Council chooses center design
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on February 13, 2017 9:57 AM
The Goldsboro City Council selected a design plan for a new Herman Park Recreation Center but not without cost concerns raised by Councilman Gene Aycock.
The council voted during a recent meeting to have HH Architecture complete the design of a traditional-style, 62,440-square-foot building that includes a double gymnasium, along Ash Street, and a third gymnasium attached directly behind the main building.
The cost of construction could be anywhere between $9.3 million and $11.8 million, according to Goldsboro Parks and Recreation estimates. The estimates include differences in costs per square footage.
Aycock raised concerns about having a third gymnasium, due to an increased cost of more than $1 million to the plan. A two-gymnasium plan, at 53,440 square feet, could cost anywhere from $8 million to $10.1 million.
"Why should we spend $1.3 million more when there's a gym three blocks away?" Aycock said.
The city parks and recreation department has a joint-use agreement with the Wayne County Board of Education to use gymnasiums at several nearby schools, including Goldsboro High School, said Scott Barnard, Goldsboro parks and recreation director.
The gymnasiums are used for games and practices but subject to accessibility, with school needs and hours taking precedence, Barnard said.
"We're always second fiddle with those facilities," Barnard said.
Having onsite gymnasiums would make the city parks and recreation department more efficient and service-friendly to the public, he said.
A third gymnasium would offer additional court space for volleyball and pickleball games, Barnard said. Mayor Chuck Allen also said the gym could be used as an emergency shelter during natural disasters.
"I'm a proponent of pickleball, but I'm not a proponent of spending $1.3 million dollars to satisfy that and volleyball," Aycock said.
"I'm a taxpayer. You're a taxpayer, and the taxpayers in my district are telling me we're spending money we do not have, and they're right. I'm in total agreement Herman Park Center is a disgrace to the city.
"I see this as a want."
Allen said the city lacks adequate gymnasium space for its recreation programs and did not have a gym until the W.A. Foster Center opened inside a new facility in 2016.
The cost concerns were raised during a council work session where the board planned to vote on one of two design plans for the new recreation center.
Selecting the design is one of the first steps before design plans can be finalized and more accurate cost estimates developed.
To date, the council has not voted in favor of funding construction of a new facility.
Allen suggested to Aycock that he vote on the traditional design plan, in case the third gymnasium was not included in initial construction but later phased in.
The council considered two design formats and input from the public gathered from an online voting process.
The city gathered more than 300 votes, with more people preferring a less-traditional design plan. The votes show that 217 people wanted construction of a recreation center that includes a third gymnasium set at an angle behind the main building that would house a 20,000-square-foot double gym. The remaining 107 votes favored the more traditional design, which includes the third gym situated directly behind the main building.
The council voted 5-2 to go with the traditional building, which was also recommended by the city parks and recreation department.
Allen, Mayor Pro Tem Bevan Foster, Councilman Mark Stevens, Councilman David Ham and Aycock voted for the traditional design, with Councilman Antonio Williams and Councilman Bill Broadaway voting in opposition.
Williams said he supports the design picked by the majority of residents through the online voting process.
A new recreation center would triple the size of the Herman Park Center from its current 18,500-square-foot layout at 901 E. Ash and Herman streets.
The center, originally built in 1892 and used as an orphanage, was purchased by the city and renovated in 1971 as a community center.
A newly constructed recreation center would include the double gymnasium, with a second floor walking track and multiple rooms for multi-purpose uses, fitness and different age groups, including adults and youth. A special needs population room is planned, as well as a room for an art studio, kitchen, conference room and offices.
The two-story building would be built on the same site where the center currently exists. Locker rooms, outdoor recreation areas and picnic shelters are being considered.