The following opinion piece is a community submission and doesn’t reflect the opinion of TRN Media, which encompasses SweetwaterNOW and The Radio Network.
Submitted by Mike Skorcz and Jack Weimer
I usually stay out of politics and public matters, focusing on my family and career. However, a recent city council meeting revealed that our parks and recreation department is in financial crisis, forcing us to choose which facilities to save and which to let go. Therefore, it’s time to get involved to secure a future for our family and yours in this city.
Rock Springs Civic Center Under Threat
City leadership has decided that the Rock Springs Civic Center is the facility to sacrifice to save others. They presented a slide deck depicting the Civic Center as beyond repair due to age and “deferred” maintenance which is a softer word for neglect. They hired a third-party Architect Engineering consultant to audit the facility and using that report, the city Parks and Rec leader reported that it would cost between $15 to $30 million to revive it.
The city leadership insists that the full funds are needed now to keep the Civic Center. If the Civic Center remains in the budget, other facilities like the rec center, ball parks, and golf course will suffer similar fates.
Citizens Demand Transparency and Action
During the city council meeting, I asked for further research on grants, the report from the consultant, actual bids to understand repair costs, a draft 5-year plan for repairs and maintenance, and for the city to go out and ask for potential sponsorship from local businesses and industry. Instead, the Mayor/City released two videos doubling down on the claim that the Civic Center is not viable. It seems as though their mind was made up prior to the public hearing asking for feedback.
Formation of a Coalition
This week, a group of city residents and taxpayers formed a local citizen coalition. We toured the Civic Center with a City Councilman and found discrepancies between the city leadership’s presentation and the actual condition of the facility. We reviewed the consultant’s report, photos, and descriptions of damage, and matched the issues in real-time as we walked through and around the building. Interestingly, the Architect engineering firm that was hired by the city to assess the facility produced a report that lacked a single specific dollar amounts for repairs or replacements, and the $15 to $30 million figure appears to be an assumption which was verified by city parks and rec leadership during the last City Council Meeting. We believe this figure is being used in a loaded gun technique to sway public opinion; big scary number with an impossibly short deadline to find funds.
Addressing the Pool and Structural Concerns
The consultant’s report suggests the pool needs replacement due to “ongoing settlement issues causing ongoing issue with the floor tiles coming loose creating a safety hazard.” However, a member of our group who is an expert scuba diver and has been diving the civic center pool for 20 years, assists in pool surface maintenance, and has an extensive background in construction, dove the pool this week searching every inch of the pool for foundation issues. Strangely enough, not a single crack can be found in the pool and cracking would have to be present if the concrete structure of the pool is settling, just like the concrete in your driveway or basement. The northwest corner of the pool is lower by 1.5 inches than the opposite side of the pool, however, the diver stated he cannot every remember the pool actually ever being level in his 20 years of diving it, it’s still fully functional since the filtration vents are all below water. Yes, there are a few tiles that have popped off the bottom, but those tiles are held in with grout, and are likely popping off in high traffic areas due to wear.
All pool surfaces need to be resurfaced every 10 years, this pool is going on past 12 years we believe, and it is due for a resurface. A resurface does not require walls to be removed and can be done as it has in the past. The diver also looked for signs of leaking, none were found further supporting its sound structure. When reviewing the Architect’s report, the Architect appears to have not drained the pool or scuba dove the pool to inspect it, instead going off a visual inspection from above the water and as stated in the report, relied on interviews with the city which the architect assumes are factual.
Building Structure:
Also on our team is another building construction expert who also has expertise in purchasing old home and buildings. Reviewing the building exterior walls and interior walls, the member could not find the level of cracking that would be consistent with the building walls falling in or in a critical state. He stated, the walls are brick, and brick is very rigid, so if the building was experiencing critical settling or failure that would require structural replacement, those signs would be evident. The exterior does have a few areas of corner cracks and isolated degradation on the exterior but those are repairable by a mason contractor in our commonsense minds. Other areas inside the facility are showing signs of settling, however, in his mind these are not critical to the viability of the facility, and are repairable. Heck even my 10-year-old home shows signs of concrete settling, doesn’t mean it’s time to sell!
