Center ready to open

Grovetown City Councilman David Daughtry said he hasn't been inside Grovetown's new community center during its construction.

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"I've held off, I haven't gone in there yet," he said of the new recreation building that's nearly complete at Liberty Park. "I want to see the finished product. I'm excited about it."

Like many other Grovetown residents, Daughtry's first trip inside will be at the Liberty Park Community Center ribbon-cutting ceremony slated for 1 p.m. Monday. The public is invited to attend the ceremony and tour the building.

State Rep Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, is slated to be the keynote speaker at the ceremony.

City officials designed the $1.1 million combination gymnasium and multipurpose building to include an indoor basketball court, a fitness and weight room and a few offices and meeting rooms in addition to restrooms, storage and a commercial kitchen.

City Clerk Shirley Beasley said that when all is complete, the building also will contain about $100,000 worth of equipment and furnishings. Michael Woods, the city's Public Works director who oversaw the construction, said he's still awaiting the delivery of more chairs, exercise equipment and flooring for the exercise room, but construction is complete.

The building was a joint effort between the city and Columbia County government, which put $500,000 into the project.

The park on Newmantown Road already has a walking track with exercise stations and four baseball fields.

"There's going to be a lot of folks ... real excited about it on July Fourth," Daughtry said. Plans are to relocate the city's annual July Fourth celebration, which usually is plagued by heat, to the indoor facility this year.

"I'm excited that it is there and we have that kind of facility," he said.

City officials are considering allowing The Family Y and the Boys and Girls Club of Augusta to run programs out of the recreation center. Daughtry said city officials are awaiting proposals from both organizations regarding what services they will provide and at what costs.

Daughtry's father joined the city council in the 1960s with the goal of creating recreation opportunities for city residents. He and others helped develop Goodale Park.

"It's exciting to remember the days when we didn't have anything," Daughtry said, "to now being able to have a nice gym and all of that."