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FL Sports Complex nets 2nd major grant |
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Wednesday, 09 January 2008 |
A second major grant is now in hand for the Forest Lake Sports Complex project now on track to break ground this spring. The Forest Lake Area Athletic Association drive announced this week it has received a $250,000 grant from the Hardenbergh Foundation.
The foundation was started by the Hardenbergh family of Stillwater and was formerly called the St. Croix Foundation. The foundation focuses on projects within the St. Croix Valley.
The addition of the $250,000 grant from the Hardenbergh Foundation has pushed the Forest Lake Sports Complex capital fund-raising drive to $870,000.
In 2007 the FLAAA received a $250,000 grant from the Andersen Foundation.
A spring construction start on the ice-arena complex is anticipated.
The Forest Lake Area Athletic Association goal is to raise $1.2 million to bridge the gap between bank financing and total capital costs.
The proposed Sports Complex will include one year-round ice sheet and a field house with ice five months and artificial turf for field sports the rest of the year.
FLAAA will fund, build and manage the facility on land leased from the city of Forest Lake. The six-acre parcel in the Headwaters development is next to the airport and outdoor fields the city is currently constructing off Fenway Avenue.
The FLAAA will finance the $5 million facility with revenue bonds issued by the city of Forest Lake, acting as a conduit for the financing.
The city-endorsed bond program will mean a drop in the bond interest rate from 8 percent to around 5 percent.
The facility is expected to generate the revenues needed to pay debt and operation costs.
Other efforts
Other fund-raising efforts are also taking place under the leadership of the Forest Lake Area Athletic Association.
FLAAA is offering an electronics recycling program and is collecting old cell phones and MP3 players among other items at community drop sites.
Along with cell phones and MP3 players, FLAAA is collecting:
•Inkjet printer cartridges,
•DVD movies and video games,
·•Portable DVD players,
•Laptop computers,
•X Boxes and Playstations,
•Digital cameras and video cameras,
•Digital picture frames,
•GPS devices.
FLAAA has teamed with national recycler EcoPhones and earns money for the donated items (both working and non-working).
Drop-off locations include Forest Lake VFW Post 4210, the Forest Lake Area Chamber of Commerce office, ABBA Trophy, Mainstreet Bank, Rapid Press, and any of the five Village Banks.
For details on accepted donations, go to www.ecophones.com.
For more information on the Sports Complex and additional donation opportunities, go to www.flaaa.org.
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