FORT SMITH — A building Fort Smith city directors voted to purchase last week for an indoor recreation center has a long list of repairs to be made before it will be ready for use.
In addition to a new roof, Fort Smith Parks and Recreation Department Director Mike Alsup listed several deficiencies in an e-mail Thursday to city directors and others. He told directors before they voted Jan. 8 to buy the Belle Grove Center at 622 North Seventh St., that it could cost $1.4 million to put the building in useable condition.
He said the renovation, which would begin around 2015, would be paid for with money from a 1/8-percent sales tax earmarked for city park and recreation improvements.
Fort Smith city directors voted 6-1 to buy the building for $107,500 from Girls Inc. with plans to renovate it for a community center. The organization moved out of the building years ago and has been unsuccessful in trying to sell it ever since, Executive Director Amanda Daniels said last week.
City Director George Catsavis voted against the purchase, saying the city did not need to get further in debt in this economic climate.
Alsup sent out an e-mail with the list of deficiencies in response to a request by Director Phil Merry, who said a constituent asked for the list. Merry also stated in his e-mailed request that some residents asked about the strength of the interior walls in the building, part of which Alsup said may date back to the Great Depression.
Alsup responded “the strength of the internal walls was not found to be a concern.”
Alsup said he was told the north end of the building with exterior walls of stone may have been built as a Works Progress Administration project in the 1930s. The rest of the building, he said, may date back to the 1950s, although he said he hasn’t received documentation on the building’s age.
He said a new roof was needed immediately on the oldest section and the adjacent gymnasium section. He estimated the roofing cost at $150,000 and said the work could begin by summer.
The southernmost section where the swimming pool is located has a hail-damaged roof, but its replacement can wait, Alsup said.
He listed several other serious problems with the building, such as the need for a new gym floor, a complete makeover for the indoor swimming pool, and repairs of water damage from the leaking roof in the older part of the building, which Alsup said contained a hall, stage, kitchen and classrooms.
The offices in the older section need to be renovated with more electrical outlets, Alsup wrote. The building also needs new windows and storefront doors, renovated women’s restrooms, additional restrooms for men, new lighting inside and out, and parking.
Alsup also wrote that some of the floor tiles are assumed to contain asbestos and the paint on the walls is assumed to contain lead.
Director Mike Lorenz said Tuesday that he had no regret about voting for the purchase. He said Alsup told the board the building had problems before they voted. Lorenz said the building was in a goodlocation and was purchased at “a heck of a price.”
“I did not have any anticipation we would get a perfect building for that price,” he said.
Merry and Director Kevin Settle also said the city got a good deal despite the building’s condition. As an engineer, Settle said, he could see the outside of the structure looked sound. He also said the purchase consisted of an entire city block and that once renovated, it will be an asset to the community.
Merry said he thinks Alsup and other city officials did their due diligence in inspecting the building and that the Belle Grove Center will be an asset to the north side of town when it is renovated.
Alsup said he conducted a “walk-through” of the building late last year with an architect and a pool-business owner to get an idea of the repair needs.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 01/16/2013