At the most recent
Mammoth Town Council meeting, Assistant Town manager Karen Johnston
reported that despite the construction slowdown, the time is right to
move ahead on the long talked about Community Recreation Center.

The idea is to build a community center up behind the new library
building. Officials are not clear yet on what will go into the center.
Some ideas are a swimming pool, a running track, tennis courts, batting
cages, indoor soccer field, a gym, a climbing wall and a theater.

If the Town decides to move forward on a project of this size, its
going to be expensive. Karen Johnston told the Town Council that by
pulling together money from a number of different agencies and
entities, like the school district, the state, and the community
college, the Town could come up with the projected $52 million needed
for the entire project.

The Recreation Center project can also be built in phases, as funding
allows. Johnston says that the ice rink that is scheduled to be built
soon could be considered the first phase. This could be followed by a
$27 million building that would contain a performing arts/lecture hall
as well as studios for music and art and possibly play rooms for
children.

The proposed aquatic center and field house, with the track and soccer field could be built later at $13 million a piece.

The community will have to work together to build this project,
Johnston explained. None alone can make the project happen, she said.

There are about a dozen different sources of money for the project
including developer impact fees, the school district, the community
college district, and the state.

A utility tax and a sales tax raise are also possible funding sources, but will have to go before the voters to be approved.

After the Town Council heard the report, the plan was to take the show
on the road and present it to the Tourism and Recreation Commission and
to the various service groups throughout Town to see what type of
support there is in the community for a project of this magnitude.

If the citizens decide to buy in, the project would still be years out,
possibly getting through the planning process after 2011 and maybe into
2013.


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