REC CENTER IN THE CITY?

Check out breaking news in today's Roanoke Times:

Roanoke looks at new site for center

City officials have switched their focus from Northwest to Southeast for a recreational center.
By Mason Adams 981-3253
Just a year ago, members of the Roanoke City Council were talking about building a recreation center in Northwest Roanoke.
But with construction under way on a $30 million recreation center in Roanoke County just outside the northern limits of the city, Roanoke officials are instead focusing their efforts on building their own center in Southeast Roanoke instead.
The Department of Parks and Recreation will hold two meetings at 4 and 7 p.m. Tuesday at the mezzanine in the Roanoke Civic Center's Performing Arts Theatre to collect public input on a proposed recreation center to be located in Fallon Park. A news release suggests the "state-of-the-art recreational venue has the potential of accommodating a variety of indoor needs such as fitness, family aquatics, meetings, active and passive programming areas, athletics, and much more."
Steve Buschor, the city's parks and recreation director, said the meetings will provide a team of consultants the chance to present information to the public on what a community recreation center is, and then they'll collect some public input on what's desired or needed in the area.
Assistant City Manager Brian Townsend said a team of consultants will take that input and, at some point in the future, return to the Roanoke City Council with more detailed plans and a list of how much everything would cost, both to build and to operate.
"The next step is they'll take that [public input] and begin to move to the next level: If this is what the public wants, this is what the facility would look like. Look at capital and operational costs. Here's what the project would be, and what kind of revenue you would need to generate to support the project," Townsend said.
The focus on Southeast comes only a year after council members had expressed hopes for a recreation center to be built in Northwest Roanoke. Earlier this month, Mayor David Bowers and Councilman David Trinkle had talked about the possibility of building an aquatics facility on city land by Countryside Golf Club.
But the ongoing construction of Roanoke County's recreation center, to be located near the interchange of Interstates 81 and 581, has changed the city's plans.
"We're looking at multiple locations, but with the county moving forward with theirs, it caused us to say if these facilities [are] to be successful, [they] need to draw participants from multiple jurisdictions. It doesn't make sense for us to put one so close to where the county is putting one," Townsend said.
He said that Fallon Park, however, meets several key criteria: "We own the property. It's sufficient size for it to fit. And it would serve an area that the county's multigenerational center wouldn't."
As part of the feasibility study, consultants will consider the center's proximity to other recreational providers, such as the YMCA and various athletic clubs.
The county's center will be open to city residents, and Townsend said he expects the city's center will likewise be open to those who live in Vinton and Roanoke County.
The Tuesday meetings will be preceded by a status report on the recreation center feasibility study to the Roanoke City Council during its Monday meeting.

HEY - if you have an opinion on this, attend the meetings tomorrow and share. Afterall, the City relies on public input before they move forward with projects.