New gym proposed for Stafford community center as part of the November bond election
If Fort Bend County voters pass a $98.6 million facilities bond on Nov. 3, the Fifth Street Community Center in Stafford could get a new gymnasium.
The bond would allocate $1.9 million for the freestanding gymnasium, which would be a 9,000-square-foot, onefloor multipurpose space adjacent to the existing community center.
A sports court that could be used for basketball or volleyball would make up the gym’s single room, said James Knight, the county’s director of facilities management and planning.
“We try to make this (space) as flexible as we can,” Knight said.
There would be an additional storage room in the gym for athletic equipment.
The gym’s main use would be for children’s recreational programs, primarily the Stafford Boys and Girls Club, located in the community center. About 80 to 125 children in the program use the center and the current gymnasium, a converted warehouse, each day, said Mike Davis, the county’s director of parks and recreation. In the summer, this number reaches about 200 children. The gym was built more than 20 years ago and is no longer adequate, Davis said.
“It’s got a lot of wear and tear,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Grady Prestage said.
The community center also houses a meal program for senior adults and Fort Bend’s Head Start program. Both programs could use the new gym for indoor exercise, Davis said.
Fort Bend Water Control & Improvement District No. 2
owns the land where the county commissioners plan to build the center. If the bond passes, the county will either purchase or exchange other property for the land, Prestage said. Money to purchase the land is not included in the bond.
County commissioners approved the facilities bond Aug. 19.
Fort Bend commissioners project that if passed, the bonds would have a slight impact on the county’s tax rate, which is now 47.76 cents per $100 valuation.
They anticipate that the tax rate will drop next year due to increasing property values, regardless of whether voters pass the bond. However, whereas the rate would otherwise drop by more than a cent to 46.5 cents, passage of the bond could mean a rate of 46.8 cents.
The primary purpose of the bond is to enhance justice department facilities, Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers said. Nearly a third of the bond’s funds would go toward an expansion of the county’s Justice Center. Other projects include a new library and the conversion of a Houston Community College building in Sienna to a county services center. margaret.kadifa@chron.com @margaretkadifa