Cayucos Vets Hall fundraises for more money as ground breaks on remodel 

The buck doesn't stop at $11 million to refurbish the Cayucos Vets Hall.

As the coastal town approaches the Dec. 2 groundbreaking, a fundraising group hopes to collect an additional $200,000.

"The community decided it was their responsibility to make the Vets Hall as nice as possible," said Cayucos resident Greg Bettencourt, who chairs the Restore Cayucos Vets Hall Committee.

The $200,000 is meant to purchase items like an assisted listening system, a portable stage, a sound system, benches for an expanded deck, a commercial microwave, and tables and chairs to replace the ones that were worn out in storage when the hall closed in 2016 due to structural issues.

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• Courtesy File Photo
• HALLOWED HALL Community members hope that additional funds for the closed Cayucos Vets Hall will improve it with indoor amenities like better sound systems, a portable stage, and tables and chairs.

Currently, the Vets Hall reconstruction project already has $11 million committed to it. That amount comprises a $3.5 million loan approved by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, $2.5 million from the state's Natural Resources Agency, and $435,676 from donations to the Restore Cayucos Vets Hall Committee, among other contributions. Bettencourt told New Times that the fundraising group collected $20,000 of the $200,000 after emailing past donors over Thanksgiving week. Is he concerned that the much-awaited construction is getting increasingly costly?

"Not really," Bettencourt said. "Once the building goes up, we want to make it as nice as we can make it. We're confident we can pay off the loan. The county has done the calculations and thinks we can make the payments."

Called the "nerve center" of Cayucos by its residents, and the "community jewel" by 1st District Supervisor John Peschong, the Vets Hall is managed by the Lions and Lioness Clubs. Bettencourt said that those clubs and other locals assessed how much more money is needed. The fundraising committee began collecting capital in October 2021 and raised $500,000 from more than 500 people and organizations, according to a press release sent by Bettencourt.

"Recently it pledged $435,000 of those funds to SLO County to be used for construction," the press release read. "Having committed the bulk of its funds to construction, the committee intends to raise an additional $200,000 to invest in the furnishings and equipment needed for the hall to function and look like the first-class venue and community center it is designed to be."

The Vets Hall is accepting donations at restorecayucosvetshall.org/donate. Though the 10 Cayucos Drive property ground will be broken on Dec. 2 at 2 p.m., Bettencourt said the committee is accepting funds throughout 2023. Construction is expected to finish in spring 2024. Δ