Civic center closure tabled by Rock Springs City Council

ROCK SPRINGS –- Rock Springs City Hall was crammed with concerned residents prepared to voice their opposition to the Rock Springs Civic Center’s closure Tuesday, May 6, during the Rock Springs City Council meeting.

After a lengthy discussion about the facility between community members and local officials, the council decided to table the resolution to close the civic center until the May 16 meeting.

According to Parks and Recreation Director JJ Syvrud, the total cost to renovate and repair the civic center is about $15 million to $25.9 million. During an April 16 town hall meeting regarding the civic center, Syvrud said if the city chooses to keep the facility open, it will need to be shut down for two years to complete renovations.

Emotionally charged conversation

During the meeting, Rock Springs Mayor Max Mickelson said the three immediate needs for the civic center are roof replacement, the fire alarm system and mold mitigation.

The Abandoned Mine Lands program representatives conducted an assessment and confirmed that the maximum amount it will award to the city for subsidence damage is $275,000. The city hired a firm from Cheyenne to not only do a structural evaluation but also a systems evaluation so that the city knows specifically what needs to be fixed.

Raising an objection to the civic center’s closure, Rock Springs resident Jack Weimer asked council what the plan is if the city decides to close the civic center. He also expressed his concern about maintenance needs, even if the facility closes.

Another issue Weimer brought up is whether the Family Recreation Center can handle the additional work and the influx of patrons. He urged the council to table the resolution to close the center.

“We need to know what’s going on and what the plan for the building is once it’s closed.”

His final thought was there is “a lot of misinformation” from both sides.

“We need to tone that down,” Weimer said. “We need to get some good, reliable, factual data, not only on pricing but on what actually needs to be done.”

Noise erupted in city chambers as Councilman Larry Hickerson asked Weimer where the money for this would come from. Weimer suggested keeping the civic center open because it would take “an astronomical amount of money to re-open it.”

Mickelson told Weimer the department’s budget went down by $750,000. Closing the civic center would save the city about $300,000 in annual operating costs.

Attendees applauded as Weimer revealed 850 people signed the petition to keep the civic center open.

‘Spray it with Clorox’

Lifelong resident Kenneth Bucho has been going to the civic center three times a week since 2004. He told council members they’re overreacting about the mold issues.

He compared the civic center to the old senior citizen center on Pilot Butte Avenue. He said as soon as the people were moved to the new senior center, the city allowed children to move into the old one with existing mold problems.

“This is Rock Springs — one of the driest communities in the United States,” Bucho said, noting millions of dollars of mitigation isn’t necessary. “You spray it with Clorox, and it’s gone.”

Bucho asked why there isn’t money for roof repairs since “somebody found money to put that concrete down behind Albertsons and around Bitter Creek.” He blamed city officials for not “looking around” for options.

“But you guys got your minds made up,” Bucho said. “You want to close it.”

The Union Pacific Coal Company’s Old Timer Building is the original part of the civic center, but it is not on The National Register of Historic Places, so the city’s grant agency is only able to award the city $30,000, Mickelson said. He also explained to Bucho that the work done behind Albertson’s was due to a “one-time award that was handed out to communities that was not regulated the same way that other AML funds are.”

Bucho accused the city of wasting money on the train depot in downtown as well as Bunning Hall and the old First Security Bank, which he referred to as “the white elephant.”

Councilman Rob Zotti pointed out that the money for Bunning Hall and the train depot came from a State Loan and Investment Board grant. Zotti also explained there are certain qualifications one needs to complete an application for the funding. He added the city has made “many, many attempts” to secure funding for facilities with the AML for 20 years, but “it has been a struggle.”

‘A void in this community’

Former Councilman Stephen P. Allen asked the council what it will do for its legacy moving forward.

He acknowledged the city is down $300,000 due to the 25% property tax reduction. He also noted in every category of the preliminary budget report, the civic center is listed as fourth on the list. Based on the preliminary budget, he said, the city in 2024 budgeted from $1.8 million to $3.1 million for parks; $2.3 million to $3.3 million for the golf course; $2.7 million to $3.3. million for indoor recreation and the city increased the budget for the civic center by $200,000.

Allen suggests that $500,000 be set aside for capital improvements to the civic center.

“The debate is the plan,” Allen said, urging the council to kill the resolution and develop a task force to create a plan.

Councilman Eric Bingham said the civic center closure resolution instructs staff to look for funding and opportunities.

“It’s easy to get left behind when we’re moving on,” Allen said. “We close it, we create a void in this community.”

Undefined ideas

Councilor Rick Milonas was quick to make a motion to table the resolution.

During the council’s discussion on the resolution, he spoke about the deaths of miners from 1869–1929, noting there’s a lot of history with the building.

“It’s a national monument, a tribute to all the blood, sweat and tears and the lives of Sweetwater County,” Milonas said. “My grandfather was killed in a coal mine, so that building has a little significance to me.”

He said it would be “a travesty to our ancestors” to close it.

Zotti told Milonas that through email communication over the past few weeks, Milonas claimed to “know several ways to save money and to cut the budget.” He told Milonas the city is in a “time of need” but hadn’t heard back from Milonas regarding his ideas on how the city can save money.

Avoiding the question, Milonas expressed his disbelief that the city is running at 110% efficiency, and he’s sure they could find “some waste.”

Zotti concluded Milonas does not know how the city can save money.

Milonas insisted he know of “ways.” Zotti, along with a few attendees, asked him what are “the ways” he speaks of. Rather than responding, he told Zotti he wasn’t prepared “to do this” during the meeting.

“We’re trying to do what we can to save the civic center,” Zotti told Milonas. “If there’s some information out there that’s not being presented, I think it’s doing a huge disservice to council and the community.”

Milonas said he wanted to table the resolution since he wanted to make a few evaluations.

“So, we don’t have an idea,” Zotti said.

Milonas kept asserting he has “all kinds of ideas” but was not willing to share those ideas during the meeting. The Rocket Miner reached out to Milonas via email regarding his ideas but received no response by press time.

Mickelson said if the civic center closes as a recreational facility, his intent is to find a way to preserve the Union Pacific Coal building and turn it into an events space for the community.

“You’ve got two weeks to get us a plan,” Mickelson said. “I’m literally asking for a life preserver.”

This story was published on May 10, 2025.