Park board discusses TRAC

Talk about it

The Jamestown Parks and Recreation Commission came to a consensus Monday in favor of letting YMCA staff manage the Two Rivers Activity Center, should plans for the building become reality.

Talks on the proposed TRAC have been in the works for almost two years. Doug Hogan, Parks and Recreation director, and Commissioner Mark Ukestad currently sit on the TRAC board of directors.

“It’s a center for, obviously, activities … it’s like a glorified Y (YMCA), Ukestad said.

Hogan said the board is looking at basketball, tennis and racquetball courts, a water park with a lazy river, indoor field turf and a walking track, among other things, for the proposed TRAC.

“We’re trying to encompass as many activities as possible, until we find out what the price tag is going to be,” Hogan said.

The cost could be between $12 million to $20 million, and the commissioners said they do not want the issue to come down to a sales tax.

The TRAC board of directors is in the process of applying for nonprofit status, which would allow the group to start accepting tax-deductable donations and raise funds, Hogan said.

“The question is ‘does our board have any real problems with the Y managing this building if it should come to be, or should we manage it?’” Hogan said.

Although no vote took place, the commissioners said they agreed to let YMCA employees manage the facility if it is built.

The YMCA leases its current location from Jamestown College, and there is the possibility that the college will not renew its lease with the YMCA, said Commissioner Joyce Heinrich.

Larry Knoblich, chairman, said he knew of one person not satisfied with the current YMCA because Jamestown College athletic teams use the facility for practices, which keeps paying members out at certain times.

“I think it’s safe to say at some point the college would like that facility for themselves,” said Mark Olson, executive director for the Jamestown YMCA.

The TRAC board of directors has not discussed yet what organizations would run programs at the center.

But Hogan and Olson said running a program with fees through their organizations and paying the facility for court times could be a possibility.

“There’s a long ways to go but we are certainly making some headway,” Olson said.

Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455

or by e-mail at brodgers@jamestownsun.com

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