PLEASANT VIEW — Council members recently discussed the idea of building a recreation center to use with the Weber School District and Weber High School.
“Right now (students) are working out basically in a closet,” said City Administrator Melinda Brimhall. “We would like some weight-lifting (equipment) and some elements for cardiovascular. … Kids play basketball. In the future we could add other programs, such as volleyball.”
Brimhall said the idea of a gym built and used jointly by the city and the high school has been done in other communities.
“The school district doesn’t have some resources we have as a city, namely RAMP funds,” Brimhall said.
She said the school district could look at the city as a vehicle for funding and could also kick in some of its own funding; this could help make the idea of a shared recreation center a reality.
Who pays the utilities and maintenance costs at such a facility, as well as who would staff the facility, Brimhall said, would have to be decided.
“I want to know whether or not this is a path we should start going down,” Brimhall said.
“This would be open to the public?” asked Councilman Michael Humphreys.
Brimhall said it would.
“I have real issues on supervision on that,” said Mayor Doug Clifford. “Don’t walk in a weight room unattended, or you could end up with a lawsuit.”
Humphreys said if the center were used for Weber High School students, this would open up the facility to people living outside of Pleasant View.
“Weber High has students from Harrisville and North Ogden …,” said Humphreys. “If we go in for just Pleasant View, then how do we do that?”
Councilman Scott Boehme said if the facility were built jointly with the elementary school in Pleasant View, the problem of residents of other communities using the facility would be nil.
“Then you’d have just Pleasant View kids going to that,” said Boehme.
“School districts aren’t (designated) by city,” said Clifford.
He said he had seen facilities built in a similar way in Idaho, and they worked well. He said gyms can work great with a 50-50 split on funding.
The city has plenty of irons in the fire, according to Councilman Jerold Burns, who said the city is working on projects such as Shady Lane Park, the Pleasant View walking path and looking to the future with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.
“There are lots of things in this community where RAMP money could be very beneficial,” Burns said. He said council members needed to consider all possible projects and decide if this one would fit.
Brimhall said the city does have a plan for where RAMP funding will go for the next few years.
“We do need a facility for recreation programs,” Clifford said.
“Can we use park and open space impact funds?” asked Councilman Toby Mileski.
“Yes, if we are going to pay for it now,” said Brimhall.
Community Development Director Bruce Talbot said it is important to have a good relationship with Weber School District.
“Weber High serves everyone else, but it’s in our community,” said Talbot.
He said the city needs to take every opportunity to further a good relationship with the school district.
Brimhall said she would be looking into whether there was interest from the high school on the project in the coming month.
She said:
“Both entities, the city and the high school, can identify what their needs are in regard to this facility, and then discuss whether we can co-mingle.”
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