Parent hopes to voice rec center concerns at meeting

PORTALES — An uncertain future for Portales’ after-school and summer programs has made one parent uneasy. She’s inviting others to join her in voicing concern at the City Council’s meeting on Tuesday.

Cristin Stewart referenced a letter dated May 23 from City Manager Sammy Standefer, which informs users of the Portales Recreation Center that the city is “researching avenues to transform the City’s current recreation center into an entertainment venue for our community.”

“With that being said, this letter is intended to notify the public that our programming for these will likely be discontinued until we are able to re-establish these programs in the future,” Standefer wrote.

Stewart’s children attend the Recreation Center’s summer program, and she said she created a Facebook event inviting other parents to tell the City Council why they oppose the plan.

“I’m all for Portales growing ... I just feel like there has to be another way. It can’t be at the expense of our kids,” she said, adding that she doesn’t know of other care options for children between the ages of 5 and 12.

“The rec fills that void. It gives the kids in that nice little awkward age group from when they’re not daycare appropriate and they’re not really mature enough to stay home alone; they give them activities and things they can do throughout the summer at a price parents can afford, especially with multiple children,” she said.

Standefer said he has heard both positive and negative feedback from residents since the announcement was made.

“The ones that are negative are mostly concerned specifically for their kids. It’s mostly because we’ve provided pretty good programming for a certain age group and they hate to lose that. I understand that,” he said.

Standefer said the displacement of children may be difficult for families, but he added that a potentially positive outcome for the community awaits.

“I really believe the council’s on track in making an effort to try to market the current facility as an entertainment venue and continuing recreation by building a facility that really suits our needs — that maybe has a gym and those things,” he said.

Standefer said the city is focused on drafting an idea for a recreation center that could fulfill the city’s immediate needs.

“I see that we need to build one that has a gymnasium and has other things, and that’s ultimately the answer to our recreation needs,” he said.

Stewart said she hopes she is joined at the meeting — set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday the Memorial Building, 200 E. Seventh St. in Portales — by other parents who don’t want to see their children displaced.

“I did some homework (Wednesday) night, and there’s 70 to 90 kids on average that are using the after-school program, and they’re averaging about 50 to 60 kids per day during the summer program,” she said. “That’s 50 to 60 kids that are gonna be displaced. There’s not enough daycares in Portales that can take all these kids either. Does that mean we’re leaving a bunch of kids unattended at home because parents have to work?”