RIVERSIDE

Talk of a community center is getting serious again in Riverside.

A major portion of the Riverside City Council session July 16, which was postponed a day due to severe storms that hit the area July 15, was dedicated to a community center presentation by Justin Bishop of OPN Architects, an Iowa City firm that is also involved in facility expansions at Highland High School, Highland Middle School and Highland Elementary School.

The City Council has talked about a community center in multiple work sessions recently, but the July 15 session put the community center on the formal budget for the first time.

The community center, which has been a topic in Riverside for more than 10 years and created multiple resident surveys, would be built near the Elementary School, north of downtown. A citizen committee formed two years ago pushed for a community center.

“People have tried and tried and tried,” City Council Person Lois Schneider said.

The exact timing of a community center isn’t yet clear, although a bond referendum may be headed for a vote in 2025. A Highland Schools bond referendum will appear on the November 2024 ballot.

Bishop led a discussion of what City Council members were hoping for in a community center. Proposals and tentative designs include one or two basketball courts, exercise and meeting areas, a running track and a daycare center.

City Council member Ryan Rogerson wants the center to be “airy and nice and you can feel something from it.”

Schneider said a gym and athletic competitions could bring teams into the community for events, which would help city businesses.

Still, City Council member Kevin Mills said, “We’ve got to find the interest.”

Rogerson suggested that a proposal and designs be produced and then “present it to the community.”

For more details, see the July 25 edition of The News.