By Sarah McCurter
Correspondent
TRENTON, Ga. — Trenton city commissioners were planning to have the city’s newest gathering area open to the public by now, but the civic center has faced delays.
Construction was supposed to start in September 2009 on the Trenton Civic Center next to the city pool and city park. Recreation Commissioner Chuck Cannon said the facility was expected to be open to the public by Jan. 1. However, budget cuts delayed construction.
“We had to get cost down,” Mr. Cannon said. “It came in around $600,000; we needed it down to at least $500,000 before construction could start.”
Material for the roof and wall panels had to be traded for a cheaper material, he said. The original plan was to have a clerestory, which is a wall made of windows that would have run along the top of the building. To lower the budget commissioners had to take that wall out of the plans.
Besides taking out the clerestory wall, the blueprints for the building are the same, he said. The civic center still will include a gallery for art shows and an assembly hall for concerts, plays or banquets, as well as a full kitchen, outside patio and an animal adoption center.
“I am really excited about the animal adoption center,” Annie Rainer said. “It is nice to know there will now be somewhere to take animals instead of them ending up on the side of the road.”
Construction has started on the civic center, and the land is being cleaned and leveled. Mr. Cannon said citizens should start to see framework going up sometime in July.
“Once the ground is leveled, everything will be built,” he said. “It won’t take long from there.”
The new expected date for the center to be open to the public is October.
Sarah McCurter is located in Dade County. Contact her at smccurter.ctfp@gmail.com
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