Over the last couple of years, we have been raising money to deal with building repair and remodeling.  This page gives you an update on where we are and what we still need to do.   Recent developments have arisen with our ongoing building saga, which I will highlight here... Masto Construction finished the wall repair, and we are using profits from our Friday Night Bingos as well as other fundraisers to pay that bill.  Thank you to Chris Masto and his crew for working with us...the wall is finished, and we are thankful for that. While we pay that bill off over the next couple of months, we had anticipated maybe being able to take care of some of the non-priority issues, such as a new kitchen floor.  However, the following issues arose this month which required immediate attention: The weekend of the Woodcarvers Show, Oct. 17 of this year, the hot water heater developed a leak and had to be replaced immediately.  Over $400!  Thanks to Maurice Carron and Fran Sikorski in getting the new one here and for Maurice installing it, that would have been another $400.  But it is in , and working fine. The same week, the boiler pump developed a leak, needed a new hub, to the tune of over $500.  That was repaired today, and still has some minor issues. The parking lot developed a sink hole, which we are watching and trying to decide how to fix. So needless to say, the kitchen floor has to wait.  We will get to it, but not just yet.   Below, you can read about all we have accomplished over the last few years, and as we approach out 25th Anniversary as a Corporation, we think we have done pretty good so far.    During our 2007-2008 Fiscal Year, we were able to secure funds from several sources, and we used to upgrade our air conditioning system, to put in replacement windows on the second floor and to paint the Center from top to bottom and refinish the maple hardwood flooring. We thank the following organizations for their help with these projects: Senator Hugh Farley and then Assemblyman Paul Tonko, for securing $27000 for air conditioning and windows.  Our old air conditioning consisted of 2 20 ton units, one of which did not work at all and the other was sporadic.  This was not only costly but made it difficult for the seniors to attend programs in the warmer months.  Our new units are energy efficient, quiet and installed inside, where each unit can be operated individually.  This gives us the flexibility to use one or all four, depending on the conditions.  The Amsterdam Rotary also contributed $5000 toward these units. With money left from these grants, we were able to replace the old wooden sash windows with new vinyl, double pane energy efficient windows.  We can open them easily, clean them, and they look great! With money raised from fundraising and with $500 received from a grant from the Annual Golf Tournament, we were able to paint the Center from ceiling to floor.  This took many volunteers from our own center as well about 15 volunteers from Target Distribution.  We shut down the Center, packed everything away, rented scaffolding, bought brushes, rollers, paint and anything else we needed and went at it.  What a difference!  With the contrasting beamwork and the shiny floors, the place looks great! Next came the floor.  We talked and talked and asked the members and checked into costs, and it was finally decided that with the history of the building, we should keep the scars in the floor, do not cover it up, and try to refinish it.  Well, then the hard part began.  We had to do the floor in sections, because we had no storage for all the tables, chairs and closets.  We rented sanders, bought the finish and consulted with experts.  It took about a week of sanding, mopping, and coat after coat after coat after coat of finish, but the floor now shines.  Now that the inside of the Center looks and feels great, it was time to address some other building issues that had been put off due to lack of funds. We had been watching our retaining wall behind our building deteriorate for a few years, and with the passing of each cold season, it was worse and worse.  We needed to do something.  So we set out to raise money, after applying to the County of Amsterdam, the State of New York and to the U.S. Senate, to no avail. We held several fundraisers during the first three months of 2009, and raised a little over $7000! WOW! Now we had enough to repair the wall, at least the worst of it.  Wrong.  The roof developed a leak, and had to be repaired.  But first the brickwork had to be repaired so the roof could attach to it.  There went about $4000.  Then, since we did not have enough to do the wall, and we had noticed that the downstairs windows were in need of immediate remedy.  Some were missing storm windows, many did not open or close properly, and our tenants on the first floor really wanted to use them.  Not only that, but since we paid for utilities, it was in our best interest to fix them.  So the decision was made to replace the downstairs windows, on the front of the building.  (That is all we had money for) So that is where we are today.  We will be replacing the first floor windows within the month.  This will eat up the last of the money we raised and then some.  We are back to square one as far as the wall, and still need to raise about $7000 or $8000 do fix it.  I will keep this page updated as to our building repair issues.  With a building that is this old, it will always need something, I am sure.  But as any non profit will tell you, coming up with the money to deal with these issues is always a challenge.  I am very thankful for what we have received over the last couple of years, and especially for all the volunteers who have put in so many hours with our renovations and fundraisers.  If anyone would like to make a donation to our building fund, you can send a check to the following: Inman Senior Center 53 Guy Park Ave Amsterdam, NY  12010 Put in the memo:  Building Fund Donation Remember, as a 501c3 organization, your donation is tax deductible.