Community Center proposal meeting

Members of the community are invited to a meeting on September 23 at 6 p.m. at the Hot Springs County Fair Building, 627 Springview, to discuss the possibility of having a community center built in Thermopolis on Hot Springs State Park property.

Phil Scheel, a current Hot Springs County Commissioner, provided some background to this proposal. He said, “The purpose of the meeting is just to get the folks together who have expressed interest in a community center in Thermopolis.”

Scheel took note of meeting spaces already existing in town, such as the VFW, Hot Springs Hotel and the Federated Church’s Community Hall. However, Scheel is looking for a facility with greater capacity and options for its use.

Additionally Scheel added “The Recreation District plays a huge role in this because the district is a big one that currently uses the armory, but they have been looking for additional space.” The gym has been used for basketball, volleyball, and pickleball as a practice facility, as well as a space for shooting sports, but the armory does not have enough space for spectators of those sports. The district is looking for more court space. The Recreation District Director Brian Parker is a propionate for the community center. IR staff attempted to contact Parker for comment but he did not respond.

Scheel described in the past, about eight to nine years ago, that there was a ballot initiative for a one penny sales tax for another facility when the hospital district was on the ballot for the first time. This one cent sales tax initiative failed at the ballot box. However, Scheel said, “I think that maybe the appetite for bending for community assets in Hot Springs County has changed a little bit.”

According to Scheel, another current location for meetings has been the fair building, but it is older, needs an updated bathroom with greater capacity, ADA compliance and kitchen that is up to code with a fire suppression system. The repairs for the roof have been in discussion for a considerable time and work to fix the leaks looks more likely as the commissioners are hoping to move forward to hiring a contractor. 

Scheel added, “Continuing to spend a whole lot of money on that our building might not be the most economical base, that doesn’t mean we tear it down or make a parking lot. I think it’s completely appropriate for lots of different things. But as the largest capacity meeting space in the county, maybe that’s not the right thing to be spending a bunch of money on. The fair board indicated that they would come to the table ultimately and discuss a community building.”

Beyond the rec district and the fair board, Scheel said, “I think there are a lot of other opportunities for community use. One of the other partners that we have talked about is Hot Springs State Park. I’ve been in contact with Brooks Jordan and with Chris Delay about what new facilities are being written into the contract with the new concession operator. The contractor that won the RFP included some convention space. That has to probably be attached to the new hotel in the state park. But it would be more convention space, meeting room space, not really basketball courts or multi-purpose space. The state park is also excited to see what they can do to help. We’re talking about where to put this new facility.”

No specific location has been officially nailed down, but a likely place or option for the community center might be on the state park property next to the park headquarters as a central location.

Regarding funding for the community center proposal, Scheel said, “All options are on the table at this point. We’ll primarily seek grant funds, state and federal grant funds and low-interest loans funds.”

According to Scheel, the meeting at the fair building to discuss these matters on Monday, September 23 at 6 p.m. is for anyone in the community as a stakeholder such as those who care about community sports, senior sports, 4-H and other activities. “Anybody, everybody, in general, I would just say let’s come together and talk about it.”