Two Augusta Commissioners believe underused public parks should be closed to make way for a community center and park that is needed in a rapidly growing part of the city.
District 3 Commissioner Catherine McKnight and District 10 Commissioner John Clarke are endorsing the closures.
The biggest issue according is finding the money to make it happen. According to McKnight, it would take at least $3 million to create such a center.
“That is the fastest growing part of our community, and they need to have access to a recreation place that has the fun stuff like a playground and a dog park along with a community meeting place, and the good news is that the city already owns the land,” McKnight said.
Augusta’s District 3 is a sprawling area that extends from the Forest Hills neighborhood all the way to the Jimmie Dyess Parkway at the boundary with Columbia County, and both Augusta Commissioners who represent the district say it is long past time for the area off of west Wrightsboro Road to have a dedicated community center.
Technically speaking, the 29.2-acre area near Sue Reynolds Elementary School is already designated as a community center, but it is largely undeveloped and has multiple soccer fields that are leased and used by the Arsenal Soccer Club.
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The park does have a small building that dates to the 1940s that operates as the Sue Reynolds Community Center, but the building has none of the amenities of a modern community center.
Clarke says he does not advocate razing the building and starting from scratch as he remembers the building when it was a “teen town” in the 1960s.
“I went to the one at the waterworks on Highland Avenue and to Sue Reynolds. That was a place where I forged lifelong friendships. I don’t want to tear the building down, but just maybe build around it and make the area a real community center,” Clarke said
James Germany, who resides in District 3, says he has been promoting having a true community center in the area for over a decade.
“I don’t want to tear down the building either, but we need to make it ADA compliant so seniors can come and play cards and have that space available,” Germany said.
According to Germany, there is no handicapped access, and the building contains asbestos.
Germany spoke before the Augusta Public Services Committee on Jan. 25, advocating for the city to find the funding to turn the area into a true community center that offers the same type of amenities and meeting spaces as other publicly run facilities.
Funding, though, is wherein lies the problem.
“We are going to have to take a step-by-step approach with the funding because we simply don’t have it in the budget, and there is no money dedicated to it in the SPLOST funding,” Clarke said.
Both Clarke and McKnight advocate selling off surplus land, such as the old and derelict BMX bicycle park located on upper Broad Street to pay for improvements at Sue Reynolds.
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Germany disagrees and says there have been plenty of times when City Administrator Odie Donald has asked the commission to redirect unused SPLOST funds to other projects.
“The money is out there. I know it is. I just saw the administrator ask to move funds at a meeting the other day. I’m not a politician making promises; I am just a resident that sees a need. I have been asking for the commission since Fred Russell was the administrator to help get a community center here. I know it can be done,” Germany said.
A workshop has been set up for the week of Feb. 6 for the Augusta Recreation Department to discuss with commissioners and residents any plans for the area.
“We all understand that the area is no longer rural, and with all those subdivisions out there now, the city needs to provide an adequate community center. We know it needs to be done; we just have to figure out how to do it,” Clarke said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
