MISSION STATEMENT OF STERLING COMMUNITY CLUB, INC.

The Sterling Community Club, Inc. (SCCI) has been in existence since 1959 and has been an approved 501©3 non-profit Corporation since the early 1990’s. The Mission Statement for this non-profit organization is that, “it is formed to bring together those persons interested in the welfare and improvement of the Sterling community and to promote the education, social, charitable and civic interests of this area”. The SCCI feels our most valuable resource is our kids, our families & our future in this great state of Alaska.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

The Sterling Community Center (SCC) that we are going to build will be approximately 15,000 sq. ft. The building will consist of a computer library/conference room, a full size gym/meeting room, a catering kitchen, 2 offices, pantry, female & male lockers, 3 storage rooms, a mechanical room, office space for SCCI & a director, handicapped bathrooms, another bathroom with an outside entrance for hockey players and an entry way that can house a small gift shop & a concession area. It will be built on a heated slab floor with a prefab wood structure built by Spenard Builders. It will be located on a parcel of land (approximately 5 acres), owned by the Sterling Community Club, Inc. valued at $100,000.00, on the corner of Swanson River Road and the Sterling Highway in Sterling Alaska.

The Sterling Community thinks this facility will bring an economic boost to our community, as well as a place for youth and adults to meet & recreate. Once the building is built we will be able to use it for various functions such as;

· a recreation/meeting space

· a community computer library

· a museum

· health fairs

· artist exhibits/concerts

· a place for our Head Start kids to use for their larger programs

· community health programs such as “Safe Kids”

· a space to administer required vaccinations and flu shots

· computer classes

· Fire Safety programs

· use as an emergency shelter in emergencies

· Boy’s and Girl’s Club programs

· sports teams overnighters

· weddings, community dinners, fundraisers etc.

SIZE & COST TO BUILD

Estimates received to build this 13,000 sq. ft. facility that will be functional for our community is $1,400,000.00 depending on how much volunteer help & services we get. The Sterling community citizens have committed to volunteer some materials & services for some of the plumbing, electrical, gravel, dirt work and labor for building this facility. The SCCI has already spent $92,213.00 this year for prep work for this building plus the sand & gravel & the excavating which was all donated in the amount of about $40,000.00.

WORK COMPLETED

These are some of the things we have completed to prepare the property for building the SCC;

· Installed new high wattage electricity (still have to put in 3 phase electricity)

· Moved the natural gas line, that crossed the middle of our community property, to the property line

· Hauled sand/gravel in for a solid foundation base for the new location for the historic old elementary school (old log cabin)

· Built the new foundation for the log cabin

· Moved the old school unto the new foundation

· Moved the old Sterling post office from the Scout Lake area to the community property, to be used at a later date, for part of the museum

· Moved the work shop out of the way so we could excavate for the new Center

· Moved the pavilion & playground to a temporary location

· Paid Taurianian Engineering for civil & structural engineering plans

· Made a $59,000.00 credit deposit to Spenard Builders

· All the excavation for the new building foundation has been done. We had to dig about 5 feet deep. The sand/gravel was hauled back in by volunteers for the material, excavators, compactor, dozers and trucks. (about 1500 cu. yds. = $40,000.00 all donated) We are ready to start putting in the footings & build the building in the spring.

These are some of the partners we are currently working with.

· Sterling Community Club-funding

· State of Alaska, Dept. of Commerce, Community & Economic Development-funding

· Small Business director-business plan

· Merkes Builders-consultant

· Bob Oakes-President of SCCI

· Kenai Peninsula Borough-funding

· Jim Parker-electrical engineer

· Barry Lowe-Mechanical Engineer (Miller Sheet Metal)

· Klauder & Co. Architects

· Mike Taurianinen, P.E. Consulting Engineers, Inc—structural, water, sewer, soils

· Smith Well Drilling-new well

· DEC-septic & water approval

· Fire sprinkler & alarm Co.

STATEMENT OF NEED

Sterling is located about 15 miles East of Soldotna and is governed by the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Sterling is not incorporated but the 2010 US Census has designated Sterling as a Census Area & reports there are 5,617 people that live in the Sterling Census Area and 56,777 people in the Kenai Peninsula area. RuraLCap of Alaska has sponsored a home building Self-Help project for 8 below income homes and also a Head-Start program in the Sterling area because of the need demonstrated by low to moderate income families.

Currently there are no large facilities in Sterling for the community to hold large functions, sporting events & sports leagues, youth & adult meetings & functions, Boys & Girls club programs, health & exercise programs, large rental space for over 300 participants, locker rooms, a community public/computer library, or a museum. The Sterling Elementary School gym is not available during school hours or when out of session. The only library in the Sterling community is the Elementary School library and is mostly stocked with books for elementary school children & available only during the school year.

Sterling has a long history of native culture living in the Sterling area near the confluence of the Kenai and Moose River. A lot of artifacts have been collected over the years by local citizens, but we need a museum area to display & preserve them. There is also a lot of history and articles available from the late 40’s & early 50’s regarding the homesteading era of the Sterling area. A lot of homesteaders are passing on and we are losing the opportunity to learn from them. For these reasons we need to have a location that will accommodate all these needs.

HISTORY of PROJECT

We have been working on this project of building a Center for over 10 years. The need for such a facility has been noted for at least the past 20 years. We have received grants from the state of Alaska for $40,000.00, $50,000.00, $200,000.00, $400,000.00 and another $400,000.00 grant from the 2013 State Budget. The SCCI also has some other funds to contribute to this project.

Meetings have been held in support of such a project for the past 10 years. There have been three surveys taken and all the surveys support the need for a multi-use center in Sterling. The SCCI will own the facility and will be responsible for the operations and maintenance of the building. The facility has wide spread support from the local community and is included as one of the Goals in our “Sterling Community Action Plan”. The Kenai Peninsula Borough has included support for a multi-use facility in their State & Federal Legislative Capital Projects list for a number of years. The SCCI members have been working on improving the community property for many years. There currently is the old log school, (which will be the museum) the old Sterling post office, a baseball field, a paved hockey rink, a picnic area with a covered roof, (which had to be moved for the new building) and a play ground on the property. All this was accomplished with community volunteers, donations & grants.

OPERATIONS PLAN

Our Plan is for the SCCI to request to sponsor an AmeriCorps, Vista member or Mature Adult program to help out with program scheduling & supervising certain programs for a couple of years. We will also hire a part-time Director that will be in charge of the scheduling, bookkeeping, contract labor & all things necessary to operate this building. The operational and maintenance costs will come from user fees, annual dues, advertising signs rental space, donations, fundraisers, some borough revenue sharing, sports team’s overnighters, rental fees from large events etc. (see attachment)

Our community is very excited to see this project come to fruition. The improvements that we already have on the property shows the commitment & volunteerism our community has for doing things for the community, the kids, adults and all citizens of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The SCC will be something that the whole community will be very proud of & will be used at all times for any number of events.