WECRD releases tentative plan

Construction of the Family Recreation/Community Activity facility will cost approximately $10 million. Funding that construction is the next step for the Western Elmore County Recreation District. The district's directors' first choice for funding the facility is through capital donations. A capital feasibility study is now underway through the expertise of Shaw Snow and Associates, an independent feasibility study firm, to give an indication of the amount of money that can be raised to construct the facility.

Supporters believe the facility will encourage economic growth while enriching family life and building a strong sense of community. Investment in the family and community oriented facility will create jobs and enhance the greater Mountain Home area's attractiveness, encouraging families and businesses to locate and settle in the area, they say. Additional economic spin-offs will be created as recreation and business dollars are spent in the local area, they contend.

Architect Stan Olson of Nampa, has developed conceptual drawings of the exterior and inside floor plans for the Family Recreation and Community Activity facility, designed according to the community's recommendations as determined by the WECRD board of directors.

Olson is known for his design of the Nampa Recreation Center, the Nampa Civic Center and the Idaho Center.

Citizens had indicated to the city's Blue Ribbon Committee, which was formed preceeding creation of the recreation district, that the community needed indoor aquatics, recreation and meeting space during the market study phase. Those components are incorporated into the architectural drawing.

Plans call for three distinct components within the facility -- a recreational area with gym for basketball/volleyball etc., space for physical fitness and weight training, racquetball/squash courts, a climbing wall and an elevated indoor track; the aquatic area featuring three pools (a small splash pool for toddlers, a heated hydro therapy pool, and a lap/swim pool); and a soundproofed area especially designed "with excellent acoustics and lighting to meet the needs of the artistic community as well as to provide a meeting area." "The design is not set in stone," explained Teri Smith, public relations coordinator. "But this is what we believe the people have said they want."

The Western Elmore County Recreation District is working closely with Mountain Home School District 193 to secure a site within Eastside Park to locate its proposed $10 million facility. Negotiating terms for the use of the site is well underway.

"One major task of the designing process has been to make every square foot as multipurpose as possible," said a WECRD spokesperson. "This is one of Stan Olson's many strengths." An extensive business plan has been completed by the Western Elmore County Recreation District and is ready for review. The plan is available at the Mountain Home City Library as a reference material.

The in-depth business plan outlines in detail the financial and managerial operation of the facility. The plan includes construction cost estimates, comprehensive projected annual operational costs and income, anticipated membership fees and more.

People may stay abreast of the progress of the family recreation/community activity facility by visiting the recreation district's web site at www.wecrdgov.org.

The WECRD directors meet the fourth Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Mountain Home City Hall, and the public is encouraged to attend the meetings.