Meagher County Community Center Installs Solar Panels through Grant

The Meagher County Community Center facilitates several community events per month. The center has become a hotspot for many residents of the area to find socialization and activities to keep them involved within the remote region. Additionally, a portion of the building is leased to the Play-N-Grow Preschool, making the center a diverse place for several programs. However, a hefty cost of operation comes in addition to hosting numerous events regularly. With this in mind, the Meagher County Community Center, along with the help of Cal Moore, has just installed a new way of sourcing power to help reduce their monthly expenses. This reduction will aid in the longevity of the facility and its importance in the community.

Cal Moore, with the assistance and expertise of grant writer, Rebecca Shaw-Quiñones, was able to draft a winning grant proposal for the NorthWestern Energy E+ Program. With the community center making a continual positive impact on all ages of community members and effecting several supplemental programs for the well being of local citizens, it was apparent that changes needed to be made in order to keep the center running. Cal Moore is a long time resident of White Sulphur Springs and has been well involved within the area since his time of serving as the Superintendent of the local school district.

The grant proposal and its requirements were extensive and required specific information on the organization, project costs, plans, other funding, the number of people to be impacted, and other similar items.

After carefully drafting the document, Moore submitted the grant proposal on Monday, May 15, 2023 and received the news that the Meagher County Community Center’s project was picked as the winner at the end of July. After obtaining the grant, the Meagher County Community Center and Mr. Moore received proposals for the work to add solar panels from various companies within the state. The top two bidders for the contract were out of Helena and Bozeman. Ultimately, however, Solar Montana was awarded the job.

The total cost of the addition to the community center is $70,000. The NorthWestern Energy E+ Program awarded $61,000, leaving the local community center to pay the difference. In the long run, though, this venture for the community center will be well worth it. Currently, the Meagher County Community Center has an electric bill of approximately $400/month. With this in mind, the return on the center’s investment will be about two years.

The solar panels were installed this week and can be viewed on the roof of the Meagher County Community Center. The center invites all community members to attend its “Oktoberfest Feast Dinner” today, October 19, from four to seven p.m.to learn the details of the new addition.