AURORA | Residents of southeast Aurora have long lamented not having a city recreation center, but that could soon change because of a plan to use retail marijuana funds to help finance a center.
Aurora City Council members tentatively approved the item in the 2019 budget over the weekend with a 9-1 vote. The body will have to formally approve the budget later this month.
The city would commit $2 million each year for 25 years for the center. The project will be funded much like the Central and Moorhead recreation centers: through recreational marijuana tax revenue.
The Central center was the first to be built in nearly 40 years. It was totally funded through retail marijuana revenue, which has also been used for some transportation projects and for addressing homelessness throughout the city.
“This is a win for the residents that live here, and I’m happy,” said Ward VI councilwoman Francoise Bergan, who’s been on the council for three years.
A recreation center is something she’s had her eye on even before being elected, she told the Sentinel. Bergan said she is thankful for the council’s support.
“I think recreation centers have a positive impact on communities,” she said. “It’s a place for the youth to come after school, on weekends and in summers.”
Bergan said her ward has often been described as a more affluent area in the city, but there are a lot of working families there, too — which makes for an ideal location for another recreational center.
Prior to the weekend budget meeting, Bergan said the city received nearly 150 individual emails in support of the center in Ward VI, where a lot of the city’s housing development is now taking place.
City staff estimate the center may be completed in late 2021. It’s slated to be built east of the Aurora Reservoir, the location of the former Lowry bombing range.
Because of previous military practices, the nearly 600 acres will have to be remediated and cleared of any unexploded ordinances.
The land has already been cleared for bombs 18 inches below the soil. $1 million has been worked into the 2019 budget for further inspection and clear the land.