HUDSON — A city council member told his colleagues he would like to "explore" the possibility of building a recreation center or city center.



Council member Hal DeSaussure (At Large) said at the July 23 council workshop that he wanted to discuss the rec center/city center idea because officials have received a lot of feedback from residents who would like to have this type of facility in Hudson. He said he wanted to know if citizens support a rec center/city center and if they would favor adopting a tax levy to fund the project.



DeSaussure said officials have previously considered a rec center concept, but have not pursued it "for a variety of reasons," mostly due to the cost.



DeSaussure requested that city staff compile information on the idea and present it to council for review at an upcoming workshop.



"We think it’s very worthy of being looked at," said Council President Bill Wooldredge (At Large).



DeSaussure later told the Hub-Times that a future discussion would, in part, examine whether such a center would be a "Natatorium such as is found in Cuyahoga Falls, or a city center space for meetings and community events?"



At the July 23 meeting, DeSaussure suggested a potential location could be a spot south of Owen Brown Street in an area that is eyed for commercial development as part of the Downtown Phase II project. Wooldredge said he told DeSaussure after the meeting he did not want to look at a rec center idea in conjunction with Phase II.



DeSaussure told the Hub that now he is "not thinking about [the rec center] in connection with Phase II."



"I just think it’s going to be too difficult to try to put [the rec center] in there [south of Owen Brown] and not magnify the traffic problems that people are already discussing," said DeSaussure.



He said other possible locations could be Veterans Way near the area where the new bike and hike trail will be installed and the land near the site of the new city hall building on Terex Road.



While he noted he was "open-minded" about the location, DeSaussure explained, "My main question is is this an avenue that the city wants to go down?"



Reporter Phil Keren can be reached at 330-541-9421, pkeren@recordpub.com, or on Twitter at @keren_phil.

