The proposed Giorgetti Community Center (Regional Recreation Center) after years has not gained any traction from the community. The project has seen the surrounding towns drop from the list of supporters in years past. The Boys & Girls Club, which was a partner in this project last year, has announced they will not be interested in the modified Community Center Project. Last year the project went in front of the voters and it was turned down by a hefty margin. Recreation Director, EJ Bishop, gave a new proposal on Thursday night to the Board of Alderman's Recreation Committee. The new price tag just shy of $4,000,000. Bishop stated last night he needs to community to support this project if it is to be built or gather federal funding. Many municipals have opted out, Rutland City voters rejected it last year and now the Boys & Girls Club is not interested. Is this enough evidence that the community doesn't want this project?
By Gordon Dritschilo
Staff Writer - Published: October 15, 2010
With the Boys & Girls Club out of the picture, the city’s Recreation Committee saw a scaled-down proposal to expand facilities at Giorgetti Park on Thursday.
Recreation Superintendent EJay Bishop said the nonprofit, which had been looking at moving from downtown to an expanded Giorgetti facility, had pulled out, so he had left out much of the space that it would have used from the newest redesign.
Reached after the meeting, Stan Fishkin, board chairman of the Boys & Girls Club of Rutland County, said the club could not reach an agreement with the city on the terms of occupancy. He declined to go into specifics.
Fishkin said the club is still interested in alternate locations.
“I think we’re trying to evaluate all the possibilities,” he said. “The downtown facility, as you know, has seen some serious liabilities being in the floodplain.”
Voters at town meeting rejected a $4.75 million proposal to expand the building at Giorgetti.
The new proposal removes much of the space that would have been added on a second floor as well as a first-floor storage area.
The entry will remain in roughly the same spot, but with a lobby overlooking the rink, a control space to monitor people coming and going and a space for a bike/skate shop. The small addition will include locker rooms and a passage to the “bubble,” a large proposed building behind the rink with an open floor plan and room for three basketball courts.
A second-floor space would include multiuse rooms that could be rented out for small gatherings and a large community room for activities such as yoga and strength training.
Bishop said the new design would cost an estimated $3.95 million.
Bishop said by building the addition and shutting down the Dana Center, the city would save money in the long run. Bishop said he did not have numbers readily available, but an increase in overall energy costs would be offset by revenue the new facility could generate but that Dana cannot.
Bishop said the Dana Center is falling apart.
“It has a leaky roof,” he said. “We’ve had to cancel basketball games. It was never designed to be a recreation space. We have a lot of inefficient spaces. Quite frankly, it’s becoming a liability rather than an asset.”
Repairing the center would cost millions, Bishop said, and not yield nearly the same return as a new building.
“I think you’d be pouring good money into bad,” he said.
David Allaire, president of the Board of Alderman, said he was in favor of the proposal, but that the board needed to discuss it more and to hear from the voters.
“I personally wouldn’t have a problem putting it on the ballot at some point, but I think there are other ideas that need to be vetted,” he said.
Alderman Ed Larson asked if Bishop had looked into federal funding.
“If the community gets behind a facility like this and votes it in, there’s a good chance we can get some federal dollars,” Bishop said, adding that without such a demonstration of public support, the city would not be likely to get anything.
Committee Chairman Thomas DePoy said he would like to see a comparison of long-term costs with and without the addition. The committee voted to table the discussion until a meeting in mid-November.
gordon.dritschilo@rutland herald.com
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