By Barry Porterfield
Five years worth of work by many Pauls Valley residents was rewarded in the bright early afternoon sun Tuesday as the official groundbreaking ceremony was held for a long-anticipated recreation center.
With ceremonial gold shovels in hand, a solid contingent of local residents and construction officials gathered in Wacker Park to signify the official start of the project that when finished will give the community the Donald W. Reynolds Community Recreation Center.
An $8 million grant from the Reynolds foundation is paying for the 36,000-square foot facility that will offer a variety of recreation and athletic activities.
“This is the culmination of five years of hard work,” City Manager James Frizell said during some brief comments made at the ceremony.
Frizell, who worked with the recreation committee which began meeting in 2004 to plan this project, said it all started when someone saw brochure information about the foundation grant that was eventually awarded to the Pauls Valley project.
“We recognize that we have a facility that will serve the community for years to come,” he said.
Frizell and committee member Allen Eubanks gave the proposed local project a final pitch to Reynolds Foundation board members during a presentation in Las Vegas.
Eubanks told the gathered group Tuesday the possibility of a rec center was nowhere on the radar when the committee first met five years ago.
“When we started meeting we were talking about an outdoor swimming pool,” Eubanks said. “Then it evolved into this. We stuck together and continued to work hard for this.”
“This will be a world-class facility, head and shoulders above anything this community has. I look forward to about a year from now when we cut the ribbon to this facility.”
Representing the Pauls Valley City Council, Vice Mayor Bill Riddle focused his comments on the work of committee members.
“These are the ones who put in the time over the years,” he said. “They kept the council informed. They put in the extra time and work.”
Unrelated to the seven-figure grant is an effort to raise the private funds needed to add a large outdoor swimming pool to the center.
The pool was originally included in the project but was later cut because of increasing construction costs, which resulted in the private effort to raise money.
