<< Back 6/19/02 Pepsi building gives Swain recreation needed space By Don Hendershot Those summer downpours are not as big a headache for Swain County Recreation Director Kathy Posey as they used to be. Beginning with this year’s summer day camp, the recreation department is able to utilize the 19,000 square feet of space in the old Pepsi building. When you’re responsible for 120 children, dry space is a godsend on those rainy days. The county purchased the old Pepsi building in June 2000 for about $312,000. The money came from a $156,000 matching grant from the state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF.) Matching funds came from the recreation department ($127,000) and the county ($29,000.) Purchasing the building, which is located directly across the road from the recreation park, was the first step in a slow, painstaking process that included renovation and eventually incorporating it into recreation department plans. Posey believes the building has lots of potential and would like to see a variety of uses. Besides the summer day camp, Posey would like to see the building open year-round, after school, evenings and weekends. She envisions adult basketball, events for seniors, and space for meetings and classrooms. County commissioners appropriated $30,000 in April 2001 for initial renovations. Posey said the building had to be brought up to code so it could be used this summer. An old loft was removed, emergency exit lights installed, fire extinguishers purchased and exposed beams padded. Other renovations on the wish list include replacing the metal roof, installing a dropped ceiling in the food court and multi-use areas, adding interior walls and insulation, insulating the roof, cap and level the concrete floor and building walls to separate the gym area from the food courts, and multi-use rooms at one end and the shuffleboard, ping-pong tables and exercise room on the other end. Total renovations are estimated to cost approximately $140,000. Posey said, depending on funding, renovations could be done in stages or in one total package. She said the recreation department is in the process of seeking more grant money for the renovations. “Commissioners have been supportive and are totally committed to this project,” Posey said. It’s an exciting time for the seven-year recreation director. Currently there are two portable basketball goals, a volley ball net, a shuffleboard court, ping pong tables and a cardiovascular exercise bike ready for use at the old building, and commissioners are considering adding an employee so the facility can be open in the evenings. But Posey says there is even more going on with the recreation department. Initial construction has started on a $77,000 outdoor skate park. The park will give local skateboarders a place to test their skills. A $50,00 grant form the Janirve Foundation plus $27,000 in local funds will pay for the project. Posey said she expects construction to be completed by August. Phase I of a trail constructed with the assistance of the Partnership for Health has been completed around the ball fields and grounds at the recreational center.