BENTON, Wis. – Organizers of the Benton Library, Museum, Community Center Project have unveiled a new way to honor individuals and businesses, while also raising funds. The committee is currently selling personalized brick pavers. The pavers will be placed in front of the new facility. A four-by-eight-inch paver will cost $250 and include up to three lines of text. An eight-by-eight-inch option will cost $500, and include up to five lines of text.
“It is intended so that folks who aren’t able to do some of the naming opportunities, to still give to the cause and remember people who were important in their lives,” said Michelle Savatski, co-chair of the project, noting the pavers can be in honor of a community member (past or present), a veteran, a business, or whatever the buyer chooses.
The new community hub will be located on Main Street, on the former site of Swindler’s Ridge Museum. The museum was razed in July to make room for the project. Organizers have placed a rendering of the facility, along with a fundraising “thermometer” at the site.
According to Savatski, the goal is to raise $2.665 million. Thus far, they have brought in $1.459 million and are waiting on the approval of a $785,000 USDA loan. If the loan is approved in the coming months, they will have raised 84-percent of the required funding, leaving approximately $420,000 left to be accumulated. “We will get there,” said Savatski. “We are slowly edging to our goals. We appreciate any support that is going to get us there sooner, rather than later.”
Some of the pavers have already been sold. “We have some for businesses that were in Benton in the 1800s,” said Savatski. “We have several that are dedicated to folks who served in the armed services. It’s an opportunity for us to get toward our goal and for folks to show their support and to make sure they or their family is recognized.”
Organizers hope to send the project out for bids this winter and break ground in spring 2024. “This is a project that is for the entire community,” said Savatski. “It is for Southwest Wisconsin.”
For more information, visit the Village of Benton’s website – bentonwi.us.
