Recreation center site to be considered - again

Again, members of a citizens advisory panel are being asked where a new recreation center should be located.

A different partnership proposal, this time with the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada, will be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission during its meeting tonight.

The previous plan to join with Western Nevada College to build and operate a recreation center failed because state legislators didn't provide the college's portion of the cost.

Members had chosen JohnD Winters Centennial Park as an alternate location but will also be asked to reconsider it and Mills Park as other possibilities.

Before making a decision, "I'd have to see all the facts," said John McKenna, a Carson City School Board member who also sits on the commission. "And citizens need to share their input."

The club's board members - one of which is Mayor Marv Teixeira - approved of the idea. Selling four acres to the city for a gym or rec center would help both parties achieve their goals, said Hal Hansen, the chief professional officer of the group.

"We're very excited about the idea," Hansen said.

The site would be near the intersection of Russell Way and Northridge Drive, not far from where the Boys & Girls Club has nearly completed its new headquarters. The club still needs money to finish site, parking and landscaping work, however, Hansen said.

The club recently cut the land price to $1.1 million from about $1.8 million so it could expedite its move out of its current location on Stewart Street. Moving dates keep getting postponed, and the most recent change pushes the target date to late this year or even early 2008, though the work would take no more than 60 days to complete once the funding is secured, he said.

The Carson Nugget and other donors have raised $200,000 but the club requires nearly $955,000.

The city could possibly share the new club building or jointly operate a gym or rec center. Or share both, Hansen said.

Demand is often at different times for the club and residents who participate in city recreation offerings, according to the parks department.

A partnership with the club had been discussed in the 1990s to build a joint-use gym and share it.

"It's grown a little bit to a rec center," said Supervisor Pete Livermore, who also sits on the commission. "It's gone full circle."

And because of ongoing budget constraints, the city would prefer to operate a shared facility, said City Manager Linda Ritter.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.

If you go

WHAT: Carson City Parks and Recreation Commission meeting

When: 5:30 a.m. today

WHERE: Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.

Also on the agenda:

• Discussion about whether to close the city's Aquatic Facility on Sundays from November to February. Estimated savings could reach $16,000.

• An update on the Latch Key and Summer Kamp programs. The Latch Key Kinder program, which provided parents of kindergartners a midday enrichment program, has been canceled because a part-time employee with appropriate training couldn't be recruited, according to the city.