With a flick of the wrist and the support of the city, Cabot Parks and Recreation Department staff, volunteers and backers turned dirt in a groundbreaking ceremony last Friday, symbolizing the beginning of construction on an expansion to the Veterans Park Community Center.
“It’s an exciting day for us here as Parks and Recs staff,” said John Crow, general director of the department. “This is something that we’ve been looking forward to for a while. The design process was a long one — a very thorough process — to make sure we’re putting everything in the building that the citizens of Cabot deserve and need.”
The expansion includes an events center that can be used for gatherings and banquets, and that area can be divided for smaller groups. There will also be improvements to the fitness program offerings, including a room with more cardio and fitness equipment than is available now and a room for fitness classes that is better suited for those activities than what is currently in the community center.
Many of the ideas for the expansion were collected through surveys of citizens so that the department knew what the people
wanted in their community center.
“We feel like the design of the building meets the mission, goals and objectives of the Parks and Recs Department to improve the quality of life for all citizens in Cabot,” Crow said. “We’re excited about the design.”
The expansion is funded by a tax extension and bond initiative that was voted on and passed in 2013, and Crow said the bids were competitive and the department has been able to stay within shot of the budget without compromising on the design of the building.
“We’re really excited that we did not have to make any major cuts to the building,” Crow said. “We’re getting just about everything that was in the design.”
Several people, including Cabot Mayor Bill Cypert and Cabot Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Ken Kincade, said the building is possible because of the positive input of the citizens and the overwhelming passage of the bond initiative two years ago.
“I want to thank the forward-thinking people of Cabot and the progressive City Council for voting and supporting the 2013 bond issue in order to support community development and quality of life in Cabot, Arkansas,” Cypert said. “The library is now open, the sports and aquatics complex will be in full operation next year, and this groundbreaking for the expansion of the community center with an events center is significant toward a long-term strategic plan improving the quality of life for our citizens in north Lonoke County, as well as providing a revenue stream for the city to continue to upgrade and build state-of-the-art infrastructure.”
Staff with the Parks and Recreation Department estimate the expansion to the community center should be completed within a year. Due to the construction, the Skate Park next to the community center will be temporarily taken down with some pieces moved to Richie Road Park over the next few weeks.
Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.