Ritchie Secures $50,000 for Gouverneur Community Center

State Senator Patty Ritchie is announcing she has secured $50,000 in funding to help the Village and Town of Gouverneur with the costs associated with the paving of the parking lot at their new Community Center.   

The Community Center building, for which Senator Ritchie had previously secured $100,000 for, opened in September of 2016. It has since become a gathering place for community events, senior citizen activities and can be rented out for private events.

It was back in September of last year when Senator Ritchie learned the parking lot would be gravel, with no true markings for handicapped spots.  Not only did that hamper handicapped parking, but the bigger rocks in the gravel were a safety issue for people walking in the lot.

The funding secured by Senator Ritchie to pave the lot has led to defined spaces for everyone and made their trip inside the Community Center building much safer.

“This building is absolutely gorgeous and has truly lived up to its name. However, the gravel parking lot left it unsafe and incomplete. I am honored to be able to help the Gouverneur Community Center once again and make sure it’s as safe as it is fun for everyone who uses it,” Senator Ritchie said.

The paving of the parking lot also allowed Gouverneur the opportunity to move the ‘Meals on Wheels’ program into the center. The program, which requires paved parking lots at all of its locations, can now host meals right at the Community Center and deliver meals to area homes.

“This Community Center—a joint effort between the village of Gouverneur and the Town of Gouverneur—has been everything we dreamed it would be and more. It’s hosted community events and has even been rented out for private functions, but most importantly it has afforded us the opportunity to bring in the much-needed 'Meals on Wheels' program,” Gouverneur Mayor Ron McDougall said. “The new parking lot just adds to the user experience, the safety and overall beauty of this amazing facility. I and the entire Gouverneur community cannot thank Senator Ritchie enough for her continued support of this project.”

Since moving to the Center, the Gouverneur ‘Meals on Wheels’ program has seen the number of people it has been able to provide meals to grow exponentially.