The future of a proposed renovation and expansion project at the Carroll Rec Center remains murky after the city council failed to reach a consensus on how to proceed with funding sources. The city received bids last week that were more than a million dollars over the originally estimated $6.7 million construction cost with the the lowest base bid at $7.69 million. At last night’s (Monday) budget work session, City Manager, Mike Pogge-Weaver, outlined the options available to the council. They can leave the Rec Center unchanged, scale it back and rebid, or proceed using value engineering to potentially cut costs. While all council members agree upgrades to the HVAC system and locker rooms need to happen, they were unable to reach a clear four-vote majority needed to pass a resolution on the issue next week. At-Large Councilwoman, JJ Schreck, says it will be difficult to support a project with bids so much higher than anticipated.
Ward One Councilman, Tom Bordenaro, and Ward Three Councilman, Kyle Bauer, agree with Schreck and suggest there are more prudent uses for taxpayer funds than at the Rec Center. According to Parks and Rec Director, Chad Tiemeyer, the HVAC system needs to be overhauled and a raised walking track is the most requested amenity from patrons. However, an additional gymnasium is needed to make the walking track feasible. Ward Four Councilwoman, Carolyn Siemann, says simply doing upkeep and adding a few amenities is not enough for the community in the long run.
A half-dozen residents provided their input during the work session, and all who spoke were in favor of the council moving forward with the full project. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Kimberly Tiefenthaler, says a quality Rec Center helps set communities like Carroll apart from their peers.
If the council were to exclude work on the west side of the fitness room, there would be an approximately $708,000 shortfall for the project. About 90 percent of the project will be funded through Local Option Sales Tax (L.O.S.T.) proceeds, and At-Large Councilman, Lavern Dirkx, suggests they divert LOST funds from planned projects in future budget years to the Rec Center.
Bordenaro says he is not opposed to work at the Rec Center, but it will be difficult for him to support spending that much money when they have millions of dollars in road reconstruction coming down the pike, including the planned work on Adams Street where special assessments to property owners were briefly considered as a funding avenue. According to Mayor, Mark Beardmore, and Pogge-Weaver, the council needs to be ready to vote by next week.
City officials will likely make a final determination at next week’s meeting, but it is possible it could be delayed to later this month. The council is tentatively scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 maximum property tax levy at the Feb. 28 meeting with the public hearing on the full FY23 budget slated for March. The deadline for cities to submit documentation to the Iowa Department of Management is March 31.
