Housing Authority agrees to sell land near Carrie Matthews rec center

Aug. 10—The Decatur Housing Authority and its affiliated nonprofit agreed to sell to the city about 6 acres across the street from Carrie Matthews Recreation Center, but City Council members are divided on what to do with the property once they approve its purchase.

Carrie Matthews and the Housing Authority property are in Councilman Billy Jackson's District 1. He favors a new Decatur Youth Services campus on the Housing Authority property that would replace offices at the Aquadome, which is being transferred to 3M Co. and torn down once a rec center is built at Wilson Morgan Park, but he adamantly opposes demolition or closure of Carrie Matthews because of its historical significance to the Northwest community.

"Carrie Matthews needs to be saved at all costs," Jackson said.

The mayor and other council members view it as a mistake to spend millions attempting structural repairs on problems that may recur at Carrie Matthews when suitable property for a replacement facility is so close.

The Carrie Matthews center, located at Sixth Street Northwest and Memorial Drive and diagonally across the street from the Housing Authority property, has gone unused for more than a year as engineers have studied the feasibility of repairing problems that include sinking floors and water penetration.

The news has not been good. Engineers cited poor soil conditions under the rec center, a possible subsurface waterway causing gaps below the foundation and an electrical system that would have to be entirely replaced because conduit is embedded in a concrete foundation that would need to be removed.

City Engineer Carl Prewitt has estimated the cost of repairs at $3 million to $4.5 million.

About half of the 6 acres, located between Fourth Street and Sixth Street along Memorial Drive, is owned by the Decatur Housing Authority and half by its closely affiliated nonprofit. The boards of both entities voted Friday to approve a tentative offer conveyed by Assistant City Attorney Chip Alexander to sell the land to the city for a total of $170,100, the appraised value. The City Council would also have to approve the sale once title work is finalized.

DYS Director Brandon Watkins on Tuesday said he had no opinion on what should happen to Carrie Matthews, but he wants the Housing Authority land to be home to all DYS programming and offices.

"We're trying to put the whole DYS campus there, all 36 programs. We need a gym, but not a rec center there. Rec centers do recreation, we do socialization. I also need all my offices there, with all my classrooms. That's what I'm aiming for," he said.

He said Carrie Matthews' electrical system, even before it was closed, was inadequate for several DYS programs. The rec center also would not work for a culinary school he wants DYS to establish.

"We need a new facility for all of that," he said. "You can't put what I want in that (Carrie Matthews) building," he said.

Mayor Tab Bowling agreed that a DYS campus would serve a different function than a rec center, but he said demolition of Carrie Matthews would be consistent with his long-range plan of closing all the neighborhood rec centers and replacing them with the larger facility planned for Wilson Morgan Park. As other rec centers deteriorate and need repairs, he said, they, like Carrie Matthews, should be closed.

"Our long-range plan is to have one rec center at Wilson Morgan Park. Back in the '70s when the Aquadome, T.C. Almon and Fort Decatur were established, we didn't have all the fitness centers that we have around the city now and churches didn't have gyms. Our rec centers are being underused," he said. "One center at Wilson Morgan Park will accommodate the city and create community. It will be more efficient and provide better services to our residents."

Bowling said he thinks attempting repairs on Carrie Matthews would be a waste of money.

"The (engineering and soil) data says we cannot invest in that existing property. It's just not buildable," Bowling said. "We would not be good stewards of taxpayer funds if we were to do that, and I'm surprised that anyone who has seen the data would want to go down that road any farther."

He wants the building at Carrie Matthews to be demolished and replaced with an expanded outdoor venue, including basketball courts.

Councilman Carlton McMasters said he's not sure the neighborhood rec centers should be phased out, although he thinks the fate of individual facilities should be considered when significant repairs become necessary. He does support demolition of Carrie Matthews and placing a replacement rec center, along with an expanded DYS facility, on the Housing Authority property.

"From everything I have seen from the experts, it would not be prudent to try to repair the existing Carrie Matthews. This is right there across the street. It can serve the same neighborhood. That neighborhood needs a recreational outlet; DYS needs a facility. The location to me just makes sense," McMasters said.

He said he was not sure on the financing of a new facility, "but this needs to be a priority."

He said Watkins' vision of a separate DYS campus is too expensive if it also includes renovations to Carrie Matthews.

Jackson said he is frustrated that the council was willing to spend $10 million on a downtown parking deck that was originally estimated at $6 million but is not willing to accommodate his constituents by repairing Carrie Matthews.

Posey Horton III, 68, grew up in Northwest Decatur. He now lives in New York but is preparing to return to Decatur and was taking a look at Carrie Matthews on Tuesday morning. He remembers when Carrie Matthews opened in 1969, and said it was an important center for the Northwest community.

"We don't have much that's historical in this part of town. They just tear stuff down and build something new. It would be nice if the rec center could stay where it is because of its historical importance to the people here," he said.

Jackson said Carrie Matthews has long been a focal point for Northwest Decatur, the sight of everything from family and class reunions to weddings to funerals. He said he resents statements by councilmen from other districts that a newly built center would be better for his constituents.

"Carrie Matthews is a vital part of our community and we would like to preserve that," he said. "It's insulting when (other councilmen) say a new facility would be better for this community, because they're saying the people of this community can't think for themselves."

While Housing Authority lawyer David Canupp on Friday stressed to the board that it could not control what the city does with the property once it is sold, they made clear that some sort of public use factored heavily in their decision to sell it. They had also considered building 16 units of Section 8 housing there.

Miles Wright, chairman of both the Housing Authority board and the board of its nonprofit, said they wanted the public good to be served.

"Carrie Matthews is in such bad shape, and the children are the future of our community," Wright said. "We were realizing that 16 people would benefit from us building on that property, but I think there will be hundreds that will benefit from the city expanding its services there."

— eric@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2435. Twitter @DD_Fleischauer.