The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation says the Orange City Shuffleboard Complex is one of 11 sites in the state that should be saved. But Orange City says the complex is outdated, underused, expensive to maintain, and unsafe in its current condition.
The latest governing body to weigh in on the complex is the Orange City Historic Preservation Board, which voted 2-2 on May 15 on whether to save the complex at 220 N. Holly Ave.
The decision now goes to the Orange City Council.
Because the city owns the Shuffleboard Complex, the City Council earlier voted to ask the Historic Board to weigh in. Now, the fate of the complex goes back to the City Council at its Tuesday, May 27, meeting.
The Orange City Council “did a lot of study before they sent it back to the Historic Preservation Board,” City Manager Dale Arrington said.
Officially, the tie vote means the advisory board failed to deny a permit to raze the now-closed clubhouse and pavilions. The board is supposed to be a five-member panel, but one seat is vacant because the City Council has not appointed anyone to fill it.
The Historic Board’s vote on the Shuffleboard Complex was only symbolic, according to Mayor Kelli Marks.
“Since the Historic [Preservation] Board is an advisory board. They have no power now,” Mayor Kelli Marks told The Beacon.
The fate of the 80-plus-year-old structure now rests with the Orange City Council, which can, by majority vote, order its demolition to make way for more parking for municipal employees and people visiting Orange City Town Hall.
Mayor Marks supports demolishing the facility to create 39 new parking spaces to augment the 117 spaces now available behind Town Hall.
“We’re underparked by about 70 spaces,” Planning Director Becky Mendez said. “Some of the [existing] spaces are dirt.”
Pictured is the existing parking available on the north side of Orange City Town Hall. City officials say it is not enough.
The future of the Shuffleboard Complex has been an issue for the City Council for two years. Mendez reminded the board that the facility has “electrical, structural and plumbing issues.” The electrical wiring, especially outdoors, is unsafe, she said, and the facility does not meet the standards of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Moreover, Mendez added, there is evidence of old lead-based paint on the structures.
“That would have to be remediated,” Mendez said. “It’s a safety hazard right now.”
Bringing the facility up to current federal, state and local standards, Mendez said, would cost approximately $425,000.
If it were restored and renovated and used as a recreational facility, Orange City would have to hire at least one additional parks and recreation employee to supervise the center.
Demolition, city officials say, can be done at a cost of about $85,000.
The absence of maintenance of the facility is causing “demolition by neglect,” officials said.
“We’re still going to lose it, no matter what,” Historic Board Chair Donna Cobb said.
While the numbers may seem to make the case for demolition, the prospect of losing a historic landmark troubled Historic Board Vice Chair Tom Hewitt.
Some people who spoke on the future of the site at the Orange City Council’s April 22 meeting mentioned a disturbing chapter in the town’s history; namely, that Black citizens had in years past been denied the right to play on the shuffleboard courts. Hewitt spoke about whether that racism should be a reason for demolition.
“It’s been there a long time,” he said. “It’s been an important part of the city.”
Hewitt addressed the racism.
“If we’re going to go just on that, we ought to tear down every single historic building in the United States — every single one of them,” he said.
Hewitt added, “I’m not unsympathetic to what has happened in that building to persons of color.”
Although his motion to deny a demolition permit failed, Hewitt reminded his colleagues and the audience that the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation last year listed the Orange City Shuffleboard Complex as one of 11 properties within the state deemed worthy of saving from the wrecking crew or the elements of time and weather.
The future of the Shuffleboard Complex and its proposed alternative uses will be up for discussion once more when the City Council convenes May 27 for its next regular session.
That meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Volusia County Baptist Church, 261 S. Orange Ave., Orange City, and is open to the public.
