Edgewood Senior Center in Freedom Park to become Liberty Hall and get a major renovation


By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter

The Edgewood Senior Center in Freedom Park is undergoing a renovation to give it a fresh new look. Since it was built in 2002, Council felt it was about time.

Not only will the outside be fitted with a new paint job — blue, with white trim — but the roof will be repaired and sealed.

Another big change is that the senior center will soon be known as Liberty Hall, a suitable name for a building in Freedom Park.

There will be new stonework, and redesigned signage. The area where the dumpster and air conditioning units are will have a new design.

A concept drawing of the renovated ‘Liberty Hall’ building.

“The building isn’t going to be bigger,” said Mayor John Link. “It is going to look like a new building.”

Last April, the mayor brought up the renovation of the senior center because council filled out a survey designed to prioritize the projects within the city.

“I wanted to discuss improving the appearance of the senior center project because it was high on your priority list,” Link told council a year ago. “And I guess I’m going to bring it out tonight. I wanted to know, do you think it is still high on our priiority list. Brian (Dehner) gave you some pictures, and I thought I’d like to maybe know about it.”

Mayor Link thought councilmember Dale Henson was upset about the brick on the building, but Henson clarified his thoughts, telling council that when they built the senior center in 2002 they decided against a brick facade, and he regretted that decision. But he said the cost of the brick is still very high.

Councilmember Jeff Schreiver also remembered trying to decide on a design, and being in favor of the brick, but very surprised at how much it would cost. CAO Dehner said it cost $90,000 in the late 1990’s.

At that April meeting, Dehner had given council drawings done by CT Consultants, but while there were three pictures, there were no prices associated with the drawings.

The first picture showed the problems with the center, such as the leaking roof, the chalking paint, the overgrown landscaping, the unsealed parking lot, and the overall non-professional look of the building and surrounds.

Council specified that they wanted to repair the roof, paint and seal the building and add a stone wrap around the bottom half of the building. They also wanted the foundation planting to be changed, the driveway sealed, and the dumpster hidden.

Council asked CAO Dehner to look at numbers and get back to them.

Mayor Link told Council that they had been doing the inside a little bit at a time, and the next thing on the list was freshening up the foyer and the restrooms.

Fast forward the latest Edgewood Council meeting.

Work has started on the senior center and going well according to Mayor Link.

After some more evaluation, the city decided that the HVAC units at the senior center are old, and show wear and tear.

CAO Dehner told council the units at the senior center and the administrative building have been showing their age, and he had asked two people from Trane to give the city an idea of how they would replace the ailing units.

They said the price should be between $870,000 and $920,000 and could be installed in three parts, to be accomplished by 2026. Council asked a few questions, and until those questions can be answered, no formal decision will be made on the HVAC. Mayor Link did say a decision will be made soon on the HVAC.


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