A presentation at Tuesday night’s town board meeting pretty much laid out the options the town has for dealing with the closed, and very contaminated, Bob Ruud Community Center.
Much like the building, the town’s options aren’t pretty.
The 1960s era facility is suffering from a leaky roof, asbestos, mold and myriad other problems. It’s been closed since December and sorely missed by community groups accustomed to using it for their functions.
Seven months later, the town really is nowhere near coming up with a solution. And we can’t blame officials for taking their time. Finances and wisdom seem to suggest this should be a slow process.
The enormous report generated by BEC Environmental, Inc., a consulting firm, is evidence of the benefits of taking the slow road — the massive research project was funded by a grant from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. Grants don’t always come easy or cheap, much less free.
The board is planning to name members to a Bob Ruud committee at its next meeting. This lucky group will have the task of digesting BEC’s report and suggesting which way to go in fixing the center. The options available range from the bare minimum — fix the roof, remove the mold and asbestos and hope code inspectors are having a good day when they come take a look — to the maximum effort, which is to rebuild everything, the Bob Ruud and facilities nearby it. 
That last option could cost as much as $3 million, probably more.
This board has its work cut out for it. The economy has not been kind to local finances. And whispers of board members spending like drunken sailors — the new Durango and theme park study the most recent examples batted about — while at the same time raising the local property tax rate, doesn’t help things. Getting the Bob Ruud back in shape — or replacing it — is very important, though.
More than any shiny new SUV, a good community center can showcase to outsiders some of the best this town has to offer, in terms of community groups, public functions and family activities. But, that kind of marketing isn’t cheap. And unfortunately for our collective pocketbook, merely fixing the Bob Ruud isn’t enough in this newspaper’s opinion.
Estimates suggest it would cost $83,000 at minimum to reopen the community center as it stands. Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, electrical work and smaller projects such as better bathrooms and kitchen space could easily balloon those costs. And paying all that doesn’t really make sense considering in the end the building will still be almost 50 years and a patchwork of old and new fixes. The question then is this: Can the town afford a new facility? And if it can, should it be built where the Bob Ruud stands or someplace else?
A murkily sourced little rumor has made its way around about whether the land underneath the Bob Ruud could be sold. Or, in fact, whether the whole kit and caboodle right there might be for sale — buildings, land and maybe an old Camry thrown in for good measure. That sure would free up some funds to build a new town office complex and community center, say, over there near the Calvada Eye, perhaps on five acres across from the duck pond — in an area tentatively named “Harley Kulkin Academy for Governmental Arts and Theme Park Development.”
We think this might be a good idea — selling the Bob Ruud land, not naming any new complex after Mr. Kulkin. This town doesn’t really have the funds to build a new community center, and yet that’s exactly what it needs right now. Maybe selling the town land over there, getting the county to contribute some of its land to a new facility and building a modern facility is the best option for the town. It’s one we think should be seriously considered.