The clubhouse at Clifford Park is in bad shape, and the city of Auburn, its owner, must do something.

But city leaders are reluctant to pour too much taxpayer money into a building that, ultimately, gets little use over the course of a year. They are asking the residents who are rallying to save the building to take on at least some of the responsibility.

One contractor has estimated the clubhouse needs $80,000 in repairs. Walls are leaning, the roof is in bad shape and the siding needs repairs.

Despite rumors to the contrary, city officials are saying they do not plan to demolish the clubhouse. That's good news, because the clubhouse should stay. It's part of Auburn history, and it has great potential to be a community asset once again.

In fact, the entire park can be so much more than it is right now.

With a tight budget, however, the city is right to look to the private sector to help out with the clubhouse. There appears to be a solid group of residents in that area that could help lead such an effort, but it would be wrong for the city to dump all of the responsibility on them.

The city should be covering some of these costs and applying for grants. It also should help clubhouse boosters by providing a platform for a large community-wide fundraising effort. Finally, city officials should start planning more events for Clifford Park, much like they do with Hoopes Park.

Of all the selling points municipalities can offer to prospective residents and employers, none may be more important than quality of life. Unfortunately, that's not an attribute that can be fixed with one decision or through one line on a budget.

Instead, it takes a community-wide commitment to stay on top of all of those seemingly small items, like parks and clubhouses.