Residents push back against new Boulder Creek Rec Center

A Boulder Creek neighborhood is up in arms over the plan to build a 20,000-square-foot recreation center near their homes at the south end of town.
Several Boulder Creek residents on South Street, Boulder Street and High Street have launched an online petition against the proposal to build the recreation center in their neighborhood, saying that they were not informed by the district of the potential multi-million dollar campus.
“It seems as though parks and rec did not engage the community at all,” Boulder Street resident Antonia Eaton said.
Eaton and her neighbors did not receive notification of any kind that the district is planning a rec center in their quiet neighborhood. It was a neighbor, Vikki Kruppe who lives on South Street, who spread the word on Thursday, Feb. 11, printing 250 fliers and passing them out in the neighborhood.
The district has been planning the new headquarters for years, but began publically pursuing $5 million in grant money this January. The money is available through Proposition 84, which California voters passed in 2006 and allots $368 million to build parks in underserved communities. The grant would provide a financial jump start to the recreation center that would include an indoor basketball court, classroom, meeting rooms and other features. The grant application is due March 1.
“We think it’s a good idea for the community,” said Christina Horvat, district manager. “And we need them to be open about it.”
The district serves 3,000 people each month, but district officials have said that the new facility could serve nearly 10,000 each month.
Horvat said the district did not send out notices to residents about a series of rec center planning meetings that took place in late January and February.
“We had ads in the paper, in the Sentinel and (the Press-Banner), and we did a ton of press releases,” she said. “I thought that would cover it. We did not flier the neighborhood.”
Horvat said the fact that the grant application was due relatively soon has also played into the communication breakdown.
Despite the ads and articles in the area papers, Kruppe said her neighbors just found out that their neighborhood was the proposed location for the project last Thursday, only weeks before the district must submit the grant proposal, which must be specific about the project’s site.
In January, the board signed a letter of intent to purchase four parcels owned by John Scoppazi. Each contain rental homes and clock in with a total assessed value of $303,815, according to Santa Cruz County Assessors Office records.
Neighbors say this is the wrong place for a rec center, citing additional traffic on small streets, increased crime and noise and bright security lights on the once dark street.
“It’s almost exclusively a residential community,” said Eaton. “It seems like they are taking a nice little slice of residential community and turning it into a community place.”
Horvat said the district has looked at every available location in Boulder Creek and determined the spot at the south end of town to be the best value and location.
Even if the district does not win the grant, board member Eric Hammer has said it will likely try to find a way to build the new campus, but will need to find a new funding mechanism.
As to the opposition to the project, Horvat said it is expected.
“This is part of the process,” Horvat said. “This is opposition, and this is what we expected, especially in this town.”
Regardless, the neighbors wanted early notification of the districts plans, not to find out at what they regard as the last minute.
“We felt like they were doing this behind our backs,” Kruppe said.
The petition is available online at www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-plan-now.
At a glance
• WHAT: Boulder Creek Recreation Center community feedback meeting
• WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Feb. 27
• WHERE: Boulder Creek Recreation Hall, 13333 Middleton Ave.