Lowndes County Residents Finally Get Their Wish, A Brand New Community Center

LOWNDES COUNTY, (WCBI)- Residents in eastern Lowndes County have been asking for a community center for years.

Their wish, is finally being granted.

The Shady Lane Community Center is currently under construction and is expected to be ready by July.

The building is located off of Hughes Road and Shady Lane Road.

“It started with the cries and the will of the people wanting to raise the quality of life,” said Lowndes County District 4 Supervisor Jeff Smith.

As the walls go up, Smith said he feels a sense of pride, hope, and satisfaction knowing the community is getting the facility they’ve been longing for.

“It’s important that while we serve, we don’t forget who we serve and this allows us to be able to say to the people in this community, we didn’t forget,” Smith expressed.

The building is being built in Smith’s district. He said a recreational facility is something the area has been lacking for several years.

“Obviously, you’ve heard some of the discussions about recreation in the county lacking in certain areas, and this was an area,” said Smith. “Without facilities you lack, I don’t think anyone can argue with that.”

However, the Shady Lane Community Center will change that and create opportunities for residents that they didn’t have in the past.

“It provides opportunity for services to be rendered and public use and that’s important because your tax dollars are being reinvested in things that you want.”

The facility will serve as a place for residents to have public meetings and functions, as well as a place for the youth to hang out.

“This area borders districts three and four and it goes all the way to the Alabama line,” the supervisor said. “We are a blessed county, and being a blessed county we’ve been able to reinvest a lot of reserves and taxes that we’ve been able to collect back into the citizens.”

Over the past five years, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors have built three community centers, including this most recent one.