Clinton Mayor Lew Starling, far left, and members of City Council Marcus Becton and Holden DuBose, along with city manager JP Duncan, review a resolution calling for the closure of Raiford Street.
Church eyes parking expansion, facility growth
The congregation of Clinton Family Worship Center is asking City Council to close Raiford Street so they can use it for expanded parking. A public hearing on the closure will be held July 11.
The Clinton Family Worship Center has proposed to close Raiford Street in its entirety, requesting a resolution to be adopted by the City Council declaring its intent to close the street while the church expands its parking and structural footprint.
A public hearing has been set for July 11 to get input from the community on the proposed closure.
“They own all of the property between both ends of the road,” Mayor Lew Starling informed the City Council and those in attendance as he introduced the church’s proposal during the June 6 Council meeting.
This comes as the first of three major projects Clinton Family Worship minister Lynn Blackburn has in mind over the course of a five-year plan for the church and its facilities.
“We’ve run out of parking space,” Blackburn said during a phone interview Monday. “With the road closed, we can use it to increase the number of cars we can accommodate as we expand parking.” Blackburn feels that the addition of parking space will assist in growing the church and that congregation growth will be necessary to make the ambitious plans possible.
In the long term, closing the road will also allow space for the expansion needed for Clinton FWC to accomplish other goals, such as step two, which involves the planning and building of a multipurpose building to add to the church and allow more space to add more programs for the worship center as it grows.
The third step is a long-term project called the 5 Loaves Center, which will include the construction of another building as a facility focused on helping the community through food assistance. This is a way for the church to give back, which Blackburn said will be made possible by the closing of Raiford Street proposed by the worship center.
“The idea is to have a location with non-perishable goods, baby food, and other essential items — especially for situations like storms, but the plan is for it to become open on a sort of regular basis eventually,” Blackburn noted.
This road closing will not affect the Clinton community, Blackburn noted, echoing Starling’s statement that the church owns all land on the road. There is only one more home to be taken down on the Worship Center’s property. Then, with Raiford Street closed, the church will be able to cross off step one of the list and begin working toward beginning steps two and three of the plan Blackburn presented.
“There will no longer be any need for utilities and power to run down the rest of the road,” the minister cited as another positive impact of the resolution.