Morgan Hill
’s Aquatic Center did not have an easy path to reality.
Community- and some council members fought it every step of the
way, for its high cost, limited appeal and future drain on city
coffers. But the center’s backers put up a heroic fight and
prevailed.
Morgan Hill’s Aquatic Center did not have an easy path to reality. Community- and some council members fought it every step of the way, for its high cost, limited appeal and future drain on city coffers. But the center’s backers put up a heroic fight and prevailed.
Mayor Dennis Kennedy – a daily swimmer – had pursued his dream center for years, backed up by the wide and deep aquatics community.
When Councilman Larry Carr, another recreational swimmer and water polo player, joined the council in 2000, Kennedy had a second vote and voice, heard when council distributed the $147 million in Redevelopment Agency funds available for capital projects. The aquatics center came in second, after the community and cultural center that cost $21 million and was finished in December 2002.
While RDA money could build the center, under state redevelopment agency laws, it could not pay for maintenance and operation. The city hired Sports Management Group to assist city staff with determining the proper fee schedules and recreation offerings to make the center as close to self-supporting as possible.
Lauren Livingston of SMG, in February 2003, took the council through the projected revenue/cost estimations for operating the center’s facilities to show how large a subsidy it would need to provide until the center became entirely self-supporting, if it does.
Based on nine months of operation, the subsidy would be $154,000; on 12-month operation, $276,000 annually in the third year.
Councilman Steve Tate preferred to delay the center for a year.
“Then we can begin to lose money one year later,” he said.
Tate had been against the center from the beginning, wanting to delay construction until it could pay for its own operations costs. He also objected to the project being given “fast track status” in the planning department, allowing it to jump ahead of all other projects seeking plan checks.
Fast track, Kennedy said, was necessary to get the center finished by June 1 to take advantage of the entire money-making season.
In order to lower operation costs (electric bills), the council intended the center to be as “green” as possible though, as planning progressed, several green components were removed to lower the initial costs.
Resident Mark Grzan opposed the center’s broad concept.
“What started out as an aquatics center for Morgan Hill has grown into a regional center at a cost of $12.5 (now $12.9) million,” said Grzan. “I believe this … exceeds the … wishes of the community and what it can afford.”
Grzan also said that Gilroy loves this because Morgan Hill is, in effect, building an aquatic center for its citizens. Gilroy residents and other non-Morgan Hill residents will have to pay slightly higher fees than Morgan Hill’s.
Financing the construction costs of city-owned facilities is always an issue, but some good citizens appeared to contribute. Developer Robert Eves, CEO of Venture Corp., donated $750,000, the cost of a piece of land, he said, in his Morgan Hill Business Ranch originally destined as an aquatics center. Eves said Kennedy had spoken to him about an aquatics center with such enthusiasm for so many years it was hard to ignore.
“Clearly, he thought an aquatics center would be good for the community,” Eves said recently.
Other sponsors include Wells Fargo Bank, the Alcini family, Holiday Inn Express, Best Western Country Inn and the Inn at Morgan Hill.
Not content for the city to provide a swim center by itself, the Morgan Hill Aquatics Foundation was set up to round up funding and to keep, at least, the competition segment of the center operating when the aquatic community needs it.
The aquatics center is half of an eventual $32 million (in 2002 dollars without land purchase costs) 36-acre sports complex that will eventually include the soccer fields, baseball and softball fields. The city purchased the soccer complex property in 2002 for $7.65 million, payable over three years. They have a “ground lease” on the aquatic center land with an option to buy for $1.61 million, according to Garrett Toy, director of city business assistance .
No RDA money is available for the sports field part because the council decided to build a $26 million indoor recreation center with another swimming pool. That facility will also include a senior center (replacing the current senior center on Crest Avenue) and a youth center, augmenting El Toro Youth Center and the YMCA.
An additional $5 million from RDA funds has been reserved for more intellectual and educational pursuits – a new library building, if sufficient funding can be found.
Food and drink concession will be handled in-house. Council had asked for private bids and received two. It asked Profitable Food Facilities to review the two bids and advise which, if any, would be best or, if the city should undertake the project.
PFF’s consultant Mike Holtzman said neither of the private bids would do as well for the city as it could do for itself. He then offered to help them set up operations for a cost of $10,000 or less; his offer was accepted at the March 24 council meeting without public discussion.
