May 21, 2013
It is one of the only large halls to house events in Abbeville. But now the Abbeville Community Center is closed.
At least once a week whether for a wedding, community meeting or birthday party, groups gathered in the old wooden walls of the Abbeville Community Center. But after 60 years of wear and tear, it now sits empty and condemned.
“The whole roof is starting to sag in the middle here.” The problem starts with the center rafters. You can see they’re deteriorating.
Recreation Director Danny Creel said, “It is going to get to the point where it is going to be catastrophic.”
And the next step is sending out requests for estimates. But many contractors won’t even take on the project because they are worried the roof will collapse.
Creel said, “The problem we are having is, some of the people we have had in to come look at it they are kind of scared, liability wise, to touch it. It is a very tedious thing to do.”
The City Council has to decide whether to go a cheaper route and do temporary repairs or spend more than $70,000 for the full fix. But in the eyes of the mayor, getting the center up and running needs to be a priority.
Abbeville Mayor Jim Giganti said, “It’s almost imperative, we need a place, we have no other place to go.”
Residents agree. Joe Vickers said, “It gives us the place to go to be indoors, in a nice facility and also it looks good. It is just a good looking building and people will come to it…The community needs a center where we can come together as a community.”And residents hope the council will come together and make the right decision.
