Parks committee recommends joint indoor recreation center, cites $19–22 million price tag and regional benefits

Tommy Barton, the county parks and recreation director, and Mark Morgan, chair of the joint parks commission, told the Boyle County Fiscal Court on Nov. 26 that the county faces a shortage of indoor gym space and presented options for aquatic and indoor recreation projects ranging from a $2.9 million pool repair to a consolidated indoor recreation center with an aquatic facility costing roughly $19 million to $21.6 million.

The parks commission voted unanimously to recommend the county and city jointly pursue the larger options (committee options labeled 6 and 7), which would locate an indoor recreation center — with multiple indoor courts, outdoor courts, and a retractable-roof pool — at the fairgrounds or adjacent county-owned sites. Morgan told magistrates the committee’s vote reflected both community input and cost estimates from consultants and committee workshops.

Barton described six price tiers: a $2.9 million repair/replace-in-kind of the existing Bunny Davis pool, a $5.4 million improved pool with additional lanes and kiddie features, and options that add bathhouse/pump-room renovation and expanded parking up to roughly $9.5 million; a stand‑alone indoor recreation center was estimated at about $12.9 million; adding outdoor courts and skate-park improvements raised it into the mid‑$13 millions; consolidated indoor rec-plus-aquatic options with retractable or permanent covers were estimated between $19 million and $21.6 million depending on features. Barton said the committee considered temporary and permanent pool enclosures and noted operational limits (e.g., older facilities cannot physically connect an enclosure to the bathhouse).

Commissioners and magistrates asked about operational costs, staffing, equity across county neighborhoods and funding sources. Vice Chair Gay urged exploration of broad funding tools — from grants and sponsorships to a referendum tax or targeted user taxes — and several members recommended forming a task force to investigate financing, naming rights, and grant opportunities. Magistrate Ellis and others cautioned that the public may be surprised by multi‑million-dollar totals and urged careful community engagement before pursuing voter measures.

Barton said parks staff will pursue sponsor and grant opportunities and bring back a plan of action, while the court did not take immediate action to appropriate funds. The parks commission presentation and the committee’s recommendation set the project as a county priority for future budget and ballot consideration.

The parks presentation ends without a formal appropriation; next steps identified were staff research on funding options, potential task‑force formation, and further community outreach and design work.