4.0. SR 11-25-2002MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Mayor and City Council
Pat Klaers, City Adminis~r ..~ r
November 25, 2002
YMCA Proposal
Item 4.
A joint meeting of the City Council and the Shcrbume County Board of Commissioners is
scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Monday, November 25, 2002. The subject of this meeting is the
YMCA project. The county staff and YMCA representatives will be making a presentation.
The County Board is the main decision making body with this project, as the project moving
ahead at this time depends on county funding. The proposal involves the YMCA taking the
lead in thc project and the county contracting with the YMCA for services and programs at a
set dollar amount per year.
Attached for your information are some recent StarNew; articles on thc YMCA proposal.
These articles accurately rcflect what has been recendy happening with this project. Also,
attached is an editorial from Star News editor Jim Boyle, a preliminary program/cost
estimate for the YMCA building project, and a conceptual site plan.
S~ Coundl/ Pat/ YMC~ ! ! 2502
Elk River
· Dayton
· Otsego
· Ramsey
· ROgers
· Zimmerman ........ , ........ ...... .., ......... ' '- .._
Plan to build YMCA proposed
Sheriff suggests jail revenues could help pay off bonds to buy 10 acres of land, build Y
Chad Lanners (far right) of the YMCA spoke to.Sherburne
County commissioners at left as Sheriff Bruce Anderson
and Mayor stephanie Klinzing listened. (Photo by Jim Boyle)
by Joni Astrup
Associate editor
Sherburne County Sheriff
Bruce Anderson has pro-
posed ~ plan to finance and
build a YMCA in Elk River.
He envisions Sherburne
County partnering with the
city of Elk River to make
the YMCA a reality, with
the county putting jail prof-
its into the deal.'
He would like to see the Y
built on 10 acres of land
along Highway 10 just west
of the Sherburne County
Government Center. The
parcel is owned by the
Wilson family.
The sheriff presented his
ideas to the Sherburne
· The Center for Community
Committee makes recommenda-
tion to use Handke.- page 2.
County Board of
Commissioners last week.
"I think the time is now,"
he told the board. "The com-
munity is growing. The
county is growing. Land is
at a premium and hard .to
get."
With him in support of the
plan were Elk River Mayor
Stephanie Klinzing,
Sherburne County Social
Services Director Ken Ebel
and Chad Lanners of the
YMCA.
The next step will be for
county commissioners and
the Elk River City Council
to meet together to discuss
the matter.
Commissioners appear
supportive of the idea.
"This is just downright
exciting," Commissioner
Betsy Wergin of Baldwin
Township said.
Commissioner Arne
Engstrom of Elk River
said: "The Y has been doing
this for 150 years and
they've come out in the
black. They know the game
better than anyone in
town. We don't'want to
YMCA continued to page 15
YMcA: The organization is
Continued from page 1
experiment on our kids ...
Let's do it."
While details are still pre-
liminary, here's how the
county's involvement in the.
plan could work:
· Bonds could be sold to buy
the land and finance the
YMCA building. Profits from
housing federal prisoners at
the county jail in Elk Rivet'
could be used to make the
bond payments until the
YMCA is on its feet.
· In return for putting
nroney into the project, the
county's approximately 500
employees could receive
discounted Y memberships.
Because of that wellness
program for' employees,
Anderson estimates the
county could save signifi-
cantly on its health insur-
. ance premium.
The county and its
elnployees paid $2.2 mil-
lion in health insurance
premiums in 2002, accord-
ing to Roxanne
Chmielewski, county
human resources director.
still going strong, after 151 years
'The location that
the Sheriff is talk~
lng about is an
excellent location
for the YMCA.'
-Mayor Stephanie Klinzing
oners at the county jail in
Elk River have been higher
than anticipated and are
expected to continue to rose.
The county is under, con-
tract to house 162 federal
inmates at $75 each per
day. Anderson said they
have been running at about
220 to 230 inmates, and
federal officials are inter-
ested in sending even nmre
prisoners to the jail.
At full capacity, the jail
'can hold 536 inmates.
