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Don’t miss your chance to tour Cambridge’s new Armed Forces Reserve and Community Center Saturday, July 11.
Start the day off with the 5K Renegade Run/Walk to the Castle at 9 a.m. Register the day of the event between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. It costs $30. Awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. families are invited to tour the new community center. There will be an obstacle course with a rock climbing wall, as well as a Nascar simulator and weapons display.
At 11 a.m., attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Enjoy a delicious pork plate for $6; a variety of concessions will also be for sale.
The new community center is located at 505 Spirit River Drive (Co. Rd. 70), just south of the community college.
There will be no parking at the community center itself the day of the open house. Instead, park at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Cambridge Campus and ride a free shuttle to the community center.
A dream come true
The community center is a dream come true for many. Residents had hoped for such a place for decades.
Phase one offers residents a place to gather for meetings, classes, basketball tournaments and receptions. In the future, there may also be a pool, fitness center, ice rink and banquet hall.
The assembly hall is available for wedding receptions, basketball tournaments and other events. (For rental information, call city hall at 763-689-3211.)
The existing community center is a joint project between the National Guard, Army Reserve and the city of Cambridge.
The Guard and Reserve occupy one section of the building and it is closed to the public. The 150-member Minnesota Army National Guard 850th Horizontal Engineer Company and a 50-member U.S. Army Reserve unit hold regular training sessions one weekend a month. Guard and Reserve staff work daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The city of Cambridge contributed $750,000 in order to create public-friendly spaces, such as the kitchen, gymnasium, locker rooms and classrooms. These are open to the public when they’re not needed by either the Guard or Reserve.
The fitness center was outfitted by the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Cambridge Campus.
It’s currently open to students enrolled in classes through the college. In the future, it will also be open to the public.
The Community Center Task Force hopes that in the future the YMCA will begin offering classes.
Also, the YMCA may decide to add on a full-service fitness facility with free weights, fitness classes and a comprehensive range of equipment.
Task force
The Community Center Task Force is driven to develop a cost-responsible community center that fulfills the needs and desires of many different generations, abilities, individuals and groups in the Cambridge area. The group has been meeting since August 2007.
Members are: John Schlagel, Vicky LeFebvre, Dennis Doran, Tesha Christensen, Curtis Anderson, Cathy Lund-Ziebarth, Mary Mork, Dennis Troff, Grant Wilsey, Jon Tatting, Deidra Peaslee, Bruce Novak, Chris Miller, Steve Wegwerth, Bob Boone, Mark Shields, Jared Ziebarth and Eddie Frison.
Cambridge City Administrator Lynda Woulfe and Community Development Director Dave Carlberg lead the group.
To share your ideas, call Dave Carlberg 763-689-3211 or email dcarlberg@ci.cambridge.mn.us.
Did you know?
• This facility is home to both a Minnesota Army National Guard and Army Reserve unit.
• There is an emergency bomb proof room with its own internal oxygen source in case of a terroristic threat.
• The reason it takes so long to walk up to the front entrance of this facility is because of the new Force Protection standards enacted after September 11th to prevent and deter any terroristic threat to the building and its occupants.
• The wood grain exterior on the front of the building is actually a brand new product that is not wood, but a highly durable and environmentally safe alternative to brick and mortar.
• There are two separate arms room vaults that have solid concrete walls in excess of 18” in diameter with motion monitoring security systems.
• The large boulders out front are actually a means to prevent an unauthorized vehicle from driving up to the front of the facility.
• The kitchen in this facility is commercially equipped with state-of-the art equipment to serve in excess of 550 people.
• There are over 120 recessed light fixtures, 50 high beam fixtures, and 200 florescent light fixtures in this facility.
• Over 15,000 feet of CAT5 internet cable runs through the facility. That is almost 3 miles long!
• This building is supplied with over 300 outlets in over 50 different rooms.
• Over 12,000 feet of copper tubing was used to equip the community center.
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