By Ellen Thompson/Havre Daily News/ethompson@havredailynews.com
The North Central Senior Citizens Center will close its doors and cancel all but its most essential commitments this week while a snowmelt system is installed in front of the building.
The center will be open Tuesday as a polling place, and voters are instructed to enter by the west door. In addition, the senior center will continue delivering meals to the Hill County Detention Center and to those who require them, director Evelyn Havskjold said.
She said the project resulted from concern that the deteriorating sidewalk in front of the center could pose a hazard to seniors. A heating system is being installed below the sidewalk to keep snow and ice from forming in front of the building, and to protect the sidewalk from becoming damaged again, she said.
The project is made possible by contributions of time and money from Hill County, two companies and a large individual contribution, Bob Nault said. Nault Plumbing is donating much of the labor and overseeing the project.
Clausen and Sons has also donated its time, and the county cleared away the old sidewalk and installed the gravel base, he added.
An anonymous contributor gave $20,000 to cover the cost of materials, Nault said.
Havskjold said she could not be sure that the work would be completed this week. "We're playing it by ear," she said.
The main problem is that the building's boiler will have to be shut off so that the control systems for the snowmelt injector can be installed, she said. Without the boiler, or with only limited use of it, the center cannot provide hot meals. It will have only enough hot water for the bare minimum, she added.
