Gadsden seeks to turn over community centers and other property to school system

The Gadsden City Council on Tuesday authorized Mayor Craig Ford to execute a memorandum of understanding with the Gadsden City Board of Education to convey property, including multiple community centers, to Gadsden City Schools.

The MOU, which would require board approval before becoming final, would transfer the community centers at Mitchell, Thompson and Walnut Park elementary schools and the Raymond Hill center adjacent to Eura Brown Elementary to the school system.

It also would transfer ownership of Walnut Park Elementary — which legal research has revealed the city actually owns — to the system, along with the soccer fields and track at Gadsden City High School.

The city would also transfer a building at 220 Locust St., adjacent to 210 at the Tracks, to the system and would commit $50,000 toward renovations. The city had been using for storage. City officials said the system has indicated it would be used by SPAN of Etowah County, a program that uses counseling and education to keep at-risk students from being incarcerated.

“This is something the previous and current superintendents and boards have been interested in doing, and it works well for us and for Gadsden,” Ford said.

The school system would be responsible for staffing the community centers during the day, taking that off the Parks and Recreation Department’s plate. It also would take over insurance, maintenance and utility costs for the buildings, reducing the city’s overhead.

“It’s about who puts in the air conditioning and pays the utilities,” Ford said. “They’ll take care of it. They’ll have full ownership.”

The system would be responsible for after-school programs at the facilities. The system and the city currently have competing programs.

During basketball season, the city would still have access to the centers and would share in the expenses.

And because Community Development Block Grant funds were used in constructing the GCHS soccer field and track, there would be a stipulation that those properties would revert to the city if they were ever used for a different purpose.

The city will retain its Carver, East Gadsden and Jack Gaston community centers, and the new Senior Wellness Center under construction at the old Elliott Community Center site.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden schools would take over community centers under deal with city