The YMCA, meanwhile,
has been considering two
city-owned sites for a Y in
Elk River.
One is about five acres by
the water tower near Lake
That is going up 31 percent
in January, partly due to
utilization, she said.
"If we can hold down costs,
which proactive wellness
programs tend to do, then
we can keep premiums
down, keep down the cost to
employees and the cost to
the taxpayers," she said.
The sheriff's department
has a fitness room for its
employees, but is running
out of room, Anderson said.
And, other county employ-
ees do. not have access to
that fitness room.
Anderson said he has been
approached by his staff
about building a fitness
facility on the government
center site.
"I thought, 'What better
way of maybe doing this is
to team up with the YMCA
and put up a building
somewhere close to this
government center where it
benefits not only the coun-
ty, but the community, the
city of Elk River and county
residents.'"
Anderson said revenues
fi~om housing federal pris-
Orono. "There's SOlne con-
cern about whether or not
it's large enough." Mayor'
Stephanie Klinzing said.
The other site is in eastern
Elk River, just south of
Home Depot.
K]inzing said in talking to
council members and city
staff about the Wilson land.
"the location that the sheriff
is talking about is an excel-
lent location for the YMCA."
She said when the YMCA
first approached the city
about a partnership, the city
knew it had land available.
"The partnership to begin
with was exactly the land,"
Klinzing said. "We under-
stand, though, that with
the sheriff's proposal, that
that might change."
She said a local YMCA
wonld be a great thing fro'
the city and county.
The YMCA has been
around for 151 years and,
she said, "they know what
they're doing."
('Staff writer Susan M.A.
Larson contributed to this
report.)
Elk River, MN 55330
· Vol. 127, No. 47 - 75¢ ·
· 763-441-3500 ·
www. erstarnews.com
· November 20, 2002
City, county will discuss
YMCA proposal Nov. 25
by Joni Astrup Board begins at 6 p.m. at are expected to discuss the
Associate editor Elk River City Hall. proposal in more detail
City and county officials Sherburne County Sheriff during the Nov. 25 meeting.
will meet Monday, Nov. 25,
to discuss the possibility of
building a YMCA in Elk
River.
The meeting between the
Elk River City Council and
she Sherburne County
Bruce Anderson had earlier
proposed a plan to partner
with the city of Elk River to
build a ¥, with the county
putting jail profits into the
deal.
City and county officials
Meanwhile. at a YMCA
Committee meeting
Thursday, tentative plans
for the facility were shown.
The estimated project
YMCA cont'd to page 15
Gym/ '
fie dhouse
Fitness
(2nd level)
This is the conceptual site plan for the proposed YMCA.
· Wednesday, November 20, 2002/Elk River Star News / 15
YMCA:
Continued from page 1
cost, excluding land, is
$13.365,000.
"That number could go up
or down, according to what
is affordable as well as
what goes into the build-
ing,'' said Chad Lanners of
the YMCA.
While still subject to
change, here's how space in
the facility could shake out:
· Fitness: 30,000 square
feet. This could include a
full gyroJfieldhouse, fitness
center, track, aerobics
rooms and kids' gym.
· Aquatics: 16,000 square
feet. This could include an
indoor lap pool, leisure
pool, slide, whirlpool and
sauna as well as an outdoor
youth pool with water fea-
tures.
"We would like to go with
both (indoor and outdoor
aquatic facilities), however
it's still conceptual,"
Lanners said. "We think it
would be effective. It would
be the first one of any of the
Minneapolis association
YMCAs to have an outdoor
pool so we're looking at the
pros and cons of it."
· Public space: 8,000
square feet. This could
include things such as a
Preliminary plans shown
family lounge, community
multi-purpose meeting
room and teen center.
· Locker rooms: 5,500
square feet.
· Building support spaces:
4,700 square feet.
· Administrative offices:
2,200 square feet.
Other options not includ-
ed in preliminary plans at
this point include
arts/crafts studios, special-
ized classrooms, an audito-
rium and a daycare.
The Y would need an esti-
mated 11.5 acres of land,
according to prelimin, ary
estimates.
