BAY MINETTE, Ala. — The Douglasville Community Center may soon transfer hands to better fulfill its original purpose.

The city of Bay Minette currently owns center, which is mainly rented out for parties and activities on a first-come, first-served basis, Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery pointed out during Thursday’s meeting of the Bay Minette City Project Safe Neighborhood Committee meeting. She added that Douglasville community built the structure 40 years ago.

According to Dolly Mims, representative of a Douglasville community association interested in the structure, the association proposed returning the building to its function as a community center with family-oriented activities for area residents.

“We want to grow to be stronger and be a positive influence on our community,” Mims said. “We want to train citizens through workshops and planning and be more responsive to Douglasville. It's a community center so its for our children and our seniors and for everyone else in our community.”

She said community members want to focus on helping “our children become better characters” by holding bullying workshops and by offering training to teachers, principals, parents and children.

“We want to educate parents on children’s needs, like when they need professional help for things like problems at school,” Mims said. “We’d teach life skills for kids to get jobs, things like job applications, voting, how to dress for interviews.”

After hearing those plans, the committee unanimously agreed to write a letter of recommendation to the Bay Minette City Council, asking them to sell the center back to the Douglasville community.

Also Thursday, the committee heard updates on a proposed alternative-sentencing program, in which Bay Minette Police Chief Michael Rowland cited a “declining level of values of family morals” as a reason for increased crime rates.

Committee members pointed out continuing efforts to utilize churches as an additional, community service outlet for first-time, non-violent offenders.

Rowland said the long-term church attendance might “retrain and give a sense of value” and “give them (potential criminals) life choices from resources in the faith-based community.”

He said church attendance would be an option, not forced and that 30 of the 104 churches in North Baldwin have agreed to facilitate the program if it is accepted by judges.

Alabama District Attorney Kenyen Brown told those attending that he approved of the option.

“I’m on the band wagon, and I'd like to help it as well,” he said.

Brown said just like real estate’s focus is location, location, location, the key to this sort of program is “collaboration, collaboration, collaboration.

“It takes these types of meetings that sort of pull resources like this together,” he said.

Project Safe Neighborhood meets at 10:30 a.m. the second Thursday of each month in Bay Minette City Hall, and meetings are open to the public.

For more information, call (251) 580-2559.