Henrico Supervisor Jim Donati of Varina met with the Community Action Committee on October 28, 2002. He was responding to a growing interest shown by East Henrico residents who are interested in building a community center. He acknowledged that there is support for building one and encouraged our effort.
He pointed out that he is a strong advocate of Parks and Recreation mentioning such projects as Dorey, Confederate Hills and a new effort with Henrico Theater. He said that there are limited indoor facilities and that more indoor facilities are needed to handle year-round programs. He suggested using end of year fund balance and federal block grants to fund the facility. Design of the community center will cost around $500,000. The actual construction will cost in the millions.
Donati asked where the committee felt the center should be built. The committee spokesperson suggested it might be built to serve both apartment complexes and stand-alone housing developments. Donati mentioned that bus routes can be modified to accomodate the recreation center. He said that Henrico pays $2,000,000 to support Richmond
bus services extending into the county.
When asked by Mike Johnson, a manager of Food Lion "What can we do to build a community center?," Donati said "Don't let the project die." He mentioned that governments work very slowly and that the committee should "stay in touch with me and [Henrico Supervisor] Thornton."
Donati said to watch cable channel 37 for coming meetings regarding a park being developed behind Highland Springs Elementary School. He encouraged the community leaders to continue with their neighborhood watches. He said that they are a means of building communities
and that he meets some of the groups on the August Night Out.