As more days pass, Lowndes County District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks and Ward 5 Columbus City Councilman Kabir Karriem become more upset regarding the speed of the Sim Scott Community Center project.
Brooks brought up the topic at Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, noting that the project has not shown significant progress for months. According to Brooks, the exterior foundation and framework was finished in June, and the interior work was to follow. However, the slow progress during the past four months is “aggravating,” Brooks said.
“Days and weeks go by and this building is just sitting there … You’re talking about July, August, September and into October.”
The project is part of the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority’s $1.6-million project that includes construction of community centers at different recreational areas throughout Columbus and Lowndes County. The city is paying for all projects located within city limits, and the county is paying for all projects in its jurisdiction.
However, the Sim Scott recreational area is located in both Brooks’ district and Karriem’s ward, and Karriem also stated his displeasure with the slow-moving construction.
“It’s been horrible,” Karriem said via telephone interview.
“I thought the interior work was going faster, but when I opened the doors I couldn’t believe that nothing was going on.”
The CLRA bid out certain parts of the project to different contractors. Weathers Construction was awarded the Sim Scott exterior erection phase; but Potts Metal Building was awarded the interior building phase, which includes framing, flooring and installing the sheetrock and insulation. The CLRA reported last month that the Sim Scott project was around 50 percent complete.
Weathers Construct-ion was awarded the exterior and interior building work for the Anderson Grove Community Center and the New Hope Community Center, and both are finished projects.
“The buildings at Anderson Grove and New Hope have been completed, and you have this one lingering on,” Brooks said, noting he rarely sees more than one person working on the interior framing at the site.
CLRA Executive Director Roger Short defended Potts Metal and said the company has less manpower than Weathers Construction, explaining a slower pace on the Sim Scott project compared to the others.
“It’s not moving as fast as the first two buildings we did, but it’s different people,” Short said, noting he would prefer a quicker pace but understands that the contractor probably has other projects to work on.
“It’s different in the size of the construction company.”
Short also said that no timetable was set for the project’s completion, and Columbus Mayor Robert Smith said officials “cannot hold the contractor accountable when they were not given a deadline.”
However, Karriem contends that finishing the project should be a top priority.
“We’ve been working on this facility for quite some time now,” Karriem said. “It’s time for the residents to be able to use the facility.”
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