HOBART | The cost to fix up the flood ravaged Hobart Community Center could be up to $100,000, said John Durr, interim park superintendent.

That amount doesn't include the approximately $3,000 in revenue the city is losing on booked events there that had to be canceled, Durr said.

The center, at 111 E. Old Ridge Road, was closed in mid-September after the building was filled with 18-inches of rain from the flooding that engulfed parts of downtown Hobart.

"The building had to be gutted on the inside so we could spray for the bacteria inside," he said.

In the interim, the Hobart Park Department's office, formerly housed in the center, moved across the street to the annex office.

Some activities for seniors, including a daily lunch, also have been temporarily moved to the annex office, Durr said.

"We're getting by," he added.

He and Mayor Brian Snedecor will meet with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials on Monday to discuss possible reimbursement of damages.

Those damages include staff work hours and cleanup.

"We had to document everything," Durr said.

He estimates it will be approximately four to six weeks, once a contractor is chosen, before the center will reopen.

The city received three bids, only two of which were union, and have since received two more.

City insurance will not reimburse Hobart because the center is in a flood plain, Durr said.

City Councilmember Monica Wiley, a liaison to the Parks Department, said she would like to see the center demolished and a new one built in its place.

That's the sentiment she's receiving from a number of her constituents, particularly seniors who regularly use the building.

She envisions the city using a local grant earmarked for seniors then building a new center with a larger rental hall, offices, a full kitchen and wrap-around porch.

"The majority of the seniors I've spoken to are disappointed that a new center won't be built," she said.

The center, built sometime in the 1960s, was a former Isaac Walton League facility, Durr said.

He doesn't see a new center being built at that same location.

"I wouldn't want to see it built there since it's in a flood plain," he said.