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Community center gets new boiler

In 1915, Babe Ruth hit his first home run playing for the Boston Red Sox, President Woodrow Wilson married Edith Bolling Galt and the building that now houses the Sonoma Community Center was built.

Since then, the same ancient boiler has been heating the historic building, at least up until a few weeks ago when a new boiler officially went into service.

“It’s a completely new HVAC system,” said an excited Kathy Swett, executive director of the community center.

When the cost of maintaining the aging facility became unmanageable, the community center sought help from the City of Sonoma. Shortly before the Legislature shuttered all of the redevelopment agencies in the state, the city set aside $2 million in redevelopment funding for improvements at the community center. Of that money, $1 million has been used to replace the roof, finish some seismic retrofits and install the new boiler.

“We have a bunch of other things we’re going to begin in April 2013,” Swett said of the rest of the funding.

For now, she is basking in the new boiler, which will not only provide energy savings, but also allows the center to heat and cool Andrews Hall separately. Andrews Hall is a popular space for after-hour events, but heating or cooling the entire building for an evening isn’t cost effective.

“Now, if it’s a summer night, we can cool just Andrews Hall,” Swett said.

She said the installation of the new boiler began last summer and was overseen by the Sonoma-based Peterson Mechanical. The city had requested that the community center use local labor whenever possible.

“(Peterson Mechanical) has been just phenomenal. They practically lived with us these past few months,” Swett joked.

She explained the upgrades are part of a major overhaul planned to bring the building into the 21st century by its 100th birthday in 2015. The center is in the process of completing more seismic upgrades as well as a major remodel to transform Andrews Hall into a dedicated performance space, including professional lighting and sound equipment.

The total remaining project cost is $1.5 million. With $1 million left in redevelopment funds, and a $100,000 donation from the Sonoma Valley Rotary Club, the community center is launching a capital campaign to cover the remaining $400,000. The campaign kicks off next month, when the center will begin offering tours of the building to anyone who may have an attachment to the space. Swett said it would begin with those who got their early education in the building when it used to house Sonoma Grammar School.

“We’ll be starting with the grammar school graduates,” she said. “We’re really trying to reach everyone who has any interest in this building.”

She said the capital campaign is not to be confused with the annual membership drive, which helps support general operations at the community center. The capital campaign, lead by Rotarian Bob Kweller, is exclusively for upgrades to the historic building.

“The plan is that all of the work will be done so we can celebrate our 100th birthday in a new community center,” Swett said.

For more details about the capital campaign or to schedule a tour, contact Swett at 936-4626, ext. 5, or kathy@sonomacommunitycenter.org. The Sonoma Community Center is located at 276 E. Napa St.