Wednesday, Mar. 03, 2010

Community center will open soon

After months of delays, the Clayton Community Center is showing signs of life.

In the coming weeks, the town's Parks and Recreation Department plans to move some classes into the $6 million center off of Amelia Church Road, said department director Larry Bailey.

"It's exciting," Bailey said. "We've been wanting this a long time. We've been needing this a long time."

The center, which features basketball courts, a walking loop and classrooms, was scheduled to open last summer. But the project has been plagued by setbacks.

In August 2008, vandals entered the construction site and drove construction equipment around, destroying some building materials.

Then, unexpectedly, the town had to hire contractors to widen Amelia Church Road. Under an agreement with the town, the developer of nearby LionsGate subdivision was supposed to install turn lanes on the road. But the company backed out of the agreement when the housing market soured.

Now the town is working with LionsGate to recover some of the $100,000 it spent over budget on the road work, Town Manager Steve Biggs said.

When workers began installing turn lanes, they discovered underground utility wires, which delayed the process, Biggs said. Then cold weather set in, which set the project back further.

After the turn lanes were installed, the state transportation department had to install stop lights at the intersection of Amelia Church and Shotwell roads.

Other than the extra cost for the road work and some additional costs for design consultants, the center's delays didn't cost the town money, Biggs said.

It's been a long time coming, but the Parks and Recreation Department moved into the center last week from its old offices in the Civitan building at Municipal Park.

Until the mid-1990s, the department was on the third floor of the old town hall, where employees used jail cells as storage space.

The community center, where office windows look out on rustic views, is definitely an upgrade.

"We've come a long ways," Bailey said.

Program supervisor Susan Jenkins said the parks department has been hindered by limited space. Basketball leagues play their games at school gyms, and classes meet at The Clayton Center, the Civitan building and anywhere else the department can find space.

Jenkins said the community center is a blessing. As Clayton's population grows, more people are looking to the parks department for activities, she said. The community center will meet many of the needs.

"There's so much potential in this building for a variety of activities," Jenkins said.

The center has enough classroom space to host art and pottery classes simultaneously, she said. A multi-purpose room is ideal for dance classes, and Jenkins said the department is looking into offering Zumba and belly-dancing.

Eventually, the town wants to add a swimming pool and another gymnasium to the center. But it's unclear when that will happen. The town already has big projects in the works, including a new police station and a park off Glen Laurel Road.