Boys & Girls Club looking forward to fundraiser, new building and gym

Moving forward with projects, the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada is looking to a new building, a big fundraiser and access to a new gym.

On Thursday, the Carson City Board of Supervisors decided to start negotiations with the club to acquire land from a 14-acre site near the intersection of Russell Way and Northridge Drive, which is where the club is constructing its new building.

Under the agreement, the club would be able to use the gym and the city would be able to use technology, art and games spaces in the club's 12,600-square-foot building.

The club, according to Director Hal Hansen, needs about $700,000 more to finish the building, mostly for landscaping and a parking lot. It will have spent about $5 million on the project when it's done.

There is "no doubt," Hansen said, the city and his organization will be able to reach an agreement on the gym. He said it's a good deal for the club, in part because the city will be using the building during hours the club is not.

The club is currently using a building at 673 S. Stewart St. It has been open 14 years and has 1,600 members.

About 10 years ago, the city set aside money to build a gym with the organization, but negotiations never went through. The city had been more recently trying to reach an agreement with Western Nevada College for the gym, but the state Legislature didn't give money to the college to do so.

Now is a good time to build a recreation center, said City Supervisor Pete Livermore, since "builders are hungry for public works projects" and the center could be built for a relatively low price.

The agreement between the city and the club does not let the club use the entire recreation center, just the gym.In general, though, things are going well for the club, Hansen said.

On Saturday, it will have its annual barbecue and auction fundraiser at the Pony Express Pavilion at Mills Park. The event is expected to raise more than $350,000 - about one-third of the club's annual operating budget.

The fundraiser will include a performance by country music singer Collin Raye, who is scheduled to take the stage at 7 p.m.

The new building though, is being built with money from a separate capital campaign, "If we have a good auction, we have a good year," Hansen said. "We have a bad auction, we have to cut expenses."

• Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.