Benton community building plans take shape as fundraising continues

Fundraising efforts are ongoing for a planned community center building in Benton that now will include space for village offices and the local Police Department. The Benton Library, Museum and Community Center Committee Co-Chair said the planned $2.5 million building also will include space for the village’s library and museum, in addition to a communal gathering area that can hold up to 100 people. Between grants and charitable contributions, the committee already has raised $1.25 million. The 7,000-square-foot center is slated to be built at the current site of Swindler’s Ridge Museum on Main Street, which will be demolished to make space for the new building.