RISON - The Rison City Council unanimously approved a request by the Pioneer Village to convert Building 1 into a climate-controlled facility that could be used for public events as well as rented for private gatherings.
Malinda Berry with the Pioneer Village, Inc., the non-profit group that oversees the facility located at the comer of Yaney and Mockingbird Streets, asked the council during its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night for permission to move forward with the project as well as see what financial support the city might be able to provide.
While Pioneer Village, Inc. oversees the upkeep and improvements made to the facility, the Pioneer Village itself is owned by the City of Rison, hence Berry’s request for the city’s permission.
The city council unanimously approved Councilman Rodney Reed’s motion to grant the permission, and the council also agreed to have its budget committee meet to see what money the city might have available for the project.
Marty Bowlin, president of the Pioneer Village group, announced the Building 1 effort during a live video post made through the group’s Facebook page last Friday evening during Food Truck Friday at the Village. Her announcement was that the Village had set a goal of raising $50,000 to put toward the project.
Heritage Hall is the working name for the Building 1 project.
The renovations include foam insulation in the ceiling, walls and doors; using rustic sheet metal and wood planks for the interior walls; installing heating/air conditioning units; and building a stage at one end for live performances.
While Building 2 already has a stage, it was pointed out during Tuesday’s council meeting that Building 2 has some leaks in the roof and there is an issue of rainwater flowing into the stage area due to an outside drainage problem.
Berry explained that Building 1 is currently the better option due to its condition. A new roof was recently installed using insurance money after part of the roof was blown off in a wind storm …