During Tuesday morning’s meeting, the Brownwood City Council approved submitting a Local Parks Grant application to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for a $1.5 million Non-Urban Indoor Recreation fund, which does require a dollar for dollar match from the City.
If successful, the money will go toward a complete remodel of the Bennie Houston Recreation Center, located at 505 Cordell Street.
The deadline to apply for the grant is Aug. 1, and City Manager Emily Crawford presented three options to the Council Tuesday regarding what could be done.
This first option was to construct a new 11,000 square foot Bennie Houston Recreational Center for a current cost of $7.9 million which, could grow to $8.9 million in two years due to inflation. The City would be required to pay in excess of $6 million under that scenario.
Crawford then unveiled for the first time before Council a plan to completely renovate, remodel and rehab the current Bennie Houston Recreational Center for a fee of $3 million. The City would be required to pay approximately half the cost in that scenario, and that money could come from reserves without a tax note, or the City could look internally at other avenues.
A third option was to not act on the application for a grant.
Jake McAdams with Property Management informed Council that the grant is similar to the one received to assist with the cost of the ongoing renovation of Riverside Park. However, McAdams informed Council if the City did not act before Aug. 1, it could be between two and five years before the opportunity to apply for the grant would again exist.
“When we first started down this road I was under the impression we could get a brand new facility with a full court gym and a kitchen and meeting space for about $3 million, so this information is still shocking to me,” Crawford told those in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. “The cost of construction and the flood plain have really complicated this project. This was not the original intent of the Council. We wanted to build a new building and admittedly when Council asked staff to bring back concepts that would fit into a $3 million price range, and there is not a new concept that would fit within $3 million.”
Following recent discussions about possibly renovating the Bennie Houston Center, Crawford stated, “If the building is taken down completely to its frame and rebuilt as far as repairing the foundation, new flooring, walls, windows, doors, roof, lighting, restrooms, kitchen, new exterior for the entire facility, upgrading the HVAC, and for the gym a new gym floor and ceiling, that could be done within an estimate of $2.5 to $3 million.”
Crawford added that a new building would also incur the cost that comes with a raise in elevation due to the flood plain, but since the existing building ts being remodeled, a raise in elevation will not be required.
Ward 4 Council member Draco Miller said, “As it pertains to the options we have, I’ll be the first to say I would love to build an 11,000 square foot brand spanking new facility. Unfortunately, there are various implications in doing that, No. 1 being cost. We go from a potential $1.5 million match to the grant to almost $7 million that the City has to come up with. And how do you come up with the money? You can raise taxes, you can pull from reserves, but there’s only so many options that you have to come up with such a large amount. So I’m not in favor of a brand new facility being built because I do not want the taxpayers having to spend more money out of their pocket.”
Marcus Wasson, a citizen who addressed the Council during the public hearing, said, “I totally disagree. We’re only getting what we already have, so what’s the use of changing anything. We can look at this as money, or look at the whole picture as far as what it brings to the community. When it comes down to people that don’t have a whole lot and this is what they consider to be the staple in their community, it means a lot, a lot more than just money, it’s the pride of community. So we’re just getting the same thing we got before and for the future, I think we can do better than that.”
Ward 2 Council member Ed McMillian voiced his opinion to revamp the building opposed to razing it.
“This is a great opportunity to rehab an old building,” McMillian said. “For the people that grew up around there, it will practically be a new building but still have the history. And I think it shows a lot of respect to the Houston family. I think we’re going in the right direction. Everybody wants more and to spend more money than you have, and I don’t want to raise taxes.”
Ward 1 Council member H.D. Jones. shared similar sentiments.
“I’m definitely for the remodel,” Jones said. “We don’t have the $7 million for a new one and I don’t know how we’d get it.”
Ward 5 Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Walker Willey, who filled in for Mayor Stephen Haynes, said, “We don’t know that this grant is going to come back around. I truly believe the shell of this building will be there, but the contents and the exterior will be unrecognizable. It will be something essentially new, like brand new construction as far as anyone can tell, and that’s a great thing.”
Ward 3 Council member Melody Nowowiejski added, “We need to go with what we can afford right now. The longer we let it sit there the worse things are going to get and that’s not beneficial to anyone, including the people who use it, and it’s used constantly.”