City Opts for Smaller Community Center

Saying the city doesn’t have the means to finance a larger community center, the City Council this week decided to stick with original plans for the $1.8-million project. By a vote of 3 to 2, the council decided to stay with its current plan for a 9,180-square-foot center, including a 1,800-square-foot community hall and a game room and lounge for seniors.

They opted against a plan that would have enlarged the community hall to 4,200 square feet and cost the city an additional $846,000. To finance the additional space, the city would have had to dip into its $2.5-million sewer fund, a move that some council members said was fiscally irresponsible.

“I think we are going to see other needs for the sewer fund,” said Mayor Wyatt T. Hart. “I have a real concern about the way we are trying to finance this.”

Council members Collene Campbell and Carolyn Nash disagreed. “It just seems like common sense to put in a facility that can meet the needs of the entire community,” Nash said. “We know we can repay” the $846,000.

The $1.8-million center will be built at the new sports park on Camino Del Avion next to Marco F. Forster Middle School.