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Show Recreation How do we spend it? j budget: Let them count the ways by Nan Chalat The consensus is that Parkites love their parks. But when it comes to setting budget priorities for tennis courts, golf course improvements improve-ments and new playing fields, the Recreation Advisory Ad-visory Board is finding that there is almost no agreement at all. Tuesday night the board met to review the city's preliminary capital improvement improve-ment plan for City Park, the golf course and the Memorial Building. The purpose of the meeting was to draw up a list of recommendations and prio' -ties for the city council to consider before finalizing this year's capital improvement improve-ment budget. "The future of your sports facilities will depend upon the City Council priorities for the capital improvement budget," bud-get," City Planner Jennifer Harrington told the board. Some of the recommendations recommen-dations for capital outlays in 1984 to be presented to the City Council today include improvements on the bike paths and pedestrian walkways walk-ways along Kearns Boulevard Boule-vard and Bonanza Drive, repairs on some of the Old Town steps, initial improvements improve-ments in Prospector Park, the first phase of a recreation building at City Park and upgrading of the equipment and sprinkler systems at the municipal golf course. The preliminary plan as presented Tuesday night also contains several options for phasing in a new configuration configura-tion of playing fields at City Park. Harrington urged the board to study the report and to gather public input before the city budget hearing tentatively scheduled for March 1. She suggested that board members draw up their own list of priorities for the council. The members of the Recreation Board were deluged de-luged with public input. Representatives for a variety of special interest groups, including golfers, tennis players, rugby and soccer enthusiasts, immediately pitched their tales of recreation recrea-tion woes. "The Park City Golf Course is the only park facility which generates by attracting overnight visitors revenues," said Paul Bick-more. Bick-more. "Furthermore it charges the most expensive course fee in the state of Utah and is in the worst state of disrepair," he added in an effort to lobby for the funding of golf course improvements. "Well, how about the people who spend every dime they make in Park City?" countered Rick Phaler, speaking in support of the rugby and Softball interests at City Park. Harringston suggested that although the total capital improvement budget is limited, limit-ed, "people shouldn't see themselves competing for the same funds. Different revenues rev-enues are used to fund different projects," she said. Recreation Department Director Steve Haugen spoke out on behalf of funding for an indoor recreation complex. "I feel that the biggest decision facing the City Council is what to do with the Memorial Building. In the summer it is used very little but during the winter it is used extensively. Sometimes we can't even accommodate all of the groups who want to be here. It is essential that we have a facility to accommodate these people either here or elsewhere," he said. According to Haugen the antiquated boiler system at the Memorial Building will not last another winter. Repairs were postponed because be-cause of a recent proposal to turn the building into an Arts and Sciences Institute. A feasibility study for the institute was conducted last summer but since then nothing has been decided. As a result the Recreation Department is on hold. "If this becomes a performing per-forming arts center then we will need a full-blown facility at City Park. It provides something the local people need and deserve," he said. There is a similar problem at the municipal golf course where capital improvements have been delayed to coincide coin-cide with the construction of the golf course hotel. The exact date of construction still is not known and the council will have to decide whether to fund temporary improvements, which might be torn down when construction construc-tion begins, or whether to wait. According to Recreation Board Chairman Gary Avise, the board does not have a regularly scheduled session before the budget hearing but may call a special meeting to draw up more specific recommendations. |