BUILDING FOR SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY - Kennedy Bibliothek

school, (the largest In New Jersey, with 25 000 sq. ft. of space including
the first indoor gymnasium) the school had been vacant for nearly three
years. Windows were broken, pipes, had frozen and burst, and most of the
building had been vandalised.
92. In the first year, the new director had no funds to cover operation
and maintenance costs. He gradually got more and more groups to join the
Community Center. Among the first groups to join were the Women's League,
the Burlington County Art Guild, the American Legion Auxiliary, the Mount
Holly Bridge Club, and the Senior Citizens. Donald Plucinski, now Superintendent
of Parks and Recreation, claims that it took two years to overcome
community apathy. Today, after five years, he operates.with a budget
of $180 000. There are over 35 organisations meeting in the center
which also sponsors a comprehensive recreation program. The Community
Center offers eleven meeting rooms, two kitchens, two lounges, an auditorium,
a gymnasium, a game room for teenagers, and a room for small children,
besides housing the Parks and Recreation office, and temporarily,
the city's police department and housing agency while their offices are
being renovated.
93. A realistic estimate of what it cost to renovate the school building
is hardly possible because of the amount of volunteer work that went into
it. Plucinski reckons he paid $ 1 500 for glass alone, $2 000 for plumbing,
and $5 000 to repair the heating. Salaries for maintenance men now on the
,staff payroll come to $10 000 per year. Donations included: furniture,
equipment, carpets, and air-conditioning units. If the renovations had
been done by paid labour, the total costs would have been about $75 000.
In 1975 four leisure service accounts totalling $130 37 were provided for
recreation by various agencies. The following is a breakdown:,
Community Center 24 992
Parks ' 47 742
Recreation 48 541
Public events 9 100
Of the utility and maintenance costs:
20% comes out of the recreation program;
40% comes from Mount Holly taxpayers;
35% comes from non-profit groups from other towns,
churches, etc;
5% comes from profit-making groups.
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