I went to the county commissioners who were ready, willing and able to donate sufficient funds to get this building done. Joni Stusek
Thompson Community Center’s rebirth has taken several years, hours of volunteer labor and a financial assist from Geauga County Commissioners and the state of Ohio.
The two-story town hall built in 1869 in the middle of the town square officially will be open for business as of April 7, when the proud residents of Thompson will celebrate renovation of the Western Reserve-style building.
An open house and ribbon cutting a scheduled for April 7, from 6-7:30 p.m.
Reservations for three events already have come in and interest has ramped up, said Lynne Leffel, a member of the Revitalization of the Thompson Town Hall Committee.
Diane Worthington-Garey, also on the committee, said she noticed the solid old building in 1999 when she moved to Thompson with her husband after buying a farm on Thompson Road and planting 1,000 Christmas trees a year.
“I noticed the attic window was broken. Two years later, it was still broken,” she said during an informal gathering at the center March 25. “There was a stillness about this building.”
Worthington-Garey became involved with a group interested in saving the historic structure and soon many in the community were on board with the project.
Township residents were asked to fill out a survey about what projects the township needed done. The community center came out on top, said Joni Stusek, program administrator for the Geauga County Department of Community and Economic Development.
The number of township residents and businesses who donated and volunteered to help was amazing, she said.
“You don’t get a whole community around to accomplish these things often,” said Stusek, adding Thompson was the exception. “People kept showing up and volunteering.”
The building, which sports a town hall sign, had been abandoned for about 20 years when the movement started, only open during Halloween as a haunted house and at Christmas, she explained.
But the foundation was solid and the building square, so a committee was formed to investigate possibilities.
They contacted the Cleveland Historical Society to assess the condition of the building and make recommendations to bring it back to life while preserving the historical integrity of the structure.
“They loved the ridgeline,” because it was still straight, despite the age of the building, Leffel said. The post and beam structure had held up well, despite some changes to the interior.
Originally, the building was a school house for Thompson students, Worthington-Garey said.
Years later, Thompson Volunteer Fire Department altered the interior and used it as a fire station. The upstairs still has a closet where the fire hose was hung to dry out between calls, Leffel said.
An old hose will hang in the closet for show, she said.
Over the years, the building also has served as a police station, theater, gathering and meeting place, and, more recently, relegated to a storage area.
Last year, residents and trustees ventured into the building’s attic and discovered more than 20 old-fashioned desks among other paraphernalia such as an old safe — still locked, Leffel said. No one had the combination so the contents are a mystery.
“The trustees really broke their backs over this,” Stusek said, noting they did a lot of the physical labor needed to reclaim the building.
The desks, including a couple with double seats, have been removed and are gradually being sold off, Leffel said.
The committee applied to the state of Ohio for funding and was told their request would carry more weight if some of the buildings around the square were improved, Stusek said.
“They wanted the community to step up and be part of the revitalization. Thompson really stepped up,” she said.
Word went out and volunteers converged on the township administration building on the south end of the square, replacing the siding, making repairs and painting, she said.
In the end, however, their application was turned down.
“They were devastated,” Stusek said of the residents. “Absolutely, I was going to fight for it. It was so unfair. I went to the county commissioners who were ready, willing and able to donate sufficient funds to get this building done.”
Marks Building Company, a Painesville-based construction firm, won the bid and replaced doors and windows, and rebuilt the first floor to include a one-person kitchen with a refrigerator, sink and microwave.
The contractor also updated two restrooms downstairs to bring the building into compliance with various state and federal codes, Leffel said.
The project cost about $170,000 and the bid was awarded in April 2015, Stusek said.
The result is two large rooms with traditional high ceilings and modern, energy-
efficient, mullioned windows that permit plenty of light. New flooring was needed downstairs, but a local contractor reclaimed the oak floors upstairs. The narrow stairway was rebuilt and the furnace and storage space is walled off from the second-floor meeting room.
The cost of an elevator was prohibitive, so public meetings will have to be held downstairs, but a ramp, built with a state grant of about $55,000, will allow handicapped individuals access to the first floor, she said.
Rental of the first or second floor can be arranged by contacting township Fiscal Officer Cindy Lausin at 440-298-9813.
Local residents can lease the community center for $75 per day with a refundable security deposit of $100, Lausin said.
Non-residents pay $125 per day. Local non-profit organizations will be asked for a deposit and, if alcohol is to be consumed on-site, security in the form of a township police officer or a Geauga County Sheriff’s Office deputy is required, Lausin said.
