Efforts to rebuild the Town of Winamac’s swimming pool continue to move ahead. The project is being organized by Winamac Town Council Member Judy Heater. She says the effort has raised over $115,000 so far, thanks to the generosity of local residents and businesses, including a $50,000 donation from the Braun Corporation.
These donations have allowed the project to take advantage of matching grant funds from the Community Foundation of Pulaski County through the Lilly Endowment’s GIFT VI Program. Heater says the project also received some additional support from the Town of Winamac during this week’s town council meeting, “They will be doing in-kind work that will save us around $150,000, and now they’re on board monetarily, so we will get our final paperwork done.”
This past weekend, organizers held the first fundraiser for the pool project, which Heater says was a success. Additional fundraisers are already planned for June and September.
Heater says she’s pleased with the results so far. “A lot of people are excited about it,” she says. “My committee’s doing a great job. Whatever I ask them to do, they’re right there. We’re going to have another donation Friday morning. Someone’s going to give us a donation, and we’ll meet at the Community Foundation for a photo. When the town’s check is ready, I would like to have a photo shoot with them, with the committee and the town board.”
She says the goal is for construction to start sometime next year. The total cost of the project is expected to be around $600,000.
