Financial, Usage Concerns Raised Over Proposed Fosters Activity Center

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The push for a new activity center in Fosters hit another snag Wednesday as a majority of the Tuscaloosa County Commission expressed concerns over the budget and other potential issues from such a large commitment.

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As Patch reported in December 2022, District 4 Commissioner Reginald Murray and Ellis Architects presented conceptual designs for an $18 million activity center at Braughton Park in Fosters.

A work session regarding different recreation projects was held Wednesday following the County Commission's regular meeting, but no official action was taken on the measure.

Instead, Murray presented a revised budget that was pared down to $14.5 million — with the proposed indoor walking track representing the biggest of the cuts from the plan. This is down from $16.5 million in a previous revision of the initial budget.

If the new center at Braughton Park is constructed as initially proposed, Ellis Architects said it would feature the same amenities as the Jerry Tingle Activity Center, such as a pool with water slides, an indoor walking track, a gymnasium and additional space set aside for a possible second gym.

Murray argued Wednesday that when the talks of a possible activity center in Fosters first began nearly two decades ago, the intention was to have a Tuscaloosa County Park & Recreation Authority (PARA) activity center in each of the four County Commission districts.

This followed the opening of the Bobby Miller Center in District 3 in 2006; the Faucett Brothers Activity Center in District 1 in 2013; and the Jerry Tingle Center in District 2 in 2018.

"For people in that area, it's just like the years we went without having a high school or middle school in that area," Murray said during the work session. "People will come [to a new activity center], people from outside of our county or people from the eastern side of the county. People in Tuscaloosa will utilize this center."

Amid widespread economic uncertainty, however, District 3 Commissioner Mark Nelson worried about the financial drain presented by not just a new activity center, but funding and maintaining the current facilities across the county. The existing activity centers, as was widely documented, presented their own set of challenges during the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"That's another factor that's not on the construction side of things," he said. "In a perfect situation, [a new activity center is] going to be a drain on the general fund because PARA doesn't have the budget and they certainly aren't going to step up and cover that and from what I'm understanding, we're supposed to cover that. So the way I look at it, taking that big chunk of reserves ... is a big commitment heading into some times when I think we should be careful."

In considering the need for a new activity center at present, Nelson also cited the makeup of the commission and the current economic climate when looking back to when discussions of a proposed PARA facility in Fosters first began two decades ago.

"I have a fiduciary duty today to do what I think is best and to do what y'all were committed to 20 years ago or whenever the Miller Center was built, I think we have to look at it today."

Here are the latest membership totals estimated by PARA:

• Faucett Brothers Activity Center: 3,300-3,400
• Jerry Tingle Activity Center: 1,700-1,800
• Bobby Miller Activity Center - 1,700-1,800

"If you look at the addresses and zip codes," Murray said, "you're going to find out a lot of people at the Miller Center and Faucett Center live in District 4."

District 1 Commissioner Stan Acker also expressed doubts when considering PARA's languishing membership numbers, which were heavily impacted by the nuances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also mentioned that if a new center is built, it could "cannibalize" the already low membership at existing activity centers, which, in effect, would make a pressing problem that much worse.

"We don't have the usage of our centers now," Acker commented. "We need to get the usage up."

Members of the Commission also mentioned the possibility of focusing on outdoor recreation projects that might carry less of a financial burden, but Murray said a recent survey of area residents did not support such a project. He then doubled down on the desire for a PARA activity center similar to those operating in the other three Commission districts.

"You're forcing those people to make that trip," Murray said, "to drive to the center when they would like to have a center in their area."

The work session ended without any new developments in the project and no action was taken.

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