SELINSGROVE — The new Selinsgrove Regional Engagement Center could be ready to open their doors in August. Director Kelly Feiler is amazed at what has been accomplished in the last several weeks, “I can’t believe what has happened over the course of about a month and a half. The building has gone from charred inside to a youth room taking place, a cafe taking place, the recreation room and the library.”
She described the construction underway inside the former Christ United Methodist Church, which was heavily damaged by fire, “Last week they pulled all of the electrical wires for the computers, phone lines and the security system. After doing that, they were able to put insulation in the walls and start putting up drywall. You can actually see the rooms taking shape. I know they were doing some basic painting in the utility room downstairs already.”
Feiler said funds are still needed to complete the project, “We go to the board of directors of the REC in March to talk about what we think our budget is going to look like the next couple of years, and what our better estimate as to what the building costs are going to be. We probably are going to need to raise probably about $200,000 to complete the building and to make sure we can have everything going for at least a year or two.”
They hope to have the REC open in August before school starts. They also hope to raise needed funding during two upcoming fundraising drives including SU Give and Raise the Region. (Ali Stevens)
