The Cheyenne City Council last week signed off on a pair of projects to improve recreational opportunities in the city.

In one of the moves, the city agreed to spend $.25 million to purchase the BEAST foundation property on Sunflower Road. According to a news release

The BEAST facility will allow Community Recreation & Events to increase its current programs and manage its own space.

“This purchase will give the Recreation team the opportunity to expand current programs, offer new programs, serve the community by having the ability to program seven days a week, and host community events,” said Jason Sanchez, Community Recreation & Events director. “We’ve never owned our own gym space, so this is purchase provides opportunities we wouldn’t have otherwise.”

The council also signed off on a 5.4 million dollar expenditure to build a new gymnastics facility next to the ice and events center.

That's expected to be completed by April 2025.

The reaction on social media was mixed. Some people applauded the moves, saying they will make Cheyenne a better place to live, especially for youth. But the decisions also drew a fair amount of criticism from people who don't think it's the role of government to provide recreation, especially when there are other things the city could be spending money on. ''Could we fix the potholes first?" was one sentiment that arose more than once.

It's not a new debate. Proponents of building a city recreation center have tried several times to get sixth-penny sales tax funding, without success. Even scaled-back versions weren't able to get approved.

Opponents generally feel city government should focus on the basics, such as law enforcement and maintaining city streets. They feel recreation should be up to the individual rather than being funded by the taxpayers.

But supporters often argue that the city provides little for local youth. They also feel that city recreational facilities can be a recruitment tool to help bring new businesses to the city

So what do you think? Should the city spend money on recreation projects? Or should they focus on essentials, like maintaining the streets and public safety?

By the way, here are the results of last week's poll: