The Garden City Telegram
NEW E-Edition!
Subscription
Required
Add Your Comment | Read (0) Comments
Recreation Commission eyes Wellness Center expansion
Published 6/30/2009 in Local News
By STEPHANIE FARLEY
Garden City Recreation Commission Superintendent John Washington and others who use and work at the facility always have known they would need a larger space for people to work out.
1
Brad Nading/Telegram — Terry Rodgers uses a Paramount Abdominal machine while working out at Garden City Recreation's Wellness Center.
Back when the recreation commission building, 310 N. Sixth St., was a grocery store, the area that now serves as the Wellness Center was a cooking area and freezer. The area was never intended for its current use as a workout center, Washington said.
According to Washington, the space was converted after Assistant Superintendent Donna Gerstner said that if she could get a grant she was trying for to get exercise equipment, she'd like to see the space converted to a fitness center. Storage space is above the Wellness Center for all of the programs and services the recreation commission provides, Washington said, which would leave the commission with the option of expanding out, but not up, to make more room for the center.
On Monday, members of the Garden City Recreation Commission board considered in closed session another option for the facility to make more room for its members in the Wellness Center. The option includes looking at other locations in town where the GCRC could either have a second location for a fitness center or move the center from the existing building to the new location.
The board took no action on the issue. Washington requested a closed session no longer than 30 minutes because discussion involved possible acquisition of property.
Washington said the idea of the facility expanding out on its current block was introduced to the city several years ago. The estimated cost of expanding to the south of the facility for the Wellness Center is about $1.2 million, and the recreation commission doesn't have enough property acquired for the expansion, he said.
Washington and staff are looking for alternatives, including existing space elsewhere in town that could hold a fitness center.
To build onto the existing building is the dream, Washington said Tuesday night after the meeting, but it might not be feasible.
While Washington said he couldn't mention specific sites commission staff are considering, the type of space he's looking for ideally would be ground level, 4,000 to 10,000 square feet, and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible. Washington said there have been some spaces he's looked at that are better suited for retail. They've also looked downtown because of the recreation commission's existing location.
While there's no timeline for the commission to find more space, Washington said the desire for more space is coming directly from the center's users, adding the center is also nearing its busiest time of the year from about September through March or April.
Some of the top requests from patrons, he said, are for more cardiovascular equipment and weight room space. There's no room to add anything right now, he said.
Currently, the Wellness Center is 1,300 square feet. Part of the expansion would have more than doubled the space at 2,870 square feet, which would provide for additional weight room area.
If additional space isn't in place by fall, he said, the commission will continue to do with what it has.
The GCRC saw a slight increase in usage at the Wellness Center in May, from 11,747 people in May 2008 to 11,924 people this year — about a 1.5 percent increase.
On the Web:
Garden City Recreation Commission: www.gcrec.com
What would you like to see for the future of the recreation commission? Would you use an expanded wellness center? Talk about it at SWKTalk.com.
Found 0 comment(s)!