Residents Exchange Ideas On Parrish Center
May 12th, 2008, 12:46 am Hobby Shops
Residents have longed dreamed about having a community center in Parrish.
Those dreams could come true in the old Parrish schoolhouse located on U.S. 301. Now closed for renovation, the 16,000-square-foot facility will have to meet fire safety standards before it can reopen.
A committee of about eight to 10 people has been formed to determine what services would suit the area, said Ben Jordan, president of the Parrish Civic Association. Ideas have been offered up on anything from programs for kids and teens to adult exercise classes or hobbies like quilting or whittling.
Whether the community center makes a go of any of the ideas will depend on what people think.
“You’ve got to create things that interest people,” he said.
The process has been a bit more challenging than expected. Take for instance when the idea for fitness equipment was proposed. Since it could cost as much as $200,000, fitness equipment wasn’t deemed feasible, Jordan said.
“Rather than trying to figure exactly what people want, you’re going to have to do a trial and error,” he said. “Offer it and see how many people show up for it. People don’t like to tell you what they want. But if you show them something, they can tell you whether or not they like it.”
Previously, Jordan thought that the community center could mainly be volunteer run, but it’s looking more like an activities director will need to be hired to schedule the events once it opens.
Closed since November 2006, the old schoolhouse has been given a new roof and will soon have new windows to match it’s historical physique.
The building will also require the drop ceiling to be removed, an air conditioning system to be installed and an elevator to be installed for second floor use, said Karen Windon, deputy county administrator.
About $2 million that has been set aside for a Parrish community center will go toward the renovations. To keep the cost down in the midst of tight budget constraints, officials are looking to provide opportunities for community members to offer services like construction, landscaping and painting.
Tags: activities director, adult exercise, budget, civic association, community members, county administrator, drop ceiling, exchange ideas, exercise classes, fire safety standards, fitness equipment, Hobbies, midst, old schoolhouse, painting, physique, quilting, renovation, renovations, square foot facility, tight budget constraints, trial and errorRelated posts
