By Erin McGrath

Published: March 19, 2008

Paint roller in hand, Barbara Maxwell prepared to cover the walls of an old art classroom at the Nelson Heritage Center on U.S. 29 in Arrington with a fresh coat of beige primer.
It was the middle of February and the classroom was becoming the new dojo for the Seven Tigers Tae Kwon Do Academy, which Maxwell runs with her husband and daughter.
“We just needed more space,” Maxwell, who lives in Arrington, said about the move. “It was just growing.”
Seven Tigers Tae Kwon Do rented a smaller classroom at the center for a year before deciding to move into a bigger room.
Maxwell is just one of the tenants who rents a room at the old middle school, which is one of seven community centers in Nelson County that provide space for public gatherings and tenants like Seven Tigers.
But the center is one of six in the county in need of millions of dollars worth of repairs. It’s also one of the reasons why the Nelson County Board of Supervisors had the community centers surveyed in September.
Nelson County Building Inspector Mark Bolt did a visual inspection of each building and estimated the cost of bringing the Rockfish Valley Community Center, the Heritage Center, the Gladstone Community Center, the Schuyler Community Center, Massie’s Mill Community Center and the Fleetwood Community Center up to code.
An average 3,000 Nelson residents use the community centers each month.
Bolt estimated—based on current construction and labor costs—it would take $11.79 million to bring the community centers up to code.
This initial cost assessment comes at a time when the county is in the midst of a budget crunch that is likely to put limits on new money being funneled to other priorities, like education, once next year’s county budget is finalized in June.
“All (we did) was an evaluation for the board of supervisors on the condition and use of the structures,” Bolt said.
Five of the six buildings were once schools. The last one used as a school was the Heritage Center and it closed its doors in 2003.
“So what we look at now is the different building code that is required for the different use groups,” Bolt said. “What they’re being used for now is how we look at the codes, and what needs to be added to the structure to make it more safe for the public.”
Bolt inspected the Heritage Center in September and estimates it would take $4.37 million for repairs to the building, making it the most expensive community center in need of repair.
“Buildings like this are built for a 40-year life span. The code has changed, times have changed,” he said. “Construction uses have changed.”
Those changes have left many of the buildings behind when it comes to issues like handicap access.
Bolt said the Massie’s Mill center, in his opinion, is in the worst shape. The one in the best shape is the Gladstone Community Center.
The only community center left out of the visual inspections was the Nelson Center because the county spent $2.4 million renovating the old high school in 2005.
“We look at the Nelson Center as a model of what can be done with an old school,” Sarah Jane Stewart, president of the Rockfish Valley Community Center Board of Directors, said.
“They’ve been able to develop that building very nicely.”
However, if the centers weren’t open, workers like Stewart worry about where people would go for the programs they offer.

Schuyler Community Center

The Schuyler Community Center was built as an elementary, middle and high school in 1931 after the first school house—built in 1925—burned down.
The school operated for all grades until 1955, when it became an elementary school. It closed its doors to students
in 1991.
After the school closed, the community decided to reopen the building as a center and use some of the classrooms for a museum centered on the popular show, “The Waltons,” based on Earl Hamner Jr.’s childhood in Schuyler.
The Waltons’ Mountain Museum opened in October 1992
and attracts almost 20,000 visitors per year.
Besides operating the museum, the community center also serves meals and holds meetings for senior citizens and special events for families during the holidays.
Currently the building is owned by the community, and in 2008 the county gave the center $5,600 for meals served
to seniors.
Museum director Leona Roberts said about 100 seniors use the community center each month.
“There’s nothing else around here,” she said of Schuyler, home to about 1,200 people, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
Nelson County Building Inspector Mark Bolt’s visual inspection of the building found the floor joist system is failing and could collapse because of rot, decay and old age. The presence of asbestos is suspected in parts of the building, water damage on the walls from previous roof leaks needs to be repaired and testing needs to be done on the water for lead content.
Bolt also said the exterior brick is starting to show areas of movement and that there are broken windows that need to be replaced. He also said parts of the building are not handicap accessible and that the facility needs an updated heating, cooling and ventilation system.
“We have tried to work and keep the building up,” Roberts said. “We would like to continue what we have here and have the community be able to use this building.”
Bolt estimated it would cost $1.92 million to repair and upgrade the building.

