05/01/02

A $100,000 Jefferson County grant to the City of Homewood was originally intended to fund a new parking area at the Afton Lee Center.

Now, the money will benefit the Rosedale community center in a different way one that's apt to bring smiles to the neighborhood's young residents. Instead of paying for pavement, the funds will be used to build a new playground.

"There is a parking problem at the center, but it's not something we could work out on a short-term basis," said Homewood Mayor Barry McCulley.

"We will address that on down the road. But with the grant, we were running out of time."

Bob Lunsford, director of the Office of Community and Economic Development for the Jefferson County Commission, said the grant was approved in 2000. A condition was that the funds had to be used within a certain period of time and time was running out.

"We looked at the immediate needs of the center, and the playground was in desperate need of improvement," said Homewood City Council President Ginger Busby.

At its April 22 meeting, the council gave Busby the authority to enter into a cooperation agreement with Jefferson County so the playground project could get under way.

"Jefferson County will handle the bid work and construction," Busby said. "The city just writes a nice thank-you note."

Lunsford said engineer Frank Spencer has been hired to begin preliminary work. Construction should begin in three to four months, he added.

The Afton Lee Center includes a gym and two club rooms and hosts both after-school programs and summer day camps for children who live in Rosedale, said Holli Watts, Homewood parks director.

"The new playground will be moved to a location above where the current playground is located," she said. "It will be in a shadier area."

New play equipment will also be funded by the grant. "I hope the neighborhood will be involved in the selection of the equipment," said Watts.

County Commission President Gary White said the grant was funded by federal community development funds and administered by the commission through its Community and Economic Development Office.

"We can't always use federal money all over, and we're glad that Homewood was able to qualify for the grant," said White.

McCulley credited Thomas Hamner, the Homewood City Council member who represents the Rosedale district, for his efforts to improve the Afton Lee Center.

"He put in a lot of hard work," said McCulley.

And when it comes to fun and games, the mayor said he had no opinion on what kind of equipment might be chosen for the new playground.

"I'll just leave that up to the experts," he said.