The citizens of Oberlin Kansas (population 1,770) and Decatur County, Kansas (population 3,120) have been without recreation facilities since the local bowling alley and fun center burned down in 2005.  The local movie theatre has not been upgraded in over 30 years and the Golden Age Center (except for a 10’ x 120’ addition to the south side in 1967) and theatre buildings were built over sixty years ago and are in need of major improvements. The roof is shared by both buildings and it has major leaks and needs replaced. Some of the walls of the buildings are crumbling and will need major work done in the near future. The community is also in needed of added day care (see enclosed Oberlin Herald article of Wednesday April 16, 2008).  All of these areas would be addressed with the $910,250 proposed project and the downtown location is ideal for kids and seniors alike. The community is seeking to raise $250,000 under the Kansas Department of Commerce Community Service Program in order to improve the quality of life of all citizens of Oberlin and Decatur County. The community has seen a significant loss of population and part of this loss has been attributed to the lack of services available in Oberlin which is the county seat of Decatur County. Three high school students who participated in a Decatur Tomorrow action team meeting (a Terry Woodberry - Kansas Communities program) identified the lack of a good theatre, no bowling alley, or youth indoor recreation as a major reasons why they would not want to come back to the community as young adults. The proposed center would provide for many of those needs and should help Oberlin and all of Decatur County in recruiting new families to the community to meet the job demand that is here. This includes jobs at the BCI bus manufacturing facility located in Jennings - a town located in the southeastern area of Decatur County- and a cabinet manufacturer located in Oberlin is also struggling to find employees. The proposed community enhancement should assist them in their employee recruit ment efforts as well as the medical community which is currently recruiting a doctor.
 
The new facility would be almost equally divided into three parts. The first part would be a Golden Age Center where the elderly come to get their meals and this would have an up to date kitchen and two meeting rooms. The back room could be used as an after school day care center where children could be taken care of from 3:30 to 6:00 or 6:30 when their parents get off work as well as being used for exercise classes for senior citizens. The local gymnastics club would also be able to meet there with the higher ceilings the building would offer. The facility would have up to date restrooms, carpet and would allow for some interaction between youth and senior citizens through different activities.  The new kitchen facilities would enable the Golden Age center to prepare their own meals vs. having these be brought in from 30 miles away.  The rooms could be rented out for receptions, estate sales and other community activities.  Oberlin and Decatur County have a generally older population - see the census numbers.  The center is currently run by a board and should be able to continue with that structure. The Golden Age Center board has been actively involved in the planning of this project and has raised $12,000 cash to date.
 
The second part of the center would be to renovate the cinema by adding new seats, a digital cinema to complement the existing projection system, and to upgrade the seats and sound system. This can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The movie industry is converting to digitial and currently the cinema just has an old projector that is in need of upgrading and a sound system that is not very functional. The plan calls for a 110 person cinema with a lobby, snack bar, and restrooms that will be shared with the bowling alley/recreation facility that makes up the remaining third of the center. Currently the cinema is operated by a board of directors and various groups and organizations provide the labor to run the theatre. Board members of this group have participated in the gathering of cost estimates and projected revenues for this project.
 
The community of Oberlin has a significant need of recreational activities. The local bowling alley burned down on memorial weekend in 2005 and was located out of town one-half mile. The proposed new center is on the north part of downtown where it will not cause problems with parking for existing businesses and is in easy walking distance of both the grade school and high school. A six lane bowling alley is planned along with some area for other recreational items such as dart boards, some video games and a shared snack bar area which will serve both the cinema and bowling alley.  This will include electronic scoring and refurbished bowling alley equipment. The projected budget shows expense for hiring a person to manage the cinema and bowling alley and it is probable that the existing cinema committee board would take oversight of the bowling alley side of this project due to the shared facilities involved.

We currently have pledges for $256,000 of the $250,000 needed under the Community Service Program under the Kansas Department of Commerce.
The deadline to hear from this is July 1, 2008 and the application was submitted May 2, 2008 by the local Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
 
The next step is for a county commissioner, an EDC representative and Greg Lohoefener to meet with USDA in Hays – Dave Barber to work on the financing through USDA – currently placed at $400,000 of the total $910,250 project size.

Click HERE to download a pledge sheet.

Click HERE to view the project start up costs.

We are still seeking funding for this project. E-mail Connie Grafel at EDC with any pledge or questions her e mail address is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 

Decatur County………..where friends meet on brick streets!

Nestled in the Sappa Valley at the intersection of major U.S. highways 36 & 83, Oberlin offers an exciting blend of history, recreation, family-oriented activities and scenic beauty.  A community that wants to share its past, present and future with you.

Pete Felten’s “Pioneer Family” native limestone statue overlooks the central business district. Connecting downtown canopies, pleasing architecture, global lights and appealing modern store fronts create a unique shopping experience.   “The Dresser” a cooperative women’s clothing store, owned and financed by a group of community leaders (all women) was recently featured in American Profile Magazine.

The Gateway, Oberlin’s state of the art civic center, plays a large part in the town’s entertainment scene with vocal performers, instrumentalists, plays, conventions, trade shows, family reunions, wedding receptions, banquets, and numerous other regional activities.

The Last Indian Raid Museum is a celebration of prairie life depicting Kansas settlers from the late 1800’s.  You can participate in the reality of those times by sitting at a desk in the one-room country school, viewing the 1884 depot and jail, a real sod house, tack room, dental and doctor offices, grocery, filling station, church built in 1888 and Bohemian dance hall. The museum has over 15,000 antiques and artifacts.

The Oberlin-Decatur Area Economic Development Corporation provides a business enhancement center at 104 S. Penn where start-up businesses are located and mentored until the owners get their feet on the ground and have a strong business acumen to expand and move out on their own.  The non-profit corporation has several revolving loan funds available for gap financing.  Both the city and county have approved Property Tax Abatement programs for eligible businesses.  The county meets state requirements for the Enterprise Zone designation that offers income tax credits for job creation. The Kansas Department of Commerce and Northwest Kansas Planning Commission are part of the NetWork Kansas Entrepreneurial program that serves as a centralized resource to connect entrepreneurs and small businesses to the expertise, education and economic resources available throughout the state.  Many statewide incentive and training programs can be viewed at kansascommerce.com.