It’s Time to Celebrate at Huntsburg Party Center

March 14, 2013

The Huntsburg Community Center is ready to party!

With 3,600 square feet of carpeted floor, a six-sided, modern wet bar and catering available, the party center is ready for those special occasions area residents love to celebrate.

Newly painted and well lit, the center already has hosted a variety of events, including the Hambden Elementary School PTO’s fundraiser, decorated up like Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

The facility is located in the former Huntsburg Elementary School on state Route 528, just south of U.S. Route 322.

Huntsburg Township bought the school building, the bus garage and several acres from Cardinal Schools in 2010 for $180,000 and paid it off in 2012, said township Administrative Assistant Nancy Saunders.

Shortly after the school changed hands and became the township community center, trustees agreed to lease the kitchen to Greg Tarr, proprietor of Chow Down, a catering business that had been located in Middlefield. Tarr uses the kitchen for food preparation and is available to cater private events held at the center.

When the township took the building over, the room in the southwest corner was divided into four classrooms, Saunders said.

The oldest part of the structure was built in 1954 and an addition was built in 1974, so updates were needed, she explained. They included insulating and drywalling the outside walls of the party center, bringing the electrical wiring up to code and renovating the plumbing.

All improvements have been paid for with inheritance money, so property tax funds didn’t have to be used, said township Fiscal Officer Michele Saunders.

“We used all local contractors,” Nancy said.

George Fekety from Huntsburg was the general contractor and the electrical contractor, Pine Creek Electric, also is based in the township.

Tarr designed the centerpiece of the party room — the large wet bar — and Ultimate Overlay, another local business, made the finished concrete countertop. The blue carpet was still attractive, in good condition and durable, so the township didn’t have to replace it.

The storage room off the side is stacked with round tables and nice, cushy chairs, enough to accommodate about 160 diners, Nancy said. Fire code allows for 250 visitors at a time, she added.

Although Tarr leases the kitchen, anyone renting the party center may bring in his or her own food or hire another caterer, and use the kitchen facility at the town hall, he said. A refrigerator is available in the center’s storage closet.

Nancy Saunders has a long-standing relationship with the community center.

“I went to school here, my kids went to school here and I worked 17 years in the office,” she said.

The change in character just makes the facility another benefit to the area residents. “It’s been a little jewel in the community,” she noted.

Added Tarr, “I don’t think there’s anything like it for quite a radius.”

“Once you get in (the party center), you kind of forget about it being a school,” Nancy said, explaining when the township can afford air-conditioning, it will be available 12 months out of the year.

Part of the center is leased to the local Headstart program, which has about 75 preschoolers rotating through on weekdays, Nancy said. It includes two classrooms and an area similar in size to the party center is set up as an indoor playground. Another room is used as a cafeteria for the program.

The Huntsburg Historical Society has one small room being used for storage. Other space might be turned into township offices.

Residents can rent the party room for $200 and non-residents for $250, Nancy said, with a $200 refundable security deposit.

If alcohol is being served, the township requires that a security officer be present.

Arrangements to rent the party center can be made by calling the township office at 440-636-5486 or emailing huntsburgtwp@windstream.net.