BOUNTIFUL — After 32 years of swim meets and water aerobics, ice skating and hockey matches, the Bountiful Recreation Center was torn down the week before last, and the space it occupied will soon become a parking lot.
Beyond the ruins, work is progressing on the new $23 million South Davis Recreation Center. It's a three-story, 160,000-square-foot, brick-and-steel building that will offer an Olympic-size ice rink, competition pools, a gym and exercise rooms when it opens early next year.
Two years ago, voters in five south Davis County cities narrowly approved an $18.4 million general obligation bond to build the center. It was a move that tax watchdog groups decried, saying that a government-operated recreation center was a poor use of residents' dollars and that it might steal business from other fitness centers.
One group, CitizensForTaxFairness.org, sent a complaint to the Utah Attorney General's Office after the election, claiming that city officials in Bountiful unfairly swayed voter opinions on the issue. The complaint was eventually dismissed, but in mid-June of this year, the Utah Taxpayers Association asked that the Attorney General's Office revisit the issue.
Mike Jerman, vice president of the pro-business group, said in an interview last week that "this whole business of the government getting into the public business is a problem in Utah."
"It's unfair competition, an unnecessary expenditure, and it's a loss of money for construction as well as operation," he said.
But city officials, and the managers of government-subsidized recreation centers in other cities defend the practice of building fitness facilities with public dollars. It's a quality-of-life issue, said John Miller, director of the south Davis facility.
"That's the reason why Murray and West Jordan and Sandy have one," he said. "They add to the overall quality of life in a city."
Bountiful City Manager Tom Hardy put it this way: "Will everyone in Bountiful use the facility? No. Nor will everyone use the parks. Nor will everyone have to call on the fire and police."
Norma Card, a 74-year-old Bountiful resident, said she was anxious for the new south Davis facility to open. She took water aerobic classes at the old Bountiful Recreation Center until the day it closed. Now, she and a group of women meet once a week for classes at a neighbor's pool.
The price for a senior couple to use the South Davis Recreation Center is $235 plus tax each year. That's the resident rate. The price is valid until Sept. 30, when the recreation board may increase the cost of a membership.
"I voted for it. I think it's a positive thing," said Card. "My theory is that when you get older, you have to maintain. If you don't maintain, you lose it. And maintenance has to be a good part of your life, something you think about and do."
At the South Davis Recreation Center, members will have access to an indoor running track, a weight room, fitness classes such as yoga and Pilates, a gym and rac- quetball courts. Davis County is also funding $2 million of the cost of an ice rink with tourism-related tax dollars.
The earmark from the county allowed the recreation district board to restore funding for an outdoor pool after increased construction costs last year forced the group to cut the pool from its budget.
Now, the board is focusing on memberships. Miller said that over $200,000 has been collected so far.
But he admits the center will never make money — a key complaint of critics.
"These are money-losing government ventures that squeeze out the private sector," said Jerman.
Representatives from Excel Fitness and Gold's Gym in Bountiful did not return calls for comment for this story.
Mike Peterson, director of the Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center, said that in 40 years, his facility has yet to make money. He said that the facility offers amenities that traditional fitness centers do not, like a family-oriented environment.
Cory Plant, director of the Murray Recreation Center said this about the issue: "Private fitness companies come and go. These recreation centers that are run by cities and other organizations stay for a very long, long time. It's a gathering place for the community to do things for the community."
Both the Murray Recreation Center and Cottonwood Heights Center are paid for with taxpayer dollars. Murray used a $10 million revenue bond for construction. Cottonwood Heights has been built with general obligation bonds, approved by voters on four occasions.
On Monday, the South Davis Recreation District board will hold a public hearing on its 2007 budget. The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. and will be at the Bountiful City Hall, 790 S. 100 East.
For information about the center and membership prices, call: 298-6220.
E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com