Provo City has issued the call, and its residents have answered: They want a new recreation center with more indoor aquatics, a running track and space for aerobics,

Members of the city's Parks and Recreation Department and Salt Lake City-based VCBO Architecture presented the results of a random citywide mail survey Thursday night at a public hearing for the proposed new rec center. More than 450 residents responded, and two-thirds of them said replacing the old center, built circa 1970, was at least a medium priority. They said they need a place to exercise, swim, play sports and take classes. And 72 percent of respondents said they would visit the right kind of facility at least once a month, with a third of them saying they'd go several times a week.

That's all cause for a new level of excitement in a process that's taken the better part of a decade, said Parks and Recreation Director Roger Thomas. He said the response is indicative of an even stronger need, given that it came in the face of economic challenges the city faces.

"It was really very positive, despite the conditions that we're living in," he said.

Building a new rec center would not be a cheap proposition. Brent Tippets, principal architect at VCBO, said his company has built rec centers for other cities along the Wasatch Front that have ranged from $5 to $23 million. A $20 million conceptual design VCBO came up with for Provo in 2000 would now cost more than twice as much because of skyrocketing construction costs, he said. But nothing is even conceptually drawn out yet this time -- it's all been information gathering so far, he said.

"That is the only part we have actually undertaken at this point," he said. "We plan on having a few of these public meetings as we go through the process."

City Councilman Steve Turley, who applauded the process so far, said it is in fact a fiscally smart move to build a new center. Turley said the city currently spends more than $800,000 a year subsidizing its three existing public recreation facilities: The Provo Recreation Center, the Eldred Senior Center and teen-focused The Center.

"The response is overwhelming," he said. "I think the community wants it, but more importantly, I think the city's budget needs it."

But far from talks of fiscal constraints, Shannon Bingham, a resident of Provo's Timp neighborhood, said she wants a better facility to visit with her two young boys.

"We would use it all the time," she said, especially if there were a running track.

Bingham said location is critical. One of the proposed sites of the new rec center is where the Eldred Center and other city facilities now stand -- a site she says would be perfect because of its proximity to downtown.

"It just seems like the more that's built outside, it just pulls away from the downtown," she said. "I think our community needs it."

Another Provo resident, Howard Stone of the Grandview neighborhood, said he's concerned that city administration would skimp on important amenities because of money issues. He said if Provo can't foot the bill itself, it should talk with neighboring cities such as Springville, Mapleton and Spanish Fork and perhaps develop a regional rec center.

"We don't want to build the bare minimum facilities," he said. "I'm worried that we're going to be chintzy. Our first rec center that we built was outdated in a few years."

Thomas said planners will be reviewing the survey data and coming up with a rough concept that includes cost, location and financing proposals.

• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or at astryker@heraldextra.com.