The' sheriff's preferred
site for the Y is just west of
the Sherburne County
Government Center, off
Highway 10 in western Elk
River.
Anderson has proposed
using profits from housing
federal prisoners in the
county jail to help build a .Y.
Sherburne County ~s
under contract to house
162 federal, inmates at $75
each per day. The county
has been housing about 220
to 230 federal inmates and
federal officials have
expressed interest in send-
ing even more prisoners to
the jail.
County YMCA proposal
should move forward
The Sherburne County Board of help kids and save tax dollars.
Commissioners - with the help of The city of Elk River is also an
the city of Elk River and YMCA interested partner in this project.
Metropolitan of Minneapolis -- Elk River officials had previously
appears ready to step boldly into expressed a willingness to provide
uncharted waters with a proposal land and maybe even some money
from Sheriff Bruce Anderson to
fund construction of a YMCA for
the benefit of government employ-
ees and the residents who live
here.
They will be asked to jump start a
YMCA project with jail revenue
that flows into the county from the
federal governlnent.
County officials should embrace
this opportunity and city officials
from Elk River should be ready to
redirect their energy to help land
the YMCA quicker than first
thought possible.
This decision will be popular with
residents of the county, because
local property taxes will not have
to shoulder the expense of this
colnmunity facility.
And while an entire colunm could
be dedicated to the virtues of hav-
ing a YMCA located in Sherburne
County, county COlnmissioners and
city council members already seem
well aware of the benefits a Y could
bring. The general public also holds
the YMCA in high regard.
Elected officials need to stay
focused on the financial wisdom of
decisions they will be
asked to make as
early as Nov. 25 at
Elk River City Hall.
Using jail revenue
to pay off bonds for a
YMCA keeps the
county in line with its
current policy and
practice of tackling
capital projects with
excess jail revenue.
It's critical that
Sherburne County stays away from
adding programs and staff that
could someday outStrip revenue
and lead to budgetary mouse traps
tbr future county commissions.
Helping finance the construction
of a YMCA will no doubt start a
flurry of other capital funding
requests, but the county can take
time to flesh out a reasonable poli-
cy that spells out criteria under
which county funds could be
received.
The sheriff's proposal, quite hon-
estly, is head and shoulders above
any of the foreseeable requests,
because it will help save county tax
dollars in a variety of areas.
The rising cost of health insur-
ance is one issue it will temper.
Premiums for the county are going
up 31 percent in January. By locat-
ing a YMCA next door to the 500-
some employee government center
and expanding its wellness pro-
grams, health care costs will come
down as will insurance premiums.
Out-of-home placements are also
a drain on the Sherburne County
Social Services budget. This has
been a thorn in Sherburne
County's side for years. YMCAs
have a history of working success-
fully with county social services,
the courts, law enforcement and
other agencies and organizations
to help get kids and families back
on track.
The YMCA has already secured a
$32,000 collaborative grant to
work with families with children
at-risk of out'of-home placement.
They will be running family camps
offering therapy, age-appropriate
skill development, team building
and family building.
An effort is also underway to run
a behavior modification program
called National Youth Project. This
program uses mini-bikes as incen-
tives to help youth set goals relat-
ed to avoiding police contact, not
getting suspended and maintain-
lng a C-average in school.
These programs ~ proven to
'A YMCA could
be the most dra-
matic example of
the benefit (of
housing federal
inmates).'
for operating
expenses.
They are now
tasked with find-
ing a new way to
express their
support, finan-
cially.
And finally, the
timing for 'this
project is right Jim I~oyle
with interest
rates at record
lows.
Obviously, there are other ways to
land a YMCA, and there are other
ways for Sherburne County to
spend excess jail revenue.
Some have suggested offering an
across-the-board reduction in the
county's levy. While this may pro-
duce short-term results, in the end
county official~ and taxpayers will
have nothing to show for this
approach. Reductions in the levy
will only lead to a further expan-
sion of lJrograms and staffing that
will eventually become too expen-
sive and fall victim to a budget
knife.
A county main-
tenance facility
and land the
county purchased
with jail revenue
will serve forever
as a reminder of
the benefits of the
county's partner-
ship with the fed-
eral government.
