Visitors to the Astoria Aquatic Center could see an increase in facilities and programming, as the city’s Parks and Recreation Department aims to expand the complex on Marine Drive.

Jonah Dart-Mclean, the city’s parks and recreation director, and Tyler Lyngstad, recreation manager, presented the expansion plan at a City Council work session on Monday night.

The expansion was included as a target in the city’s 2016 parks master plan. Last year, the City Council voted to approve a contract with Scott Edwards Architecture, a Portland firm, to conduct a feasibility study and come up with a preliminary design.

Dart-Mclean spoke about the history and use of the aquatic center, which was constructed in the 1990s. The facility is used by U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers, the Astoria High School swim team, the Columbia Memorial Hospital physical therapy program and others.

“All use that facility for various purposes,” Dart-Mclean said. “So we really see that that was a tremendous amount of forethought from the community to build this, and we want to find ways to sustain it.”

The preliminary design for the expansion includes the addition of an indoor basketball court adjacent to the building, as well as added office and group fitness space. The parks department also plans to renovate the building, including a roof replacement and upgrades to electrical and HVAC systems.

Lyngstad explained that the gym space is particularly important given the high demand for recreation programs such as basketball. Currently, the parks department leases school gymnasiums for practices and games.

“We’re still finding that that’s not enough space to manage our basketball program,” he said. “We have approximately 40 teams participate in this league, and last year, we were only able to give teams eight games apiece for the season. This year, we’re utilizing Saturdays more, and we’re able to offer 14 games, but it’s still a very tight fit.”

Lyngstad and Dart-Mclean emphasized that the expanded aquatic center could be an economic booster as well as an important component in increasing community well-being.

“Recreation and sports opportunities are not just individual pursuits, they are powerful tools for building healthier and happier communities,” Lyngstad said.

The parks department hopes to finance the expansion — which has an estimated cost of between $6 million and $7 million, including the renovations to the existing building — with a combination of private donations and grants.

City councilors were generally supportive of the plan, though City Councilor Tom Hilton noted his concern with a lack of recreational opportunities for very young children, such as an indoor playground for the winter months.

“I guess for me, that’s the real community need, more so than sports programs,” Hilton said. “The community really needs a place for those parents to let their kids go and play in the wintertime. That’s what I’m hearing from my constituents and people in my neighborhood.”

City Councilor Elisabeth Adams noted that the expansion is in line with several efforts to improve community well-being, such as the Blue Zones initiative.

“I think the appetite is increasing,” she said. “People are ready to continue to come back to those types of programs and programming … I think we need to remember that also this is something that we can continue to trend our community towards, especially with Blue Zones and all of these other groups that are wanting to continue to promote wellness to our community.”

Dart-Mclean, in an email to The Astorian, cautioned that the expansion is in its early stages.

“While we are excited with the prospect of this project and Council’s initial favorable reaction to our presentation, Parks staff understand that we’re poised at the start of a long process that will require a sustained effort for an expansion to take place,” he wrote. “The timing for next steps will depend on City Council’s future deliberations on how to prioritize this endeavor along with the many other important objectives our City has.”