Fleetwood Community Center

The Fleetwood Community Center was originally built as a school in 1934 and served grades one through 11 until 1955. It was the first state-accredited school in Nelson County.
In 1969, it became an elementary school when the middle school and high school grades moved into
new buildings.
The building closed as a school in 1995 when Tye River Elementary School opened. That same year, it was reopened as a community center.
The community currently owns the building.
Now, soccer and baseball teams, horse trail rides, a tae-kwon do class, and a church group use the community center and the surrounding grounds.
Almost 400 people use the facilities at the community center each month, and different groups have also held fund raisers there, Mary Evans, president of the Fleetwood Community Center Board of Directors, said.
“It’s just a matter of trying to reach the people who need a place to go, but can’t afford to pay what the other centers charge,” Evans said. “And it’s convenient for people in this area.”
Building Inspector Mark Bolt’s assessment of the community center in August left him suspecting the presence
of asbestos.
He also found the plumbing needs updating along with replacing the heating, cooling and ventilation systems.
The electrical system in the building is also hazardous and needs to be replaced along with the roof repairs and bringing the interior and exterior stairs in compliance with safety codes.
Bolt also found evidence of “regular vandalism” and recommended security cameras and monitoring.
Bolt also said the buildings guardrails, handrails and floors need repair and replacement, windows and doors around the building need to be replaced or repaired, the building is not handicap accessible, and past water damage to the floors needs to be fixed.
It would take an estimated $1.7 million to repair the Fleetwood Community Center building, Bolt said.

Gladstone Community Center

The Gladstone Community Center building was built by the C&O Railroad and used by its employees as a motel and restaurant.
It became a community center in 1997 when the company began leasing the building to the community.
The community center is the meeting place for senior citizens and it houses the Gladstone Thrift Store.
The building is also rented out for birthday parties, family reunions and bingo, Kitty Lyle, site supervisor for the Gladstone Community Center said.
An estimated 100 people use the building each month.
In 2008, Nelson County gave $8,092 for meals served to seniors at the community center.
Lyle said if the center was not available for the seniors to meet each week, they might go to the Gladstone Volunteer Fire Department.
County Building Inspector Mark Bolt did a visual inspection of the building in August.
Bolt said the exterior doors need repair and replacement, and exterior stairs need cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. He also said broken windows need repair and a new roof is needed.
Since the building is not a county or community owned building, Bolt did not estimate how much money repairs would take. 

Rockfish Valley Community Center

The Rockfish Valley Community Center opened as a school in 1939 and closed its doors in 1998 after the new Rockfish River Elementary School was built.
In 2000, the building was reopened as the community center run by a board of directors.
“The people who took it on really gave us a wonderful start with just tons of volunteer time,” Sarah Jane Stewart, president of the Rockfish Valley Community Center Board of Directors, said.
Since then, the community center has become home to artisans, yoga instructors, a caterer and a seamstress who rent the former classrooms.
RVCC also has a computer lab, full working kitchen and is home to the Hamner Theater and a thrift store. The old auditorium is also used for community gatherings.
More than 350 people are members of the RVCC and 1,500 people use the facilities each month.
“There’s no place else for the theater, thrift shop or for our tenants,” Stewart said.
Currently, the county owns the building and its surrounding grounds. In 2008, the county paid $9,440 for meals for seniors served at the community center.
Nelson County Building Inspector Mark Bolt did a visual survey of the building in August.
The major repairs needed include replacement of the building’s plumbing works, updating the electrical systems and the fire alarm.
Bolt recommended repairing cracks in the masonry around the windows, replacing cracked or broken windows, adding a new layer of paint inside and out, replacing doors, and replacing some shingles on the roof for further repairs.
He also said handicap accessible fountains need to be built, along with handicap accessible parking. Also, emergency and exit lights need to be operational.
Stewart said the boiler that currently heats the building could go any day. This would have to be replaced, along with the heating and cooling systems.
The board of directors is currently negotiating with the county about the building’s ownership and its 10 surrounding acres, Stewart said.
“On the one hand, we’d really like to own the building, and on the other hand there’s a lot to be said if we could be in a cooperative partnership with the county,” Stewart said.
The center is in the process of conducting a study to see what the community would like done with the building.
Bolt estimated it would cost $2.6 million to renovate RVCC.