The roof was also noted to require a full replacement. While not being allowed by City officials to let a contractor access the roof. A roofing contractor did come on site this week and based on photos taken in the report and measurements he took, the roof can likely be repaired short term and an estimated the roof replacement would likely cost less than $200,000.
The parking lot was also noted to require full replacement; however, I can look at it and see a few potholes that need filled, but honestly, we have city streets that look much worse. The concrete around the building is sloped to the building causing water pooling but I guess I would ask, has the city reached out to Poly Pros or other similar concrete leveling businesses to get a quote on leveling the concrete pads instead of replacing them?
Financial Transparency and Spending Issues
Next, I call on city leadership to release the parks and recs department’s financial records for public review in an easy to review accounting format for the past 5 years. Searching the cities website for financial expenditures is painful. Despite claims of a financial crisis, the city has spent significant amounts on new golf carts to the tune of $399,156 this January, $30,960 dollars on GPS units for those golfcarts, and tons of other expenses it appears, and that is only for Parks and Rec. These numbers are all public information and can be found on the city council meeting minutes and agenda If you would like to fact check me.
I’m all for nice fancy golf carts like the next person, but if we are in a position where closing facilities is a reality due to lack of funds and years of maintenance neglect, doesn’t that mean we should be spending that money on the need-to-haves and not-the-nice to haves? It’s not like the golf course makes money that I can see. In 2023 it lost $1,073,469 according to a Berry Dunn Needs Assessment report. I could see an argument for spending tons of money out there if it were a profitable asset over the other facilities.
According to the report, Rock Springs Parks and Rec. has a “consistent gap where expenditures exceed revenues across all cost centers” meaning the parks, golf course, civic center, and rec center. While total revenue has steadily increased from FY 2019 to FY 2023, expenditures are also growing and consistently result in annual losses.
Don’t forget, the City also states the Rec Center, Golf Course Building, Ball Parks, and other areas need serious funds as well to keep them from failing. Again, I love golfing and the golf course, not picking on it, but it’s a good example.
Call to Action
The Mayor and City Leadership are determined to close the Civic Center, but we must act to save it. The Civic Center provides essential services to residents and future generations. Yes, the Civic Center undoubtedly needs dedicated money to repair it and bring it back to a normally maintained state, and yes that is not going to be cheap. We seriously doubt however, that the napkin math of $15 million, needed all up front this year, is even close to realistic. Our coalition proposes a four-step plan:
- Sign our petition and attend the next city council meeting on May 6th to show support for the Civic Center RS Civic Center Petition. The City Counselors will be the deciding factor and will vote to save or kill the Civic Center. Email or reach out to your City Councilor and tell your expectations with regards to the Civic Center and our tax money City Council Contact Info.
- Allow businesses and contractors to actually go on site and quote repairs of the building and provide a scope of work. You can get a consultant to write a report to support any motivations, that’s how a consultant gets paid. Contractors who would do the work will give you an honest assessment. Develop a 5-year plan for repairs and maintenance, this is typical for any operating facility in the US. A 5-year plan starts year 1 and 2 with the most critical repairs needed, then years 4 and 5 we address items that are cosmetic or less critical.
- Address our spending problem, re-align with citizen expectations of fiscal responsibility. First – work on the need-to-have items, then, spend money on the nice-to-haves. Some years a person has to spend money to fix their home and wait a year or two to buy the hot tub for the backyard.
- Seek sponsorship from local industries to fund the Civic Center and other parks and rec facilities. To my knowledge, no-one has attempted this. Many cities in Wyoming have done this for their facilities. Offer an incentive to the businesses that want to chip in real money such as a discount on use fees for their company employee and family health and benefit program along with a plaque or name on the facilities.
I’m just an ordinary citizen who cares about my kids’ future and the quality of life for our residents. You don’t need to be a PE structural engineer or consultant to see that the building is not in a critical phase, its simply neglected and needs some work. Let’s band together Rock Springs and help secure a better future for our kids and their kids. Don’t let the government take our local treasures and services away from us. Just think, if they kill this facility, what is next, what makes their jobs more convenient?