A YMCA could be
the most dramatic
example of the benefit.
The opportunity to take on more
inmates and more revenue
without expanding the jail facility
is helping drive this venture. In
order to take on more inmates,
SheriffAnderson proposes to trans-
form the current fitness area used
by his police force into a clinic for
inmates with the capability to offer
telemedicine.
This innovative approach would
create further efficiencies in the
operations of the jail by reducing
the number of inmates who get
transported to hospitals overnight
for observation. These inmates
could be carefully watched right at
the Sherburne County Jail, with-
out an added expense.
Taking over the current fitness
center, and embarking on a part-
nership with the YMCA would
allow for greater strength and con-
ditioning of law enforcement offi-
cials assigned to protecting our
safety. There would be trainers at
the Y to help them maximize their
training regimen.
All other county employees would
have access to the same low-cost
memberships to the YMCA. This
would be a tremendous employee
benefit for decades to come.
Locating the facility next to the
government center would also pro-
vide a tremendous source of eco-
nomic development to the city of
Elk River and the county. Not only
would the Y have a great number
of job opportunities, it would also
be very attractive to businesses
considering a move to adjacent
business park property.
And finally, all the residents
throughout the county -- young
and old alike -- would have access
to a beautiful facility with all the
YMCA has to offer.
YMCAs are in the business of
building strong kids, strong fami-
lies and strong communities.
Officials should seize the opportu-
nity to make a very exciting pro-
posal a reality.
BUILDING ROGRAM
PUBLIC SPACES
Member Services
Family Lounge
Conmnunity Mtflti-Purpose Meeting Room
Teen Center
Ctfild Watch
Lobby
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
FITNESS
Full Gym/Field I louse
Kid's Gym
Fimess Center
Track
Aerobics (2)
AQUATICS
Inside Lap Pool, Leisure Pool, Slide, \Vhirlpool & Sauna
Outside Youth Pool with Water Features
LOCKER ROOMS
Male
Female
Family (10)
BUILDING SUPPORT SPACES
USABLE SQUARE FEET
12,500
2,500
6,500
4,500
4,000
12,000
4,000
PROJECT GROSS SQUARE FEET (G.S.F.)
G.$.F. = L15.x' Usable $.F.
USAnLE S.E
8,000
2,200
30,000
16,000
5,500
4,700
66,400
76,360
OTHER OPTIONAL SPACES NOT INCLUDED
Arts/Crafts Studios
Specialized Classrooms
Auditorium for 150
Day Care - 50 Kids
OUTDOOR SPACES
Building Footprint
Parking/Drives (300 Stalls)
Pla), Fields (Open Space)
Playground
Easements
Furore Building Expansion & Parking
No Storm Water Retention
Option - SMte Park
CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATES
3,000
1,500
5,000
5,000
1.25
4.0
2.0
0.25
0.50
1.5
0.0
0.75
USF
USF
USF
USF
Acres
Acres
Acres
Acre
Acre
Acres
Acre
Acre
Bared on Historical YMCA Cost Data
Gyms/Field [ louse
· MOO G.S.E
General Public Use Space
· $130 G.S.E
Locker Rooms
· $160 G.S.E
Aquatics
· $200 G.S.E
$1,725,000
$4,470,000
$1,010,000
$3,680,000
ESTIMATED CONSTRUCTION COST
$10,885,000
ADDITIONAL COSTS
· Professional Fees (Legal, Design)
· Fixtures/Furmshings/Equipment
· Star Marketing/Start - Up Costs
$1,080,000
$1,000,000
$400,000
ESTIMATED PROJECT COST (EXCLUDING LAND)
$13,365,000
NOTES
T)qoical Site Development
2002 - 2003 Dollars Used
YMCA- Preliminary Program / Estimated Costs
October 22, 2002 · BWBR Architects
Furore Expansion
Gym/
Fimess
(2nd Level)
Community Room
Teens & Children
Future Expansion
ua.cs
Locker Rooms!
SITE
+ 11.3 Acres
YMCA-Conceptual Site Plan
October 22,: , BWBR Architects