The Pierce County Recreation Board hopes to have a clearer picture and better cost estimates soon for the proposed new recreation complex on County Farm Road and renovations and improvements at Ware Street/Yeomans Street.
The voluntary August deadline for a proposal on the project from Architects Carter and Sloope of Macon came and went without the presentation of a plan.
The issue was discussed at last Tuesday’s recreation board meeting.
Recreation Board Chairman Chris Wright announced that he, recreation board member Brad Arington, Recreation Director Maureen Brown and County Manager Raphel Maddox would be meeting with the architects as soon as a conference can be arranged.
“We need to get a proposal,” Wright said. “We are just sitting here spinning our wheels until we do.”
Wright endorsed having a called meeting of the recreation board as soon as a plan can be presented, with an eye toward having it in hand prior to the October board meeting.
A preliminary proposal with a $17.86 million cost estimate was presented at the board’s June meeting, but was sent back for modifications to get the project to a manageable price.
Wright suggested at the time the project be pared down to something in the $6 million range.
Plans call for the construction of a new baseball/softball complex on County Farm Road. T h e Ware/Yeomans Street project would include an overhaul of the existing park to include new football and soccer facilities. The special purpose local option sales tax earmark for recreation is about $3.45 million from the current SPLOST and previous SPLOST. Wright said bonds for t h e project can be secured and he be- lieves tournaments hosted by the recreation department can generate revenue to be earmarked for the new complex and the renovations.
Wright has suggested the work be done in phases and that the county look for other funding options, such as bonds and grants, to help pay for the new facilities.
