money City of Lexington seeks input from the community as discussion on new recreation center resurfaces
The need for a new recreation center in Lexington has been a topic of conversation for as long as many people can remember. Recently that discussion has resurfaced.
The Lexington Parks and Recreation Department is gathering community input on a potential new recreation center by holding public meetings, conducting online surveys and focus group sessions.
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The next public meeting will be on May 3 at 6 p.m. at the Edward C. Smith Civic Center.
An online survey is available at the Lexington Parks and Recreation Department website at https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/bGBUt6
During the meeting, there will be a presentation from a hired consulting firm followed by time for the public to share their interests and vision for a recreation center in Lexington. The results of the feasibility study based on the findings of the consulting firm are expected to be presented to the City Council in late summer 2022.
Following the results of the feasibility study, it is up to the Lexington City Council to decide whether to go forward with the project and approve funding for architectural and construction planning.
“We are still in the early stages,” said Lexington Parks and Recreation Director Laura Duran. “Right now we are trying to gather information, getting people to weigh in on what they want to see in a new center. Everyone has different likes and interests.”
Previous attempts at building a new recreation center have not been approved by the Lexington City Council, mostly due to budget restrictions.
“The idea of a new community center goes back forever, I have a plan on my desk from 2005 that never happened,” said Laura Duran.
In 2014, the City of Lexington adopted a four-year plan titled the “Re-creation of Recreation.” It included renovating Hillside Pool in 2015; repurposing Washington Park pool into a splash pad in 2016 and turning former Radcliffe Pool into a skate park in 2019.
The final phase in the plan, which has been delayed due to the pandemic, was to build a new recreation center to replace Robbins Recreation Center, which is severely lacking in available space for programs.
Duran said since the introduction of the “Re-creation of Recreation” plan over eight years ago, there has been a change in city managers and only a few of the city council members who approved the plan remain on the city council.
Also, following the municipal election in May, there will be four new city council members who will make the ultimate decision on whether to invest funding into the project.
A potential location for the new recreation center is the former Tri-Distribution building on South Main Street, which was purchased by the City of Lexington in 2016. The building is next to Holt-Moffitt field and is near Radcliff Skate Park.
Duran said whether the existing building will be suitable for a new recreation center or whether another site is preferable depends on the results of the feasibility study.
“The community has been waiting a very long time for a new recreation center. Hopefully we will be able to provide that for the citizens of Lexington,” said Duran.
General news reporter Sharon Myers can be reached at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com. Follow her on Twitter @LexDispatchSM.
This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Lexington seeks input from the community on new recreation center