The Heritage Center

The Nelson Heritage Center was built in 1960 as Nelson Memorial High School. It was the county’s African-American high school until integration in 1966.
From 1966 to 2003, it served as the Nelson County Middle School, until the new middle school was built.
In 2004, the building was leased by the county to the Millennium Group and became a community center.
Since 2004, the county has spent more than $100,000 on new roofs and repairs for the building.
“We were very interested in it being kept as part of the community and also it being kept for its historical value,” Edith Napier Wardlaw said.
Now, the Heritage Center is home to two karate groups, a computer lab, a music and piano group and an oral history program.
The center rents out the cafeteria and auditorium for weddings, reunions and meals.
More than 350 people use the facilities each day.
Building Inspector Mark Bolt did a visual survey of the building in September. He said the major problem with the facility was that the interior and exterior walls are shifting because of settling and water damage.
With this analysis, the county has closed off the gym portion of the building from public use.
Bolt also said the heating and air conditioning system needs updating, the fire alarm system and emergency lighting don’t function, the plumbing needs updating and old lighting fixtures need to be replaced.
The building also needs handicap accessible drinking fountains and a new coat of exterior paint, and exterior doors need to be replaced.
The Heritage Center roof was replaced this past winter for $90,000 and should curb water damage in the classrooms.
One of Heritage’s main priorities is to replace water damaged carpet, Wardlaw said.
Bolt estimated that complete repairs to the building would cost $4.37 million.

Rockfish Valley Community Center

The Rockfish Valley Community Center opened as a school in 1939 and closed its doors in 1998 after the new Rockfish River Elementary School was built.
In 2000, the building was reopened as the community center run by a board of directors.
“The people who took it on really gave us a wonderful start with just tons of volunteer time,” Sarah Jane Stewart, president of the Rockfish Valley Community Center Board of Directors, said.
Since then, the community center has become home to artisans, yoga instructors, a caterer and a seamstress who rent the former classrooms.
RVCC also has a computer lab, full working kitchen and is home to the Hamner Theater and a thrift store. The old auditorium is also used for community gatherings.
More than 350 people are members of the RVCC and 1,500 people use the facilities each month.
“There’s no place else for the theater, thrift shop or for our tenants,” Stewart said.
Currently, the county owns the building and its surrounding grounds. In 2008, the county paid $9,440 for meals for seniors served at the community center.
Nelson County Building Inspector Mark Bolt did a visual survey of the building in August.
The major repairs needed include replacement of the building’s plumbing works, updating the electrical systems and the fire alarm.
Bolt recommended repairing cracks in the masonry around the windows, replacing cracked or broken windows, adding a new layer of paint inside and out, replacing doors, and replacing some shingles on the roof for further repairs.
He also said handicap accessible fountains need to be built, along with handicap accessible parking. Also, emergency and exit lights need to be operational.
Stewart said the boiler that currently heats the building could go any day. This would have to be replaced, along with the heating and cooling systems.
The board of directors is currently negotiating with the county about the building’s ownership and its 10 surrounding acres, Stewart said.
“On the one hand, we’d really like to own the building, and on the other hand there’s a lot to be said if we could be in a cooperative partnership with the county,” Stewart said.
The center is in the process of conducting a study to see what the community would like done with the building.
Bolt estimated it would cost $2.6 million to renovate RVCC.

Massie’s Mill Community Center

The Massie’s Mill Community Center is the only building currently not in use.
It began life as a school for African-Americans in 1953 as part of the county’s “separate but equal” system.
After integration, it became an elementary school for grades one through six.
The school was shut down in 1995.
County Building Inspector Mark Bolt did a visual inspection of the property in August.
Bolt recommended to the board of supervisors that the building be closed to the public because of roof damage.
However, at press time this week, the building was still open.
Bolt reported a total roof replacement is needed. He also said the ceilings and floors were damaged and are deteriorating and that he suspected the presence of asbestos.
Bolt found a “black mold” developing throughout the building and that vandalism is apparent on the exterior of the building.
Exterior windows and doors need to be replaced, emergency exit and lighting is not working, fire alarms are needed, there is no heating, cooling or ventilation system, all the plumbing needs to be replaced and all of the electrical systems need to be replaced.
The building also does not comply with current handicap accessibility codes, Bolt said.
The estimate for repairs on the building totaled $1.24 million.