2014.11.12 Parks Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Local impact Thanks to favorable bond bids and an interest rating of 2.74 percent, the city's bond repayments will be lower than expected. At $600,835 a year, the city is projected to save $400,000 over the 20 -year bond repayment period from its initial estimates, not including benefits from refinancing or early repayment. Taxpayers won't see a big difference, however; the savings will cost the owner of a median value Forest Lake home (currently around $203,000) about $63 a year, as opposed to the previously estimated $66. Since the YMCA, not the city, will own the building and the property, the city will incur no operating costs, though some critics of the plan felt that the city would be in a better position by owning its own community center. In addition to the facility, which has yet to enter the design phase but is expected to be modeled on the Elk River YMCA, the organization will provide each household in Forest Lake with six family passes annually. In addition, there will be community rooms open for area events, as well as dedicated time for non-member use of the gym, splash pad and other areas. YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities CEO Glen Gunderson said the Y's development agreement with the city allows for a bit more widespread community use of the facility than in other cities, but he added that the Y always seeks to go beyond the agreements to serve residents. "There's a very strong appetite (for this locally), which I think makes us particularly excited," he said. "This is a community that I think really deserves a project like this." The city has left the opportunity open for neighboring cities to help fund the public share of the facility in exchange for similar benefits to the ones Forest Lake residents are entitled to in the development agreement. In previous meetings, YMCA officials estimated that the facility would employ about 200 people, 30 of them full time, with a payroll of approximately $2 million. YMCA plans Gunderson said that the YMCA approved the building of the facility during its Oct. 1 board meeting. Now, he said, "We'll spend the next three to four weeks developing our overall project timeline." After the timeline is developed, the design and architectural work on the project is expected to take about six months, followed by nine to 12 months of construction. Gunderson said residents should expect ground to be broken on the land west of the Washington County Government Services Center between late May and early July next year, with an opening date in the summer of 2016. Throughout the design and construction process, he said, the Y plans on establishing "milestones of communication" — points in the process when the organization will share with residents the progress toward the facility's completion. Gunderson said construction should not hinder access to the service center and added that the organization has heard a lot of positive feedback about the facility from residents. "I think the Y will be really well -situated there," he said. "It feels great because you have such strong interest and community support, and you have a location that seems well -situated for the community to easily access it." During the Oct. 7 City Council meeting, Councilman Ben Winnick predicted that some in town who are opposed to the YMCA might sue the city over the bond approval, mentioning that he felt the YMCA should know about the possibility. In a previous meeting, Winnick expressed his disapproval for the city moving forward with a bond sale that doesn't require a referendum, predicting that the new City Council in 2015 would overturn the sale in some way. Gunderson declined to comment on those possibilities and how they would affect the Y's decision making process, though he mentioned that the possibility of a city bond default did not seem likely to the organization. Since no such lawsuits or bond rescinding have occurred, he said, the YMCA is proceeding with its plans normally. "Our intention is to (go) forward with the facility," he said.