5.4. SR 05-09-2005
Item 5.4.
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
Pat Klaers, City Adminiiratnr
May 9, 2005 JI j j(Jt.b/I,Y/
DATE:
SUBJECT:
YMCA
Councilmember Gumphrey has volunteered to attend the monthly N orthstar YMCA
Community Board meetings as the City Council representative. Councilmember Gumphrey
is taking the place of Mayor Klinzing at these meetings. Recendy Councilmember Gumphrey
requested to have a discussion on the status of the YMCA project at an upcoming City
Council worksession; and accordingly, this topic is on the agenda for the May 9, 2005
meeting.
It was noted during the April 11, 2005 Council worksession that the YMCA building was not
in the capital improvement program. A brief discussion at that meeting took place regarding
the merits of a community center versus a YMCA and the city's ongoing financial
commitment to either facility. Attached for your information is an April 25, 2005 Pioneer Press
article regarding the annual fmancial impact the Inver Grove community center has on the
city budget.
Bill Helliwell is the Chair of the Northstar YMCA Community Board and will be in
attendance at this meeting to make a brief presentation and to answer questions. Also in
attendance will be Anita Lancello, the YMCA staff member that has been newly appointed
to work on this project.
S:\Council\Pat\2005\ YMCA 050905.doc
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ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS WWW.TWINCITIES.COM
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS
"-11-05
Community center
to be subject of audit
,'.City Council acts to stem its losses
+
BY BRIAN BONNER
Pioneer Press
A top-to-bottom financial
study . of the Inver Grove
Heights community center will
be undertaken, the City Council
decided this week.
The study group will be led
by Jack Skoog; who chairs the
city's advisory parks and recre-
ation commission. Skoog
expects the study to be complet-
ed in July. The task force will
include other commissioners,
top city managers and possibly
a representative from local
Independent School District
199.
"Everything is on the table,
and there's going to be recom-
mendations coming out at the
end about what we need to do
to close the (financial) gap,"
Skoog said Monday. "Every-
thing is fair game. It will be a
complete overview of where the
money's coming from, where
we're successful and where
we're not."
, The 205,Ooo-square-foot cen-
ter, formally known as Veterans
Memorial and The Grove Com-
munity Center, is losing money.
This year, $643,245 is expected
to be transferred from other
city funds to balance the cen-
ter's $2.6 million budget. The
shortfall includes debt service
payments, the last of which end
in 2021.
. Closing the financial gap
could mean adjusting rates for
users or developing new pro-
grams to increase use, particu-
larly during nonpeak hours.
But one such revenue-boost-
ing program, a day care for 65
children, ran into criticism from
some on the five-member City
Council, particularly Vance
"Chip" Grannis ill and Rose-
mary Piekarski-Krech. They
have questioned whether the
city should run a day-care cen-
ter.
Other questions have been
raised about whether the local
$chool district, a heavy user of
the center's pools, locker
rooms, ice rinks and other
amenities, is paying its fair
share.
, The city will review its leas-
es with the school district.
Rather than paying rent, the
school district pays a portion of
the debt service. This year's
iiIstallment was supposed to be
$237,200.
PIONEER PRESS
But because of, state-
imposed restrictions on school
spending, the school district
has not been able to fully meet
its lease obligations this year or
last year.
The two-year shortfall in
school payments will total
$55,000, according to city fig-
ures.
One estimate is that the
school district could be charged
as much as $220,000 more each
year, based on market-rate
prices for the amount of time
and space that students use.
But community center
manager Anne' Wilkins said
that assigning market value is
speculative, because the center
might not be able to find
replacement clients if students
stopped coming.
Additionally, Wilkins said,
the school district helps attract
other clients to the center.
Wilkins said the proper
amount to charge the school
district is part of "what we need
to figure out."
Others in the city have said
they can accept deficit spending
on selected programs.
Piekarski-Krech, for exam-
ple, said that she can live with
financial losses to provide
rental space for senior
citizens and swim lessons to
students.
Given all the questions, com-
peting visions and fuzzy priori-
ties, city officials and residents
welcome the study. ,
"I'm excited to get it done,"
WIlkins said.
"We believe that it will (lead
to consensus) or we wouldn't
waste the time," Skoog said.
Brian Bonner can be reached at
bbonner@pioneerpress.com or
651-228-2173.