The Union City

Parks and Recreation Department will soon have a new home if all goes

according to plan.

The Recreation

Department currently shares space with Georgia Military College and South

Fulton Clean and Beautiful in the old Union City Elementary School on

Bryant Street. The school was renovated in 1993 utilizing Community Development

Block Grants, Fulton County Arts Council Grants and funds from the Union

City general budget.

Renamed the

Community Activities Center, the school has served as a base for the Recreation

Department and various programs including the Senior Program and Summer

Day Camp. Although the school has done an adequate job of meeting the

needs of the Recreation Department, the Department has, according to City

Administrator Sonya Carter, "outgrown its use."

The building

is also in need of lots of repairs and is, according to Carter, "not

structured to meet the needs of the Recreation Department." The school

is over 60 years old, has poor acoustics and antiquated facilities.

"Any facility

is supposed to be functional and an icon of what the city represents,"

said Mayor Ralph Moore. "As a city that is progressive and has a

positive future, we are transitioning to a more functional facility people

of all ages can enjoy."

The Department

hopes to move into its new home in October. The new center will be located

at Mayors' Park one block south of City Hall between Watson Street and

the railroad. The new multipurpose Community Center will sit on the site

currently occupied by the Fred Etris Community Building.

The Etris Community

Building, named after a former mayor, was built in the late '70s. The

City paid approximately $10,000 for the building of the center and Fulton

County provided prison inmate labor to help build it. "Although very

small, it has served a great purpose to the community," said Carter.

The building

is primarily utilized for family gatherings. The new center will have,

according to Carter, a "large area which can be partitioned off to

make smaller rooms, smaller rooms for activities such as crafts and dance

lessons and will house the Recreation Department staff."

The 10,085

ft. center will have a conference room, an aerobics room, two classrooms,

a kitchen, a small and large craft room, a large screened porch, storage

and administrative offices.

The center

is being funded by a bond issue approved by Union City residents in 1997.