Improvements to the Chester Hynes and Merrill community centers will begin Monday, a city official told the Pine Bluff City Council earlier this week.
The City Council approved $59,872 for renovations to the community centers as part of the 2012 budget, to be paid for out of funds collected in 2011 from the five-eights-cent city sales tax approved by voters in February 2011.
Larry Matthews, public works coordinator for the city Economic and Community Development Department, updated the council on the projects at the Feb. 6 council meeting. Matthews said they will start with Chester Hynes.
“We have scheduled to begin the improvements next Monday with Parks and Recreation and the Department of Corrections coming in to assist us with doing the first phase, which will be improvements to the gymnasium,” Matthews said. “Upon completing that, we plan to move forward with completing the painting of the facilities in the entrance way and the hallways.”
During Spring Break when the Head Start Program that rents the building will be on vacation, Matthews said he hopes they will be able to paint the classrooms and replace the ceiling tiles.
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“Upon completion of that particular structure, we are going to move over to the Merrill Center and begin our improvements there,” Matthews said.
Matthews said that both facilities — with the exception of replacing the gymnasium floors in both buildings — are estimated for completion in 90 days.
After that, the city will solicit bids for companies to re-do the gym floors at both facilities. Then they will return to the city council with requests for funding of the lowest bids at each facility. The money that has already been allocated does not include enough to cover the gym floors, which Matthews said will likely be costly to fix.
Alderman Bill Brumett expressed some concern during the meeting about where the money for the floors would come from.
Alderman Irene Holcomb has been vocal at several council meetings in the last year about the need to improve the community centers, which she characterized as being in an appalling condition.
“It is a much-needed project,” Holcomb said at the Feb. 6 meeting. “We have our precious little children over there in that dangerous, hazardous, unhealthy place, and it needs to be fixed.”
At a City Council Public Works Committee meeting in October, Parks and Recreation Department staff listed all the improvements they felt were needed at both facilities.
The list included for Chester Hynes: a new gym floor; repairs for the score clock; a replacement score clock panel board; repairs to holes on top of the gym walls; lobby floor repairs; paint for the lobby, cafeteria, offices, bathrooms and bathroom stalls; replacement locks for the handicapped bathrooms; replacement toilet seats; deodorizers for all bathrooms; spraying for insects; a lock change for the outside doors; replacement front and back gym door jams; new covers for control boxes; removal of some water fountains; new curtains in the activity room; security cameras; motion lights; a projector; a large-format printer; book shelves; wall plug covers; computer for the after-school program and director; basketballs, kick balls and jump ropes.
The list included for the Merrill Center: replacement outside front doors; replacement inside gym door; replacement toilet seats; new paper towel dispensers for bathrooms; resurfacing for gym floor; repairs to the score clock and a new control panel; replacement carpet in classrooms; replacement weights and machines in weight room; repairs to back room light fixture; new control boxes on thermostats; repainting to entire building; removal of kitchen cabinets; replacement paneling in a back room with water damage; removal of damaged ice machine, a refrigerator, a broken bleacher and air conditioner; replacement back gym door; new bathrooms, doors and an alarm system for the little gym; security cameras; motion lights; a projector; wall plug covers; repairs to a display case; additional personnel; a carpet shampooer; basketballs, kick balls and jump ropes; and school supplies like scissors, crayons, art supplies and books.
At the time, the cost estimates to correct all of the listed item was about $90,000, not including the gym floors.