Olive Baptist Gift To Charity On Hold For Century Council Approval

September 10, 2013

The donation and installation of  windows for Carver Community Center on Jefferson Avenue in Century is temporarily on hold following a Monday night Century Town Council meeting.

The Ministry Village at Olive Baptist Church was set to install new insulated vinyl windows for the facility to replace wooden single-pane windows that have been in place since the 7,200 square foot building was constructed in 1945.

The building is owned by the non-profit Carver Community Center Association, Inc;  the Town of Century has no ownership or interest in the building or the programs conducted there. The  non-profit  serves hundreds of children each year.

Last Friday, the window replacement had received  blessings of the Century Architectural Review Board– required because the building is within the Alger-Sullivan Historical District.

The Century Town Council was set to ratify that decision Monday night. The council first questioned if installing fewer replacement windows than are currently in the building would “look right”. And the council questioned if Carver Director Marilyn Robinson had agreed to accept the window donation.

“Marilyn (Robinson) is not the Community Center,” her mother Leola Robinson told the council. “I know there has not been a meeting called (of the non-profit’s board) because I am the president of the Carver Community Center…they haven’t met with me.”

“I feel like the Carver Community Center should have been called together and made a decision,” Leola Robinson continued.

“The architectural committee okayed it, and now they are asking y’all to pass it,” Mayor Freddie McCall said of the window donation. The council tabled any action until their next meeting on September 16.

The Ministry Village was originally set to provide and replace 18 windows at the Carver Community Center, but a contractor’s mistake will end up benefiting the center. The contractor for the new Pensacola Bay Baptist Health and Hope Clinic building in Pensacola ordered beige windows, but they arrived white. The Olive Ministry Village will purchase the 23 white windows at the contractor’s cost, saving about $200 per window.

Completely funded by donations, the non-profit Carver Community Center provides a safe place for children to go after school and during the summer as the center provides meals for 150 to 200 children daily. The center also offers tutoring services for children year round. The center was one of 12 causes in need highlighted by the Florida Department of Children and Families during their statewide “Operation Santa Cause” campaign last Christmas, leading to numerous donations of time and services.

This is not the first time the Ministry Village at Olive Baptist Church has reached out to the Carver Community Center. Earlier this year, Ministry Village volunteers joined several other agencies and non-profit groups in painting the interior of the building.

Pictured top: The Ministry Village at Olive Baptist will donate new windows for the aging Carver Community Center on Jefferson Avenue in Century. Pictured inset and below: Volunteers from several groups painted the interior of the building back in January. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

7 Responses to “Olive Baptist Gift To Charity On Hold For Century Council Approval”

  1. David Huie Green on September 11th, 2013 5:44 pm

    REGARDING:
    “I read it was a problem because of it being in a Historical district”

    Nope.

    The historical district question was settled in favor of replacement.

    The problem lies in “The building is owned by the non-profit Carver Community Center Association, Inc.” and a mother (the president) and daughter (the director) disagreed as to whether or not they had approved accepting the gift. The mother said they had not met to decide no matter if her daughter said it was okay.

    David for cooperative families
    with love and kindness

  2. Duke of Wawbeek on September 11th, 2013 7:24 am

    The problem with Century is you cannot tell exactly where the historical district begins and where it ends. The whole place appears as though it has seen a long chronology of history.

    As far as councils and committees go, never look a gift horse in the mouth and this is one is a no brainer.

  3. msjay on September 10th, 2013 10:48 pm

    This is just great everyone have miss the lesson. What is best for the building? It is there to support and enhance the quality of life for the youth and community. New windows are not what’s needed. TLC is what’s needed sell the windows invest in an expert who restores historical buildings. All that title slinging is not worth a hill of beans. If you really cared about the center you could see pass all the politics and bologna. It is time to do the right thing or let someone who can handle the vision do the job. Someone who can let the government, the city council and anyone else who is not blessing and adding to the mission and vision of the center take their mess.

  4. Frank on September 10th, 2013 1:25 pm

    You all may have read differently than I did????
    I read it was a problem because of it being in a Historical didstric…And Non-Profits have State oversight as well that rules must be followed…Question arose to the Board having met, the President answered No, she was the President and Knew they had not…????

    Did I miss something….?

    They were not fussing over windows -But that Government rules :-)

    Government makes everything difficult…RED TAPE!

  5. JT on September 10th, 2013 9:15 am

    Everyone wants to be the boss. This is why people don’t want to give anymore. What a great gift to the community and people are going to question how the new windows are going to make the old, chipped paint, run down building look.

  6. Robin on September 10th, 2013 9:12 am

    You just can’t help some people/organizations! Let them keep their old windows and give the new ones to a non-profit that will appreciate them.

  7. Just sayin on September 10th, 2013 7:49 am

    Lets see, you complain that no one helps. So now when they do lets make them go through all of this crap to donate. I tell you what, let them send that money our way.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News