Clovis Rec Center reopens Saturday | The Fresno Bee

Clovis Recreation Center, which was closed for two months because of city budget cuts, is reopening at 10 a.m. Saturday.

The city will mark the reopening with open courts, tournaments, a kick-boxing demonstration and lunch. The center will close for the day at 4 p.m.

A $1 barbecue lunch, sponsored by the Clovis Kiwanis Club, will be provided beginning at 11:30 a.m. Proceeds will go to the recreation center.

“We want to invite the public that has been to the center and invite people who haven’t to see what programs we offer,” said Glen Beatrez, the city’s recreation supervisor.

Clovis recreation programs serve 150,000 to 200,000 people each year. Fundraising and center rental has helped provide the funds to reopen the center and keep it open through December.

But the city still needs to raise $127,000 to keep the center open through June. The city also could opt for an incremental approach but will need to raise $42,300 to keep the center open for each two-month session starting in January.

Of that amount, about $79,000 will need to be donated. Other funding will come from program revenues and court and league rentals.

Funding for the recreation center typically comes from city tax revenue, known as discretionary funding, which also pays for police, firefighters, the city’s senior center, some parks and roads maintenance.

A drop in revenues forced the city to slash its recreation division budget from $877,000 two years ago to $206,200 this year.

To meet the city’s budget constraints, Clovis cut its recreation staff from nine employees two years ago to two employees now.

A tax-deductible fundraising effort is under way through Clovis Community Foundation. A Friends of Clovis Area Recreation committee has been created to generate money and keep recreation programs going.

The city also is exploring formation of a foundation or nonprofit group to fund city recreation programs.