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Residents press to restore Activity Center kitchen and make doors, bathrooms ADA‑accessible
Summary
Multiple residents urged the council to prioritize renovating the Activity Center — restoring its kitchen and fixing doors and bathrooms to meet ADA access — and suggested modernizing the whole facility so it can host programs, meals and rented events.
At the March 21 CDBG public hearing several residents urged the town to prioritize upgrades to the Huachuca City Activity Center, focusing on accessibility and repairing a nonfunctional kitchen. Diane Hildebrant, who identified her address to the minutes, said the new ramp is helpful "but once they get to the doors, they can’t open them," and urged restoration of the kitchen so groups and seniors can use the facility.
Councilmembers and residents discussed expanding the concept beyond a single repair: Town Manager Suzanne Harvey and residents asked whether the project could cover full modernization — ADA‑compliant doors and bathrooms, improved parking and accessibility, and equipment to host paid events that could generate ongoing revenue. Council members noted that public facilities are a common eligible CDBG category but emphasized planning and design work may be better funded through State Special Projects (SSP) so future CDBG construction dollars pay for implementation rather than engineering.
Speakers emphasized community benefits: Cynthia Butterworth argued that a renovated kitchen could host cooking classes tied to the community garden and senior meals, while a mobile‑home‑park resident noted the facility’s social role in reducing isolation. Osborne of SEAGO advised the council to include a specific Activity Center project description in the candidate list so it qualifies for CDBG or SSP consideration and to note likely scope, estimated beneficiaries and whether the work is renovation versus new construction.
Next procedural step: the hearing record will include these comments as candidates for the council’s resolution designating projects for the regional account; council and staff must later decide whether to target SSP for design/engineering or to propose an Activity Center construction/rehab project under the regional account.
