TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A Twin Falls committee has been working since 2017 to bring a community recreation center to the city, and what appeared to be a dying initiative has unexpectedly gained new life.
The Twin Falls City Council voted this week to move forward with a long-stalled feasibility study for a potential recreation center, directing the committee to find a suitable property and return with more concrete numbers.
"It was kind of exciting that they breathed a little bit of life into what I thought was a dying initiative," said Parks and Recreation Director Wendy Davis. "I really thought they were ready to pause the conversation for the time being."
A major obstacle in the planning process has been determining a location for the facility.
"So if we can find the right piece of property and we can bring this thing and set it down and we can start looking at it now, we can start getting some numbers that we can really seriously talk about," Davis said.
Not all council members supported moving forward. Councilman Chris Reid voted against the measure, citing concerns about the potential $60 million price tag and its impact on other city priorities.
"We have roads, we have water lines. We have waste water lines, and $60 million is something that I don't think would be good for our community, especially with the things that we potentially have coming in the future," Reid said.
While the total cost remains undetermined, voters would likely be asked to approve a bond to fund the project. In 2019, voters failed to pass a bond for new fire stations.
"Looking at everything that has gone out to vote for it, that have been on the ballot have failed. Right now, financially, we're in a different time than we were years ago," Reid said.
Davis remains hopeful that residents should have the opportunity to decide for themselves.
"I think a fire station has a different feeling and impact to the community recreation center," Davis said. "So to make the stretch to say that because we didn't support some of these county initiatives, some of the other city initiatives, they're also not going to support a rec center may or may not be true and I guess we'll never know until we ask, but there's a part of me that thinks the community deserves the opportunity to answer that question."
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