MOSES LAKE - Ice skating lessons, activities and events at the Larson Recreation Center have been canceled following a decision by the Moses Lake City Council to close the building.

The council decided to close the rec center at its Wednesday meeting, citing a challenge to the property tax assessment for REC Silicon, which could leave the city with a $1.3 million budget shortfall. The council closed the ice rink next door to the center and the BMX track as well as the center itself.

The closure will eliminate after-school programs at the rec center, including the computer and game room known as the loft, said Lori Moholt-Phillips, city recreation superintendent. The rec center employed one person full-time, as well as some part-time workers.

The Halloween carnival scheduled for Saturday was canceled, Moholt-Phillips said. The city doesn't own a gym or community center, so there's not an alternative site for events, she said.

Parents who registered their children for ice skating lessons will receive a refund, she said. Ice hockey drop-in games have been canceled, she said. The rec center had birthday party packages and ice rink rental, but they will not be available, she said.

As of Monday, two hockey tournaments scheduled for the rink, but sponsored by the Moses Lake Hockey Association, have been canceled. The youth and adult ice hockey teams used the rink but have their own sponsoring organization.

The BMX track will close after the race Saturday, Moholt-Phillips said.

A New Year party scheduled for December was canceled, she said, and so has the annual "Nickel Night," scheduled for February.

The opening reception for a new art show at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center in early December will continue as scheduled, she said. But "the Holiday Show is no longer," Moholt-Phillips said. The silent auction that's usually part of the show will continue as scheduled, and there might be activities for children that evening, but maybe not, she said.

Recreation programs that charge a fee (activities like kickboxing, tai chi and tennis) pay for themselves as they go and won't be affected, Moholt-Phillips said.