The civic center at the corner of Peck and Brink Street in the village of Marathon. (Photo via the Village of Marathon).
The Village of Marathon Board of Trustees want the civic center to be used for more events.
Members of the village board said in early February they need to update and repair some of the building's fixtures, including bathrooms and doors.
Mayor Scott Chamberlin said the village kicks in $1,500 every year that goes to the maintenance of the building.
“We’ve really been paying for upkeep such as it is,” he said. “We were fortunate in that we were going to pay for the doors, but the Maple Fest put two doors on it. And that was a big deal for us, we appreciate that.”
Chamberlin said the village is now looking for possible county grants or state funding that could help with doing some repair work on the roof of the civic center.
“We need some grant money to do it, or we need to have a fundraiser of some sort to find some money somewhere rather than just go to our general fund,” he said.
Other than the money contributed by the village, groups tend to pay for the maintenance of the building.
Partners with the village like the Marathon Fire Department, and the Maple Festival will pay a $500 fee per year to use the center. The fire department used to only pay $300 as part of their flat rate.
For residents within the Marathon Central School District, they can rent the building for $500 per day and they can get $100 back for cleaning the center. Residents living outside the school district boundaries would pay $600 per day, with $100 in reimbursement if they clean the center after usage.
Marathon treasurer/clerk Laura Padburry expressed concerns about being able to make sure someone renting the building resides within district limits.
“Marathon school district goes all the way out to Harford, and goes almost halfway or more to Willet,” she said. “It might be a little bit difficult for us to make sure they are from the district. We may have to ask for some information. They should know they’re in the Marathon school district, but some people just don't.”
