It concerns me that we are planning to spend such a huge amount of money for a recreation center in town. Although I do think a year-round pool would be great for the kids and the adults who want to swim all year, a giant complex seems a bit frivolous in these days when we should be so carefully planning for the future. With every single last piece of land in Spanish Valley being developed and with more and more families required to commute into town, might we be thinking more toward HOW to get kids to and from a recreation center? We have no bus system, we have no bike path, and currently it requires a huge amount of effort and expense for valley parents to get their kids to and from sports practices, games, and other events. What about when the price of gas goes over $4 and then $5 a gallon, as it will? What about the exhaust from an increasing number of automobiles being driven back and forth to town every day, often more than twice a day?

     I understand that a large amount of effort was made to get the old highway near Arches paved with UDOT dollars (oops, I mean asphalt). I'm sure that biking tourists and a few north-end biking locals will benefit from that…but what about addressing the immediate safety issue of bicycling SOUTH of town‒an issue that has been brought up in this forum and to the county council countless times? Anyone who is trying to reduce their dependence on gasoline is very literally risking their life by trying to commute into town from Spanish Valley, and it certainly isn't safe for children. Now is the time to be forward-thinking and planning for the future of the entire Moab Valley, not just for the people within the city limits.

‒Katie Juenger

Moab