T-L Photo/CARRI GRAHAM Damage is visible inside the village of Dillonvale’s event center. The damage has resulted from roof leaks.

DILLONVALE — Dillonvale officials are disappointed that the community’s application for a $200,000 grant for a new roof for its event center was not approved last month.

The event center is connected to the village municipal building on School Street. The village was denied the grant because the event center building is located in a flood plain, making it ineligible to receive the grant.

An employee of the village who wished to remain anonymous said the community originally was approved to receive the grant. Suddenly, though, officials were told the grant would not go through due to the structure being located in a flood zone. She added that village leaders had planned to use the money from the grant to fix the roof, and the remainder of the grant money would have been used to fix up the inside of the event center. It has been severely damaged from multiple leaks in the roof. She said the damage has become much worse over the past year, so much so that the village can no longer rent out the center.

Up until this year, the village had rented the space out to local youth sports organizations.

The event center also has been used for many other activities, including dances, parties, weddings, dinners and more.

Village Councilman Curtis Prince said the brick walls are separating from the roof and the building is in need of masonry work. That is why the cost to fix it is so high, he said.

Prince is in the process of putting donated items into the newly built concession stand that sits in Memorial Park, beside the municipal building/event center. The concession stand was built in November of last year. It will be used for the park’s outdoor events, such as concerts and fairs that are held throughout the year. Prince said every year the village attempts to receive grants in order to improve areas of the park.

Village Councilwoman and Buckeye Local North Elementary teacher Kelly Bauknecht said she worked hard to obtain the roof grant and will continue to do so.

“We are looking for other funding. … It has not been an easy process,” she said.

She noted it was a shock to village leaders for the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners to give the community the grant and then take it away. Bauknecht said she has contacted U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and state Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire, about finding other ways to pay for the much-needed roof repair. They have suggested new leads for alternative grants, she said.

The village continues to rent out the cafeteria area of the event center. It also allows a senior citizen group, Prime Time, to use the cafeteria daily for free from April until January. The group gets together to play bingo from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Although village residents are uncertain what will become of the event center now that the grant has been denied, council members continue to look for alternative funding sources in hopes they will eventually have the money to fix the roof and make other necessary repairs to the building.