It's a good time to build the city's recreation center

The city's proposal to build a $9 million recreation center and share it with the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada makes sense for several reasons.

For one thing, there's nothing to gain in waiting years to build the center specified to voters in the 1996 Quality of Life ballot initiative. Supervisor Pete Livermore is likely correct in saying that the cost of building a structure will only increase with each year gone by because of inflation and we'd get less center for the same amount of money. The Boys & Girls Club learned that as they saw the price of their project rise with each year gone by.

At the same time, it's possible bids will come in lower than normal as construction companies vie for work in a slow market.

But probably no reason is better than the partnership it allows with the Boys & Girls Club. The club is one of the best things about Carson City. Many parents depend upon it and many children's lives have been changed because of its dedicated staff.

The city needs the Boys & Girls Club, and the club needs a gymnasium at its new facility, a gym it couldn't afford to build on its own.

There will also be benefits for city residents who don't use the club, in the form of expanded recreational opportunities at an affordable cost. The club's facilities would also be available to outside groups, according to the agreement under consideration.

In other words, there's a lot to gain and little to lose by building the recreation center.



• This editorial represents the view of the Nevada Appeal Editorial Board.