Officials look at funding for activity complex

Proponents of a new indoor recreation center for Carson City have set their sights on a scaled down version of something voters approved years ago when the economic forecast wasn't so bleak.

The MAC, as it is being called, would be a Multi-purpose Activity Complex to be built next door to the Boys & Girls Club on Russell Way, said Carson City Supervisor Molly Walt, who also sits on the board of the Parks and Recreation Commission.

It would be about the size of two adult basketball courts and accommodate volleyball, futsal and soccer, as well as basketball, Walt said.

The square footage has not yet been determined, nor have costs been estimated, she said.

The concept was unanimously approved by the commission at its Tuesday meeting.

"It's exciting because it is so badly needed," Walt said. "Parks and rec did a survey last year that showed people want more programmable gym space."

The city's Question 18, or Quality of Life Initiative approved by voters in the mid-1990s, would have provided enough funding to build a new drop-in recreation center, but the center has been put on hold because there is no money for operation and maintenance in the city's strapped budget.

"It was shelved for awhile, but about a year ago, I asked to revisit it on a smaller scale, because parks and rec has enough in its budget for operation and maintenance for something smaller," Walt said. "The city just can't do bigger right now."

The facility would be for programmable use rather than drop-in.

"It's too hard to say that in this economy, we'd be able to sustain it on a drop-in basis," she said.

One of the beauties of the proposal would be that the Boys & Girls Club could use the facility during the day, and it would be available for city programs at night.

A preliminary rough draft showed that the MAC could possibly include an overhead running track.

"The thing to remember with the proposal is that it is not taking the place of a new, bigger recreation center," Walt said.

"It would be built as a wing," she said. "The lobby and restrooms of the MAC would be shared" when the time came to build the recreation center next to it.

Some of the concerns raised at the commission meeting were over enough seating for spectators and enough parking.

The concept will be brought to the board of supervisors at a future meeting.