This week, Carrollton Mayor and City Council committed $232,000 to a number of recreation projects within the West Carrollton district.
The approved funding will go towards additions at Legends West Park, a restroom project at Optimist Park, a new park project at Fourth and Alabama Street, and renovations to the Katherine Hardy Lavender Center.
The Lavender Center, more than 45-years old according to Councilman Gerald Byrd, has not seen an upgrade since 2001.
This building is in decent shape but very well worn. There will be lots of new features in the center as well. We are encouraging parent engagement inside the center with a place for weaving, a computer lab. There is currently an art room in the center and a workout facility. All of those areas will be updated and the public showers will be updated as well, said Byrd.
Byrd plans to provide a number of murals for the facility walls, showing neighborhood pictures he took in the 1990s.
There be murals of kids playing basketball and all kinds of things from that area that will be engaging and the people will be able to relate to them because a lot of them are in the photographs, Byrd told WLBB.
The gymnasium is also going to receive a complete overhaul and there will be comfortable seating for the people who will be participating in programs there. Everything is getting a whole new face. We are really excited about that.
The city had initially budgeted $100,000 for recreational projects in the west Carrollton district, but planned projects required an additional $132,000 which mayor and council approved on Monday.