Lack of public support and community input has the Ames Parks and Recreation Commission revising the proposed Rec Plex plan again.

Commission member Mark Hagley said most of the input received so far was from citizens interested in using the Rec Plex for competitive means, not necessarily recreational.

“There seems to be a big division between competitive and leisure interests, because if those two groups disagree we won’t get 60 percent [of the voters],” said commission member Mike Hamilton.

Nancy Carroll, director of Ames Parks and Recreation, said the voters who may never use the Rec Plex or only use it occasionally should not be forgotten.

“We can’t forget about the silent tax payer that will never set foot in the facility,” Carroll said.

Ames resident Jim Hallihan said the commission needs to reach more of the general public and visit with Marshalltown and Muscatine because they have similar Rec Plexes.

“What you have to decide is what the most people use most of the time because those are the voters,” Hallihan said. “Somehow, you have to figure out what those people out there want.”

Susan McGeeney, commission vice chairwoman, said it seemed like the public didn’t approve of the last Rec Plex proposal because of the high price tag and of public awareness. Current estimates by the commission indicate the building would cost $15 million in start-up costs and $400,000 to $500,000 in operating costs each year.

“Money is part of it, but also the unanswered questions,” McGeeney said. “We need to keep the public more informed of what is going on.”

Carroll said the next step is asking the Ames City Council to approve retaining RDG Planning and Designing for consultation and outlining what the exact scope of services would include.

“We’re looking for an indicator of what RDG thinks is feasible,” Carroll said. “The matrix will help guide us to that next step to actually define what will be in the Rec Plex.”

Commission member Jeff Johnson said he would like RDG to look at the cost of building the Rec Plex in two or three stages, but McGeeney said that might detract from the goal of the project.

“We might be moving away from the goal of the project if it’s fragmented too much because our goal is to have a ‘plex,'” McGeeney said.