Carrie Matthews to serve as polling precinct again

Apr. 16—Carrie Matthews Recreation Center will once again serve as a polling precinct, hosting the 2024 general election on Nov. 5 for District 1 voters.

The Decatur City Council voted unanimously Monday to move the polling precinct from the Sixth Street Boys and Girls Club down the street to the recreation center.

The council also voted to accept the feasibility study done by TTL Inc., Jacobs Engineering and Pugh Wright McAnally for a new Tennessee River bridge and improvements to the U.S. 31 causeway.

A $1 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission with a $1 million match from the city of Decatur funded the study. They did the study because of heavy traffic congestion on the U.S. 31 causeway and Hudson Memorial bridges.

The city now needs $3 million to $4 million — potentially including federal, state and regional funds — for the next phase of study for a new bridge and causeway improvements, officials said.

The council voted 4-1 to accept the study. Councilman Billy Jackson cast the lone vote against it.

Jackson said his no vote is because of the potential cost of building a bridge. He said a previous estimate that the bridge would cost more than $2 billion makes him believe that the project will never occur.

However, Dewayne Hellums, director of the Decatur-area Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the report estimates the cost of a new bridge, along with U.S. 31 causeway improvements, ranges from $190 million to $500 million.

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Precinct returns

Carrie Matthews will once again become one of three polling precincts in District 1. The other two precincts are Turner-Surles Community Center and the Aquadome.

City Clerk Stephanie Simon said the Carrie Matthews voting precinct has 2,236 registered voters.

Carrie Matthews originally became a precinct in 2009 when the city moved voting precincts out of the schools.

However, the city closed the center in early 2019 when the gymnasium floor began to sink in multiple places because of foundation problems. They moved the voting precinct to the Sixth Street Boys and Girls Club.

Jackson said Carrie Matthews' lobby and two meeting rooms are safe and they need more parking for the election.

"With the November general election including the president and other offices, the turnout will be too great for Boys and Girls Club," Jackson said. "It would just be a nightmare."

Carrie Matthews not only has more parking available, but it's also handicap accessible, Jackson said.

The council approved spending $2,200 as part of the resolution to make minor repairs to Carrie Matthews on the recommendation of Chief Financial Officer Kyle Demeester.

Carrie Matthews Recreation Center, which opened in 1969, was one of three centers built during Mayor J. Gilmer Blackburn's administration. The city named the center after longtime educator and civic leader Carrie Matthews. She was instrumental in establishing the Sterrs and Cashin Homes day care centers.

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No decision

The City Council hasn't decided Carrie Matthews' ultimate fate. Some members want to tear it down because of a $5 million estimate to restore the building while Jackson has been fighting to save it.

Jackson has said the community wants to save Carrie Matthews because it means so much to them.

Council President Jacob Ladner said Jackson is gathering information on possible repairs to save Carrie Matthews.

"I told him to let me know when he's ready to discuss it and I'm willing to put it on an agenda," Ladner said. "I'm OK if it's feasible to try to rehab Carrie Matthews."

Carrie Matthews was one of the Decatur Youth Services' sites before the city closed it. DYS officials are working on a plan to build a new home across the street on Memorial Drive Northwest.

Ladner said building a new DYS facility is a separate issue from the fate of Carrie Matthews. However, he said they may build only one gym at the DYS facility if they save Carrie Matthews.

— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432