Community Recreation Center – An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Editorial

In a presentation to the three local jurisdictions’ governing bodies earlier this year, Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization’s leadership made a case for needing more space – specifically, more indoor recreational facilities to keep up with the growing demands of youth and adult sports.

Rockbridge County’s government and school leaders answered the call in a special meeting Sept. 17 by unveiling conceptual plans for a proposed new $12.8 million recreation center that would have 42,000 square feet of floor space and feature three regulation-size basketball/volleyball courts and a fourth flex court that could be used for a variety of recreational purposes.

The center would have a circular track in an upper level overlooking the gyms as well as space for RARO offices from which staff could oversee the management and use of the center, among other administrative tasks. The center, which would be built on the opposite side of Greenhouse Road from Rockbridge County High School, where the tennis courts are now, would not only be utilized for community recreation but also for RCHS physical education classes.

“The plan is fantastic,” said Lexington Mayor Frank Friedman this week. “Spectrum Design did a really good job. I like how the facility would be low maintenance and functional. Granville [Grant] and his team [at Spectrum Design] did a really nice job. There is clearly a need for this and it would open up more space at RCHS.”

Friedman did say he would have liked for Lexington to have had representation on the committee that worked with Spectrum Design on the plans over a period of months. But, he’s hopeful that, moving forward, Lexington will have a role in offering input on the design of the project as it moves beyond the conceptual stage.

At this point, it’s not known how this capital project will be funded. Will the costs of the RARO/community use portion of the building be divided among RARO’s jurisdictions according to a predetermined formula? Will the costs of the RCHS portion of the building be divided according to the proportional split of students from the county and Lexington who attend RCHS?

Such issues are to be discussed in upcoming meetings among representatives of the jurisdictional partners. County Administrator Spencer Suter and Lexington City Manager Tom Carroll are to meet this week and another meeting that will include Buena Vista City Manager Jason Tyree will likely follow. A RARO committee that would have two representatives from each of the three jurisdictions is being formed. A joint meeting of the three local governing bodies that is set for Oct. 30 will most certainly have the proposed recreation center as an agenda item for discussion.

An issue that must be addressed is what to do about RCHS’s tennis program if the courts are taken away by the recreation center. RCHS’s tennis teams utilize the courts at the Lexington Golf and Country Club for matches but those courts are to be displaced, at least temporarily, by renovations planned by the LG&CC. Perhaps one or more of the local colleges will allow the RCHS teams to use their courts on a temporary basis, with new courts being developed elsewhere at RCHS in the future.

There will no doubt be other challenges to overcome. We believe, however, that the proposed community recreation center is an idea whose time has come. Such a regional facility has been talked about for decades. When the local YMCA was coming into being years ago, initial plans called for developing a regional recreation center that would have had an indoor swimming pool. A local organization, Friends of Rockbridge Swimming, came together to build an indoor “bubble” pool that has been a great success for the area. The YMCA utilized existing space, first in the Summit Square Shopping Center, then in the College Square Shopping Center, where it remains today. The YMCA is also continuing to do well.

There clearly remains a need for a centrally located community recreation center. We hope the three jurisdictional partners take this latest proposal and run with it. It’s a great idea and could become the latest example of beneficial regional cooperation that serves the needs of the entire Rockbridge area community.