After storms and a rare tornado did extensive damage to the Barack Recreation Center in August, the South Side center will need a new roof and other repairs to remediate water damage to reopen in spring 2027, said Recreation & Parks spokesperson Kerry Francis.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther signed an emergency order to get the repairs going at the end of August and Columbus City Council will vote on Oct. 5 to authorize $2.5 million in renovations. Still, Ginther spoke with news media outside of the Barack Recreation Center on Sept. 30 to highlight the importance of the city's capital budget and to press council to pass his proposal for 2026, which includes $5 million for Barack.
"This is the time for action and investment. This is not a time to
go back and forth about different posturing and politics," Ginther said. "I'm pushing council to act as quickly as possible to pass the capital budget."
Council members have said the mayor is unfairly applying pressure on them before they've had a chance to do their due diligence and review the capital budget or hold a single hearing.
"The people of the South Side don't care about their hearings, don't care about their delays; they want action," Ginther said. "Have your hearing, pass the budget, let us invest in our neighborhoods."
The city's capital and operating budgets have sparked infighting at City Hall this year. Council President Shannon Hardin is challenging Ginther for mayor in 2027 and the two have disagreed publicly about the health of the city's finances.
Hardin pushed back in a statement to The Dispatch, pointing out that council is already voting on money for the center on Monday and Ginther knows that.
"An act of God wreaked havoc on the Barack Rec Center, but Mayor Ginther’s poor leadership and fiscal mismanagement are what’s wreaking havoc on the City’s finances," Hardin said. "He should know better than to play politics by using a natural disaster to distract people from his failures. Council will take up the capital budget once we have an actual plan from the administration to fund the last one and to address our current year’s operating budget deficit."
Councilmember Nick Bankston, who chairs the council's Finance & Governance committee, said at council's meeting on Sept. 28 that council is still deliberating on the mayor's ambitious capital budget as he referred it back to committee. Bankston, who got his start in the Ginther administration, praised Ginther's thoughtfulness in selecting projects.
"But we will do our due diligence as a body to make sure that we perform proper oversight and we do the due diligence of having hearings," Bankston said on Sept. 28.
Residents of all ages normally use Barack Recreation Center, 580 E. Woodrow Ave., one of the city's 28 recreation centers. Residents swiped in just under 10,000 times last year to use its basketball court, fitness room, gymnasium, indoor track, auditorium, craft room or other amenities.
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Tornado-damaged Barack Rec Center sparks latest fight at City Hall
