LCRA, Bluebonnet Electric Co-op award $41,278 grant to Paige Community Club
The club will replace the 100-year-old community center’s roof and install energy-efficient lighting
MAY 30, 2024
BASTROP COUNTY, Texas – The Paige Community Club will make interior and exterior upgrades to its community center, thanks to a $41,278 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.
The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $10,320 in matching funds from the club, will allow the club to repair and replace the Paige Community Center’s roof and upgrade the kitchen area with energy-efficient lighting.
“This building started out as the old schoolhouse in Paige,” said Kathy Beeman, treasurer of the Paige Community Club. “It’s over 100 years old and now serves our community members in a lot of different ways.”
The center is rented out most weekends of the year for weddings, baby showers, graduations and family reunions. It also serves as a church, disaster shelter and voting center, and as the meeting place for the Paige Lions Club.
“We’ve had the roof patched over the years, but it leaks all the time,” Beeman said. “The whole thing really needs to be replaced. And the lights in the kitchen are about 30 years old, so we can’t even replace the bulbs anymore. We can’t have an unsafe environment for our elderly to do their civic duty or for our families to gather.”
The community center is the only gathering space in Paige, and the club is committed to keeping its costs low for residents. The new, energy-efficient lighting will reduce electricity costs, and the new roof will provide peace of mind for years to come.
“It’s so important that we keep the place up for future generations,” Beeman said. “I want people to walk in here and see that it’s a clean, beautiful center.”
LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson said organizations like the Paige Community Club help keep community ties strong.
“This community center is so valuable to the people of Paige, and it’s important that the facility be safe and comfortable for all who utilize it,” Wilson said. “Communities of all sizes deserve to have a dependable gathering space, whether it’s used to celebrate a family event or exercise the right to vote. The fact that this building is deeply rooted in the town history only adds to its value, and I’m very excited we are able to support its continuing legacy.”
Beeman said the historical building plays an important role in Paige that would be difficult to replicate.
“We hosted a reunion recently for a family who has been holding their events at our center for the last 10 years,” said Beeman. “They don’t live in Paige anymore, but they still gather at our center. They see their family pictures on our walls, and this is how they come home.”
The community grant is one of 44 grants awarded recently through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.
Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in July. More information is available at lcra.org/cdpp.
About LCRA
The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; providing a clean, reliable water supply; and offering outdoor adventures at more than 40 parks along the Colorado River from the Texas Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to fulfilling our mission to enhance the quality of life of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934 and receives no state appropriations.
About Bluebonnet
Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of the largest electric cooperatives in Texas and has been serving its members since 1939. Bluebonnet serves more than 131,000 meters and owns and maintains 12,000 miles of power lines, located across more than 3,800 square miles within 14 Central Texas counties. Bluebonnet’s service area stretches from Travis County to Washington County, and from Milam County to Gonzales County. For more information about Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, go to bluebonnet.coop and follow the co-op on Facebook and Twitter.
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