Provo Council to decide on recreation bond

PROVO — Cathy Smits knows as well as anyone that Provo's aging recreation facilities haven't kept up with the times.

"A lot of people move to Provo from other cities, and when they come in here, they are let down because they are used to something else," said Smits, the aquatics facilities supervisor for Provo's parks and recreation department.

What they see is a 40-year-old indoor swimming pool that doubles as part of Provo High School's physical education program. The cardio and weight rooms have been squeezed into converted racquetball courts. A third court recently was converted into a dance gym, ?with shiny foil on the walls instead of mirrors so the court can be used for basketball when there aren't any dancers.

"It's nice to be able to say that we are in the process of getting something better," Smits said, referring to a proposal that would let Provo residents vote to bond for $47 million to build a recreation center that would give Provo a new fitness center and a new indoor field house, while reducing the city's annual operating costs by $200,000.

City Council members will decide Tuesday June 15 night if the bond will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot, but council members have been crafting the proposal for months and think they have found an approach that will appeal to Provo voters.

The plan is to refinance an existing library bond, which is scheduled to be paid off in four years, and blend it with the recreation center bond to minimize its financial impact. Under the proposal, Provo residents would see a tax increase of about $50 a year for a $200,000 home for four years. In the fifth year of the 20-year bond, that amount would change to $96. However, residents wouldn't see any change in their total bill because the library bond would be paid off.

The bond would be used for a 150,000-square-foot recreation center near the city's North Park, with indoor competition and recreation pools, indoor track and basketball courts, and space for a new senior citizens center, as well as a fieldhouse addition to the Peaks Ice Arena for indoor tennis and field sports.

Estimates for the new buildings have come in at $39 million and $8 million respectively, but city officials are confident that in the current construction market and a favorable bond market, those costs can be reduced substantially. Leftover money would be used to upgrade existing parks.

"I would prefer building the best darn recreation center we can have," said City Council Chairwoman Midge Johnson. "I like the idea of the fieldhouse, and I like the idea of reducing the subsidy."

The new recreation center would replace three facilities — Provo's aging recreation center along with The Center, a converted National Guard Armory that houses a variety of activities for children and teens, and the Eldred Senior Citizen Center.

The city pays about $1 million a year to operate the three aging buildings, and at least one council member said if Provo residents don't approve building a new center, he will work to reduce the subsidy.

"I am done with the heavy subsidy on some of these things," said Steve Turley, who indicated he would support mothballing the existing recreation center if the bond fails.

e-mail: mhaddock@desnews.com