CHRISTOVAL, Texas — The Christoval Volunteer Fire Department has served the community for more than 30 years by providing firefighting services, support and education.
The VFD owns and maintains the Christoval Community Center, which is used as a meeting space for nonprofits, community groups and as a voting venue.
“There’s not many buildings in Christoval that are available like this, we make ours available to all nonprofits and the school on the regular basis,” Christoval VFD board president, Jimmy Barton, said.
The center was built in the 1980s and has served the community for close to 40 years. Barton said it’s time for upgrades so it can last another 40 years.
“We have a project that’s close to $300,000 that we are going to start this summer and it’s a complete remodel and an expansion of the existing community center,” Barton said.
He said the existing project is covered with funds the Christoval VFD already had and funds provided by the San Angelo Health Foundation.
Barton explained there will be additional expenses in parking lot improvements, outside lighting, security lighting and some audio visual items, as well as commercial kitchen equipment, which they will be fundraising for this year. He said there will need to raise an estimated $50,000-60,000 more to cover the expenses.
“So we’re going to be adding approximately 75 percent of hall space, redoing the kitchen areas, restrooms, installing commercial equipment in the kitchen and just modernizing the electrical and the audio and things like that,” Barton said.
Christoval VFD board secretary/treasurer, Becky Kuykendall, works closely with the scheduling for the community center.
“I have a couple of groups that use it monthly, I have some that use it quarterly and this is like throughout the whole year so they’ll contact me toward the end of the year and say okay I need to book for next year and so I have some that are just a constant their always there,” Kuykendall said.
She said the community uses the center frequently from nonprofits, community groups, school and as a polling center.
“So by making it bigger, more accessible to the people I think it will be a great asset for the community,” Kuykendall said.
Construction is expected to start after the annual Fourth of July event. Barton said he hopes for most of the construction to be finished by November so the center can be used as a polling center for voting.