FARMLAND — A longtime Farmland group has disbanded and donated its property to the local fire department.
The Farmland Lions Club recently dissolved its organization after 82 years because of low membership, according to Joan Sexton, who was the club’s last president. The group had just five members by the end, all in their 70s or 80s, and had not been able to attract new members, she said.
The remaining members had been working toward disbanding the club for several months, according to Sexton. Farmland Fire Chief Melvin Nott said the Lions had approached the volunteer fire department — with which the club had partnered on fairs and other projects — this past fall about donating the club's property to the department.
The Lions owned a building that housed a community food pantry and was available to rent for events, as well as about six acres of land including two baseball diamonds. Nott said the property, including the ball diamonds, hadn't been kept up in recent years. Volunteers with the fire department plan to clean up the grounds in the spring and determine whether the ball diamonds might be usable for youth baseball and softball programs again.
Current plans call for the food pantry — supplied by community donations and run by a couple of volunteers — to continue to operate 8-11 a.m. Mondays in the former Lions Club building, 301 W. Walnut St., according to Sexton.. The property will be taken under the town's insurance, and the fire department will maintain it, Nott said.