After a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, visitors celebrating the Cowley Pioneer Day theme of “Thanks for the Memories” enjoyed a lot of memories Saturday afternoon as they poured through the doors of the newly-restored Cowley Log Gym and lingered to talk about good times in the “like new” facility.
Mayor Joel Peterson conducted the ribbon-cutting ceremony during which he thanked everyone who made the project come to fruition. Peterson thanked the town council members – Diane Badget, Rob Johnson, Dexter Woodis and Dennis Woodward – for their vision, the community, the Wyoming Business Council, the State Loan and Investment Board and local businesses S&L Industrial, GK Construction, Wilson Brothers Construction, Pryor Mountain Engineering, Synergy, the Office Shop and Mountain Construction for providing funding. He also thanked the Cowley Recreation District, School District No. 1 and the Big Horn County Health Coalition for partnering for programming. One person who stood apart from the rest, Peterson said, was Linda Harp, who laid most of the groundwork to obtain nearly $1 million in grant money for the project. In fact, it was Harp who cut the ribbon inaugurating the new era for the Log Gym.
Though there was an initial rush of around 200 people, the Log Gym stayed open for the rest of the afternoon, and many more visited the gym throughout the day, Peterson said.
The project was funded by a $991,960 Community Facilities Grant awarded in March by the Wyoming Business Council and confirmed in April by SLIB. Earlier, the Town of Cowley obtained an energy efficiency grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for a new heating and air conditioning system that was installed last spring. Earlier, new energy efficient doors and windows were installed under the same grant. The grant monies were matched by the value of the building itself, and no additional monies were spent by the town to match the grants.
Work on the final restoration began in September of 2012, and over the next nine months general contractor Synergy Construction of Cowley tackled the main project, which included sand blasting the outside and acid washing the inside of the building, repairing and re-sealing logs, repairing the foundation in spots, re-chinking the logs with latex chinking, installing a newly insulated roof with fireproof metal shake shingles, two new restrooms, two new circular stairs to reach the balconies for dance and workout classes, weight training and the offices of the recreation district and perhaps the crowning achievement, a dazzling new wood floor with a suspended wooden support structure underneath, just like the original floor.
The historic facility also has modern technology for its operation. Peterson said a new security system includes security cameras inside and out and a card-reading system for access to the building, with access managed by the Cowley Rec District.
The facility includes a weight room, volleyball standards and net, a stage and a scorer’s table and chairs. Soon to come will be aerobic exercise equipment including ellipticals, treadmills, stationary bikes and jogging strollers.
From the Lovell Chronicle