Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501160039
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
But they had no idea it was going to be so tough.
In the latest chapter of the tale of a department that has expanded beyond its limited facilities, ice storms on Friday canceled basketball games scheduled at Christiansburg High School. So those players decided to practice on Saturday, forcing the delay of recreational league games set at the same time and place.
It's a refrain Art Price, Christiansburg's recreation director, has heard before. Because the town has few recreation facilities, he schedules basketball games in school gyms, and he's accustomed to getting bumped when school teams need the courts.
"You put in all the time to do all the schedules, but you really never know if you're going to play. It can be frustrating," said Price, who has learned to become philosophical about the lack of space. "It's part of life. You learn to live with it."
With a participation rate that is reaching critical mass, the Recreation Department has received the attention of town leaders, whose focus has been on water and sewer projects in recent years. Jan. 3 a consultant presented them with a 10-year recreation master plan that proposes $6 million in new facilities and equipment.
The proposed upgrades can't come soon enough for basketball players, who have practically been stepping on each other's toes as they pass, dribble, and shoot. Volunteer coaches speak of dozens of players on a court at one time.
Price has seen recreational basketball leagues expand from one in 1983 when he bacame director to 10 today with about 1,000 players.
"Your quality time is starting to diminish because you have such a large quantity of participants," he said.
Both participants and programs have increased. Christiansburg, with more than 16,000 residents, is Virginia's fastest growing town.
In fiscal year 1987-88, the department had less than 5,000 participants in all of its programs, a figure that grew to more than 10,000 in 1992-93. Its programs increased from 150 to 350, and now include such activities as aerobics and dog training.
Because of the department's expansion, everyone agrees the first priority should be a recreation center. The master plan, drawn up by David Hill, a Roanoke landscape architect, calls for a recreation center at the town's existing Depot Street park. The plan envisions two indoor basketball courts, an elevated running track, weight-lifting facilities, and meeting rooms. Later, indoor and outdoor swimming pools would be added.
The recreation center would be a focal point and defining part of the town's recreation program, a program that is now disparate and make-shift. On a simpler level, the recreation center would provide much-needed space, especially for senior citizens, who now struggle with limited facilities at their center in what they refer to as out-of-the-way Cambria.
As Mike Barber, a member of the Recreation Advisory Committee told Town Council point blank Jan. 3, "We need and must have that recreation center."
Council and the commission will set a work session together within weeks to complete the priority list.
The master plan also includes suggestions for the town's parks. It recommends upgrading the seven existing parks and building a new one near Wades Lane, site of the town's old landfill.
If the plan is implemented as it is drawn, the town would have several new ball fields and close to a dozen new basketball courts.
But no one expects funding for the wish list to be easy. Commission members say the $6 million price tag is nothing more than a ball park figure. They know Town Council, which oversees a $9 million yearly budget, is unlikely to provide that much money.
That's one reason council asked for a priority list. That way the town can get some parts of the project off the ground soon and save the rest for when more money is available.
At their Jan. 3 meeting, council members talked briefly and informally of a bond issue to pay for some parts of the master plan. Also receiving some attention was a list of grant-making organizations Hill provided at the end of the report.
by CNB