Construction is scheduled to begin this summer on a community hall in De Beque.

The Mesa County Commissioners approved a nearly $5 million contract to construct the hall at the corner of Fourth Street and Roan Creek Drive. Construction is scheduled to conclude in the fall of 2024.

The contract approval follows open house events at the De Beque Town Hall to hear comments from residents on the amenities they wanted in a community hall and the activities offered at one.

The community hall will feature a full commercial kitchen, indoor and outdoor areas for gatherings, restroom facilities and a playground.

The project is part of a county effort to build community halls in De Beque and Clifton as well as Whitewater and the Loma and Mack area. The estimated cost of all four halls, including land acquisition, initially was estimated at $8 million.

The community halls were proposed prior to an election in 1981 in which voters approved a measure imposing a 2 percent county sales and use tax, half of which is earmarked for capital improvements.

The oil shale bust followed, as did other economic downturns that made it difficult for the county to fulfill that promise. Increased tax collections and other resources are now available that enable Mesa County to proceed with the effort.