After listening to a presentation by city officials, the board voted unanimously to ask the county to allocate $5,000 for a study to determine how and where the recreation facility should be built.
The city is expected to provide a matching grant to help cover the total cost of the feasibility study, not expected to exceed $10,000. The proposed center is projected to cost about $4.5 million.
City Manager Ed Burchins said the initial study — to be done by the Rocky Mount architect firm Oakley-Collier — will include drawings of how the facility will look; a report based on public input sessions; and a site analysis.
In addition to recreational activities, the center may serve as a site for the arts and for meetings.
The notion of a city recreation center was first proposed several decades ago, but Mayor Matthew Block has been one of the most vocal supporters in recent years. He told the board on Wednesday that he is often asked about the concept at public meetings.
"It comes up repeatedly in talks with people, mostly from families who say there is nothing or not enough for their kids to do," Block said.
While the center is sometimes called "the mayor's project," Block and Burchins each say the proposed facility has wide support. A committee made up of city, county and school officials have been holding talks on the center for the past three months.
"This is not the mayor's project," Burchins said. "It is a project of the entire council. It is also something we're not going to do on our own. It will take a joint effort to make this a reality."
Guy McCook, a county commissioner who chairs the advisory board, agreed.
"This is only going to happen if the city and county and the school partner together," he said.
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