THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602160182
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
No doubt about it, Portsmouth kids need more public places offering supervised play. But, there's also no question that the city hardly can afford to build more buildings for recreation.
If public buildings, including schools, were busy with activities around the clock, the cost could be justified. But until we have exhausted all possibilities of available space, we must avoid putting more money into expensive buildings.
The money spent on recreation should go into programs and people to run them, not buildings.
City Councilman Jim Martin made a fine distinction in a recent council discussion of the needs for additional recreational activities.
``Let's talk about recreational opportunities, not centers,'' Martin said. ``We can use other buildings.''
Certainly, every single school in town should have some recreational activities going on from the time school is out until dusk. Currently, only Churchland Junior High has such a program. All the ball fields also should be in constant use, even when the regular teams are not playing on them.
Every existing recreation center should be open and buzzing all day and until about 9 or 10 p.m. with supervisors to guide youngsters in the right direction. Some of the centers are not even open now on weekends.
Saturating the city with programs would cost money because of the need to hire more people. But why not hire some college students to run some of the programs? And what about hiring some parents who don't work fulltime? Or maybe the evening hours could be supervised by people who work in the daytime and who might want to earn some extra money?
If we don't automatically see buildings when we talk about expanding the program, we should be able to beef up the staff with a gradual budget increase.
Martin's observation was a good one and the council's work program that came from a recent retreat should reflect his distinction between centers and opportunities. by CNB