Plans to make old Greenville library into rec center underway

At the Greenville town council meeting on Sep. 14, Town Manager Tim Day came to the council to announce his plans to turn the old library on Church Street into a community recreation center.

Since then, a lot has happened. The county successfully turned the building over to Greenville and many cosmetic improvements have been made, according to Day. The facility has working utilities and will be painted as soon as the town council chooses which color would fit best.

“The building is in good shape on the inside,” said Day. “We are very blessed the county gave it to us.”

Day first got the idea of turning the old library into a recreation center when he took a look around the community. “There are a lot of single moms that have kids that get into trouble because they have nothing to do,” said Day. “Parents need to know their kids are safe and that's our number one concern.”

He has observed many other communities that had places for kids to go to after school or during the weekend and saw a need in the town of Greenville. Day wants to have a smaller area for younger children and have different things for older children to do as well. He also plans to have a full-service facility with different activities that every child will enjoy, including arts and crafts, a computer room and even a weight room.

One of the biggest concerns Day has for the center is the lack of workers. Because Greenville can't afford to pay full time workers, the center would have to be managed by part-time workers and volunteers. Policies for the center still need to be put in place as well.

There is no estimated completion date scheduled for the facility, but Day hopes to have it up and running by the time school lets out. By that time, according to Day, many different projects the council have been putting their main focus on will be taken care of, and the council members can redirect their priorities to the center.