mont.
Tom Rolfstad, the director of the Economic Development Partnership, says that the situation in Froid first came to his attention when they were participating in one of their quarterly ‘Good Neighbor’ breakfasts. Rolfstad visited Froid for the breakfast, which was held in the old firehouse. He said that to have room for all the people at the breakfast, the town of Froid had to pull all of the fire trucks out from where they were parked so that there was room for tables and chairs.
“We found that we had a lot of connections to Froid, they all had some connection to Williston,” Rolfstad said.
While talking to the citizens of Froid at the breakfast, Rolfstad said he found out that many people have family members here in Williston, many living in retirement homes here. He also said that a lot of people come to Williston for their medical needs, shopping and for entertainment. Because of Froid’s many connections to Williston, Rolfstad began to take a personal interest in helping Froid to build a new community center. Barbara Abar, the secretary for the Froid Community Center Committee, says that the idea to first build a center came when they began planning for their centennial (which will take place in 2010) a couple of years ago. It was intended as part of a general cleaning up of the town, but since then, Abar says that the project has grown beyond that.
“I don’t think it would have happened without Stan,” Abar said. Stan Lodahl is the chairman of the community center committee and according to Abar, was the driving force behind the project.
When complete, the center will be about 7200 square feet, with 4200 devoted to the community center and the other 3000 feet to the firehall. The project is estimated to cost around $450,000. Williston has promised $16,000 to help build the center. Froid has also received several donations from private donors, $150,000 from Farmer’s Union Credit and they’ve raised $250,000 on their own. “People said it couldn’t be done,” Abar said.
The center is still in the process of being built. According to Abar, the walls and a roof have been erected, but there is still a lot to be done. She says they are in the planning process right now of holding a ribbon cutting ceremony in September and she is hoping to have the center complete by the end of the year. She says Froid is still holding fundraisers because they are short what they need to complete stuff like landscaping, the interior of the center and paving.
Aside from being used for the upcoming centennial celebrations, the new community center will be used for wedding receptions,, funeral receptions, appreciation dinners, town Christmas parties, etc. Abar says she also hopes to see senior citizens and other people use it as a walking area in the winter time. The center will hold about 200 people, before pulling the fire trucks out of the way.
“We were so impressed with the project,” Rolfstad said.
“We told them we would like to come back for their centennial and do another breakfast.”
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