City ponders community centers

By Cindy Landrum  

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 11:20 a.m. (0)

Construction drawings for improvements to the David Hellams Community Center could be finished by the end of the year, but some members of the Greenville City Council say the city should decide what role the community centers will play in recreation before spending up to a million dollars on the project.

City Parks and Recreation Director Dana Souza showed council five options for fixing up the center on Spartanburg Street – ranging from $654,189 to $998,194.

The city has five community centers.

Funded mostly through President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program in the 1970s, the community centers were designed to provide residents in Greenville’s low-income neighborhoods a place within reasonable walking distance to go for recreation, education and job-training programs.

All of the centers – West Greenville, Nicholtown, Juanita Butler on Burns Court across from Greenville High, Bobby Pearce on Townes Street Extension and David Hellams on Spartanburg Street – need extensive repairs, have limited or no handicapped accessibility and have drainage issues.

Three out of the five centers – West Greenville, Nicholtown and David Hellams – have not had major work done since they were built.

Consultants have estimated it would cost $2.8 million to bring the grounds of the five sites up to standard and another $4.5 million to renovate the centers and extend the life of the buildings 10 to 15 years.

But in April, city council told Souza to come up with a more affordable plan to renovate David Hellams, the busiest of the five, mainly because of its senior citizen program.

The five options range from basically replacing the mechanical systems, roof and bathroom fixtures to redoing the center’s front entrance to make it handicapped accessible, reconfiguring the interior to make meeting rooms bigger and adding windows.

But Councilman David Sudduth said he is uncomfortable spending a million dollars without the city having a holistic plan for the community centers.

Souza said his department is trying to create a programmatic life at the community centers by enhancing programs and staying open in the evening and on Saturdays.

Souza has said he will recommend whether the city should close some centers or keep them all open after a year of new programming.

“If our best efforts are not being realized, either there is no need in the community or they are going elsewhere,” Souza said. “I still think all of our community centers have a chance to be successful.”

Councilwoman Amy Ryberg Doyle said the city is committed to improving David Hellams but said some of the centers may not be around in 10 years.

“Let’s be honest about that,” she said. “We may not be relevant in some communities.”

Sudduth said sticker shock has kept the council from doing anything so far despite years of discussion.

City Manager John Castile said his staff could come up with an improvement plan that would be phased in over a couple of election cycles.

“Regardless of when we break ground, we’ve got to have that holistic discussion,” he said.