11/06/1995 Park Board Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

and needs in a recreational facility,while enough revenue to cover operating In addition to the typical construction keeping in mind what services other costs. Many cities believe that if their costs, which include construction labor g communities offer and the current user centers generated enough revenue to and materials, furniture and equipment demands unique to the service area. pay 80 percent of operating costs, they budgets must be established and should When voters approved a recent bond would be doing well. include even smaller maintenance items issue to build a recreational complex in Building a project cost model. Early like vacuum cleaners and trash recepta- Missouri, planners axed the idea of car- and definitive understanding of all cles.Signage and artwork should also be diovascular and free-weight areas potential project costs is crucial. The considered at this early stage. because a local YMCA had recently project cost model should be the bud- Other costs, known as the"soft costs" upgraded similar facilities. But because get blueprint and reference point for the (architectural and engineering design j the demand for ice time in the region project as it moves forward.A common fees, specialty consultant fees, permits, was high,they included an ice rink even tactical error is evaluating only the con- environmental remediation, surveys and though a nearby recreational complex struction costs rather than the entire start-up funds), must also be built into also offered a rink. cost of the project. This can cause sig- the budget model. nificant embarassment later in the proj- Creating a design and construction j ect,and can even jeopardize it. implementation plan.Integral with con- A common tactical error is evaluating only the constructionfell ' costs rather than " the entire cost of the project. • Bond issue strategists must always keep in mind that the issue at hand is passing a bond issue—not designing a building. A common mistake made by clients and consultants during this early stage is the urge to design the building and show renderings. This can be a deadly tactical error because the sell campaign can be half lost before it begins, based upon the potential early bias of people without complete infor mation. Rather than drawings, use a list of activities and a program mix to show- • _ case a potential new facility. Operations planning — under- standing the "business" aspects. A paradigm shift has occurred during the • last few years in community-based facil- ities. Since most communities are on tight budgets, new facilities and ser- vices are expected to do more than just service the community— they must move toward making enough money to become self-sufficient and operate at a profit just as a traditional business would. The public will be asking ques- tions such as: When will the facility be �" able to generate revenue? How much will it take to start up the facility? How , a ' }o 3 much will it cost to run the facility? 4 r What are the proposed fees for the users?Consultants and community spe cial interest groups must be prepared I `� g P P P -~•� to provide the answers. t Traditionally, many parks and recre- ational facilities have operated at a loss, WYY1 and only a carefully planned and varied optimum program mix complemented by a well-designed center will bring in Circle 28 on Reply Card August 1995 ATHLETIC BUSINESS 39