The Steamboat Springs City Council is expected to decide tonight how to word ballot language for a possible new recreation center. What remains to be seen is whether the council will go to voters for a rec facility at Ski Town Fields or for expanded facilities at both Howelsen Hill and Old Town Hot Springs.

City Manager Alan Lanning will present the council with options for the wording of the ballot measure.

"I'm just going to have two sets of language," Lanning said. "One for the combined facility and one for separate facilities."

The estimated costs for the two proposals are similar. A new indoor recreation center at Ski Town Fields would cost an estimated $34 million. Expanding the facilities at Howelsen Hill and Old Town Hot Springs would cost about $37 million.

The City Council voted 3-2 last month to put the consolidated Ski Town Fields recreation center on the November ballot. But that resolution was put into question last week when, at the request of Lanning, the council saw a presentation by recreation consultant Chuck Musgrave of Denver-based Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture, who discussed options for maintaining and expanding separate facilities.

City Council President Susan Dellinger and councilmen Steve Ivancie and Loui Antonucci voted in favor of the consolidated facility last month. Councilman Paul Strong was absent, and Councilman Ken Brenner abstained because of his business affiliation with Old Town Hot Springs.

Whichever direction the council decides to go, Lanning said he expects the ballot issue's language to be finalized tonight. Dellinger said she hopes the ballot language will plainly state what the up-front and ongoing costs will be for the city.

"I hope we come out with something that's clear for the community to understand," Dellinger said.

If no action is taken on the issue tonight, City Council will have one more opportunity to adopt ballot language at its Sept. 4 meeting. City Clerk Julie Jordan has told the council that the ballot must be certified by Sept. 7.