Orland breaks ground for rec center

It has been three years in the works, but Orland finally broke ground Monday on its new recreation center at the Lely Aquatic Park.

City council members, staff and the news media stood on the rocky construction site off Hambright Avenue for a groundbreaking ceremony where golden shovels turned the dirt for a photo opportunity.

The nearly 9,000 square-foot facility will feature a 7,000 square-foot gymnasium, restrooms and a recreation district office. It is expected to be completed in two to three months in time for basketball season, according to project contractors with Shufelberger Construction of Redding.

Mayor Vern Montague said as Orland grows, the recreation center will be a great asset before digging into the dirt.

Councilman Mike Yalow said the city has needed another gym for some time since the only one available has been the high school gymnasium at Orland High.

The new center has been planned for a while, he said, but it took time to get from there to here in 2008 where it is actually being built.

“We had the money to do it, so we did it,” Yalow said. Funding for the $840,000 project came from developer impact fees and not the city’s general fund, officials said.

Yalow said jokingly “I think it is booked up until 2040 or something like that.”

The new center naturally will be used for youth and adult basketball leagues and tournaments, said Orland Recreation Department Director Garrett White. However, it also will be available for dance classes, aerobics classes and community events or meetings.

He added the center could be rented for weddings and receptions among other uses.

Vice-mayor Bruce Roundy credited White with having the “tenacity” to work through the red tape in getting the center built and congratulated Interim City Manager Joe Riker with doing extra duty to bring it to fruition.

Roundy said as an educator and coach he understood the battle to get into the Orland High gymnasium since it is in constant use, but the new rec center should fulfill all kinds of activities.

Councilman Paul Barr said 30 years ago the Orland Unified School District unsuccessfully tried to pass a construction bond for a second gym.

So it is a good thing the city was able to build one now since it is desperately needed.

“The housing subdivisions paid their fair share, so nothing is coming out of the general fund,” Barr said.

He said the Orland High girls’ gym was built in 1954 and there were plans to build the boys’ gym a few years later. It’s been a few years plus, Barr quipped.

“We will be ready for the (population) growth when it comes again,” Barr said. “We were not ready for the growth we’ve had in the last four to five years, and staff had no time to work on the rec center and that delayed (the project).”

Besides the city officials and media, a small class of Fairview School students watched the groundbreaking.

Teacher Trish Boyce said her third, fourth and fifth graders plan to walk to the site and keep tabs on its progress – writing about the center and taking pictures. “They’re excited,” she said. “This makes a great field trip.”

The recreation center will back up to the Lely Park ball fields and its walking trails, White said, so visitors can have access to the park.

There will be a paved parking lot, and it will be within walking distance from nearby housing developments.

Lely Aquatic Park consists of 20 acres and includes public restrooms, a fishing pond and walking trails among other amenities, White said. The park’s main entrance is off Road 200 and South Street just beyond the Orland Municipal Court building.