County approves additional Rogers Road funding

Plans for the new Rogers Road Community Center beginning to shape up.

At a Thursday night meeting, the Orange County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an additional $150,000 to go toward start-up costs for the center.

The board approved $500,000 for the center at its Oct. 16 meeting.

But after county officials met with Rogers Road residents, it became clear that they would need more to get the center started.

Commissioner Pam Hemminger, a member of the Rogers Road Task Force, made the motion to allocate additional money to the center.

“This is a dream, and it’s a goal,” she said.

Assistant County Manager Michael Talbert, who presented the task force report, said Rogers Road residents expressed interest in starting a catering business, and the need for a commercial kitchen in the center would increase overall start-up costs.

Talbert said Rogers Road residents also wanted to include a day care center in the new facility and possibly create a business incubator for sustainable businesses.

But Commissioner Earl McKee said he worried the board might have to continue to fund more and more of the start-up costs.

“I’ll support this increased appropriation, but what I want to avoid is this board start chasing a moving target,” he said.

And Commissioner Steve Yuhasz said he worried the proposed budget for the fledgling facility might not be enough to sustain the center.

“I’m concerned we’ll get the building built and they’ll be looking for continued contributions from the county to manage and maintain the building,” he said.

But other commissioners said they didn’t think the neighborhood would have trouble sustaining the center.

“They’ve been operating for a number of years without our help,” said Commissioner Valerie Foushee.

The commissioners also approved the possible sale of the Greene Tract, a piece of land near Rogers Road, in a 6-to-1 vote. Proceeds from the sale will go toward remediation for the neighborhood.

Commissioner Alice Gordon did not approve the sale of the tract.

“It was too sketchy for me to move forward,” she said.

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