A four-year project of converting an old grange building into the Singer Community Center in Naples could be entering it’s last phase.

Contractors are expected to pour concrete for a handicapped accessible ramp, front steps and slab foundation before winter.

Naples Selectmen approved the work Nov. 17, at the request of Naples Town Manager Derik Goodine, in a 4-1 vote, with Selectman Dana Watson opposed.

“This process has been long,” Goodine said at the meeting.

The building could be used by town recreation programs, the Casco/Naples Before and After Care Center, a local grange and a theater group. To pay to maintain the building, the town could assess usage fees, said Selectman Bob Caron.

Naples doesn’t have a community center open to groups in town, and Billi Lynn Burke said the need is pressing.

“We are in dire need of a facility,” said Burke, who is the worthy master of Naples Grange 94. “If it’s operated correctly, it can serve the entire community.”

The grange holds meetings in the town office, but Burke said they compete with other meetings and activities for limited space and time. With a space to hold social and fundraising events, Burke said she thinks the grange could do more community service.

Kim Whalen, director of the Casco/Naples Before and After Care Center, said the community center would provide a more homey atmosphere for the program, which uses the town gymnasium to provide care for 35-40 children from 6-8:15 a.m. and 3:15-6 p.m., as well as all-day care on snow days and during school vacations. The community center would also have a full kitchen and more space to separate age groups.

Whalen, who has been involved with the community center committee since it formed, said the process has been long because the committee keeps learning about additional necessary repairs.

“It’s been a process because of everything that needs to get done,” Whalen said. “It was like opening a whole can of worms.”

Before more significant repairs are started, a state fire marshal needs to approve the plans, said Bob Neault, a member of the Singer Community Center Committee. An architect may be required to review them.

The funding for the project has been gathered from several sources. More than $32,000 in town funds have been set aside in recent years, $50,000 will come from a Community Development Block Grant, and Karen Wright-Singer, who gave the building to the town, donated more than $15,000. Around $8,000 of this money has already been spent on a fire alarm system. Wright-Singer named the building after her father, Edward Singer.

Goodine said the project was initially budgeted at $60,000, but projected costs have risen to more than $80,000. He hoped the building would be open for use in the spring.

The community center building, which is located in front of the Naples town office, originally belonged to the Naples grange. Burke said the building was built in the 1800s and was brought to Naples on a barge down Long Lake from Harrison around 80 years ago. In 2003, the grange sold the building for financial reasons with the understanding that the grange could still use it, Burke said.

“This is history,” Burke said of the building, adding that it could provide a central location for residents to come together and build community.

Wright-Singer bought the building and gave it to the town. When it changed ownership, the building’s lack of handicapped accessibility and a sprinkler system were no longer grandfathered in. Planned renovations now include a sprinkler system, handicapped-accessible ramp and bathrooms, water filtration system to remove uranium from the water, fireproof vent system for the kitchen stove, new kitchen cabinets, upstairs furnace and monitor, upstairs fire escape and new storage building to house the water units, Goodine said.

Not everyone is happy with planned repairs on the building. Watson, the lone vote against beginning work on the project, described the building as a worthless piece of junk.

“I’m heartsick that this ever got this far,” Watson said. “We should have torn it down.”

Burke disagreed, saying the building has the potential to provide a space for residents to reclaim community and tradition.

Access to a building is essential for grange members to effectively carry out their mission of providing community service and social activities for the town, Burke said, adding that she has seen other granges close their doors because they can’t take care of their dilapidated buildings and don’t have anywhere else to meet.

With full access to a building, Burke said the group could have a more consistent presence in the town and hold coffee houses and regular fundraisers. The grange has a scholarship program and provides food and other aid to residents in need.

“There’s no place to go, there’s nothing to do,” Burke said of the opportunities for older people in town to be involved in the community. “We need a building that we can have access to.”

Renovations will start soon on the old Naples Grange hall, which was acquired by the town in 2003 and renamed the Singer Community Center.