City Council spent some time Wednesday discussing the proposed
indoor recreation center/youth and senior center and appointing a
subcommittee to work with city staff on the project.
City Council spent some time Wednesday discussing the proposed indoor recreation center/youth and senior center and appointing a subcommittee to work with city staff on the project.
Mori Struve, deputy director of public works/operations, told the council that the $26.2 million, 50,000 square-foot project planned for property just east of Community Park,was ready for the schematic design phase.
Some things have changed, he said, since the plans were first approved in January 2002, that could affect cost and planning.
First, the council announced a policy on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDS) – a devotion to ‘green’, environmentally sound buildings – in which it wants new city buildings to reach the ‘gold level.’
“To reach the gold level,” Struve said, “would increase construction costs by about 10 percent.”
Mayor Dennis Kennedy said the LEEDS gold level may be too expensive.
“The gold standard is probably too high,” he said.
The second altering factor is a trip to visit recreation facilities in Colorado taken by some council and staff members.
“We all got some new ideas,” Struve said, “ that may change the building size.” And, hence, add cost.
Council passed up the chance to hear the complete staff report because the In-N-Out Burger discussion went on far longer than planned and the evening was growing late.
According to the report in council’s agenda, additions include a larger lobby, larger locker and family changing room areas, storage and fitness rooms, plus the addition of a multipurpose classroom and a climbing wall. The report reducing the gymnasium by about 2,000 square-feet.
The subcommittee will study the changes with city staff and bring a report back at a later council meeting, probably in late June.
Kennedy appointed Council members Greg Sellers and Hedy Chang to the subcommittee after first clarifying Chang’s earlier concerns with the architectural firm chosen to design the project. Noll and Tam, she had said, has never worked on a project as large as the indoor center.
When Chuck Davis, a noted and experienced architect, was added to the design team Chang changed her mind.
She also suggested at an earlier meeting that the center be moved to a site adjacent to the aquatics center, now in the process on the east side of town. She said she objected because there did not seem to be enough Redevelopment Agency funding left to build the aquatic center – more expensive by several million dollars than planned.
“I’m more comfortable with it now,” Chang said, “because City Manager Tewes found the money (to pay for the aquatic center’s extras) in another place (other than taking it from the indoor center).”
Councilman Steve Tate was concerned with the timeline that had the center coming on line at the end of 2006.
“That’s too long,” he said. “We made a commitment to the youth and seniors of this city and 2006 is just too long to ask them to wait.”
Tate suggested finding a way to speed the process up by a year.
“Let’s get it open,” he said.
Mayor Kennedy agreed.
“It’s time we stay on track and get things done instead of revisiting everything all the time,” he said.
