After the Blue Ribbon Committee...What's Next?
(Editors Note: We sat down with Councilman Larry Parham for a three-hour interview this week, to learn one councilman's reaction to the Blue Ribbon Committee's report on a new swimming pool and new community center, and what will be done. Here is some of what we learned)
--On building a new swimming pool: "I want one; I hope we can get it built next year, and at a cost of $1-1.5 million, not $3 million as reported by the Committee. I would like to see it built out East near the Rotary Park and other park facilities. It will be a simple no-frills pool, one that can be expanded as time goes on. We need a new pool; the old pool in the State Park is something that is outdated. I would think the city could find the funds now to build it."
--On selling the current Civic Center: "I will not support a vote on selling the Civic Center at this time because we don't yet know the true cost of replacing it. The devil is in the details." Parham says the numbers presented in the Committee report are seriously underestimated and the true cost of doing what the Committee recommends would damage the city, to a tune of a $17.1 million deficit... He is opposed to buying the Cornerstone Church and instead suggested a different route if the money is available: Sell only the parking lot at the existing Center, update and overhaul the current Center, buy land north of the Center for expansion with an auditorium and small meeting rooms, and enlarge the parking area to the north. The old parking lot could be sold to a developer for construction of a small strip center and new restaurants.
--If an ad valorum tax is passed to build a $10 million community center, it would cost homeowners $170 per $100,000 real valuation every year for 20 years, and he opposes that. There has to be another way, he said "but if the citizens want it that is what we will do."
--He said new city manager Bruce Johnson is working on a new Five-Year Plan that will outline the city's needs in order of importance, which Parham said could include expansion of the wastewater treatment plant and water treatment plant, new community center, new swimming pool, road and street resurfacing, water meter replacement program, and more. "We have to get our priorities straight," he said.
Parham said he appreciated the hard work the Committee put into its study and recommendations but some of the numbers were incorrect. But first, he said "we need to stop giving away rentals for the Civic Center. We need some cash flow to at least pay some of the operating costs."
He said the Committee errored in its estimate of cost to build a 50,000 square foot tip up concrete facility adjacent to the Cornerstone Church…"they left out costs for electricity, plumbing, security and other details," he said. He said the true cost of purchasing the church would work out to $2,085,000 instead of $1,835, 000. "We can't get loans for 40 years, which the Committee said; the maximum is 20 years on a new pool; the widening of 18th Street from Broadway to Main was not included, which would cost $500,000.
The church additions cannot be built for $30 per square foot, which is what the Committee estimated, he said, and the total cost to finance the church purchase and additions would come to $5,834,000 instead of $5,584,000 with the net purchase price of the church being $2,805,000 instead of $1.835, 000.
Parham has spent days analyzing the numbers and has pages of figures to prove them.
He says we would have an annual payment of $462,000 at 5% interest over 20 years, for the church purchase and additions, instead of $359,713 at 5% over 30 years, with a total of principal and interest of $9,240,436 over 20 years. "Do we really want to spend that much money?" he asks.
He also disputes that income from the new community center would cover utilities, housekeeping and minor maintenance repairs, calling that "a stretch."
"My number one issue with the Committee's report is the Committee's estimates on cannibalization of other retailers, estimated by the Committee at 65%. It should be 90%, meaning only 10% new business from the stores in the old Center area. "The math does not work," Parham said.
On the pool portion of the Committee's report, he said the shortage to the city budget in paying for a new pool could be as much as $669,588 instead of $94,241, since the pool cannot be financed for 40 years. Actual principal and interest at 20 years would be $237,576 instead of $152,704 and we would have a loss on the new pool as well.
Parham says ultimately the flaws in the figures make it impossible to proceed at this time with the Committee recommendations, although he says he definitely wants a new pool and new community meeting facilities.
The city has now spent more than $100,000 in outside consultant studies on the civic center and swimming pool issues, plus the 10 months work by the Blue Ribbon Committee.
--On building a new swimming pool: "I want one; I hope we can get it built next year, and at a cost of $1-1.5 million, not $3 million as reported by the Committee. I would like to see it built out East near the Rotary Park and other park facilities. It will be a simple no-frills pool, one that can be expanded as time goes on. We need a new pool; the old pool in the State Park is something that is outdated. I would think the city could find the funds now to build it."
--On selling the current Civic Center: "I will not support a vote on selling the Civic Center at this time because we don't yet know the true cost of replacing it. The devil is in the details." Parham says the numbers presented in the Committee report are seriously underestimated and the true cost of doing what the Committee recommends would damage the city, to a tune of a $17.1 million deficit... He is opposed to buying the Cornerstone Church and instead suggested a different route if the money is available: Sell only the parking lot at the existing Center, update and overhaul the current Center, buy land north of the Center for expansion with an auditorium and small meeting rooms, and enlarge the parking area to the north. The old parking lot could be sold to a developer for construction of a small strip center and new restaurants.
--If an ad valorum tax is passed to build a $10 million community center, it would cost homeowners $170 per $100,000 real valuation every year for 20 years, and he opposes that. There has to be another way, he said "but if the citizens want it that is what we will do."
--He said new city manager Bruce Johnson is working on a new Five-Year Plan that will outline the city's needs in order of importance, which Parham said could include expansion of the wastewater treatment plant and water treatment plant, new community center, new swimming pool, road and street resurfacing, water meter replacement program, and more. "We have to get our priorities straight," he said.
Parham said he appreciated the hard work the Committee put into its study and recommendations but some of the numbers were incorrect. But first, he said "we need to stop giving away rentals for the Civic Center. We need some cash flow to at least pay some of the operating costs."
He said the Committee errored in its estimate of cost to build a 50,000 square foot tip up concrete facility adjacent to the Cornerstone Church…"they left out costs for electricity, plumbing, security and other details," he said. He said the true cost of purchasing the church would work out to $2,085,000 instead of $1,835, 000. "We can't get loans for 40 years, which the Committee said; the maximum is 20 years on a new pool; the widening of 18th Street from Broadway to Main was not included, which would cost $500,000.
The church additions cannot be built for $30 per square foot, which is what the Committee estimated, he said, and the total cost to finance the church purchase and additions would come to $5,834,000 instead of $5,584,000 with the net purchase price of the church being $2,805,000 instead of $1.835, 000.
Parham has spent days analyzing the numbers and has pages of figures to prove them.
He says we would have an annual payment of $462,000 at 5% interest over 20 years, for the church purchase and additions, instead of $359,713 at 5% over 30 years, with a total of principal and interest of $9,240,436 over 20 years. "Do we really want to spend that much money?" he asks.
He also disputes that income from the new community center would cover utilities, housekeeping and minor maintenance repairs, calling that "a stretch."
"My number one issue with the Committee's report is the Committee's estimates on cannibalization of other retailers, estimated by the Committee at 65%. It should be 90%, meaning only 10% new business from the stores in the old Center area. "The math does not work," Parham said.
On the pool portion of the Committee's report, he said the shortage to the city budget in paying for a new pool could be as much as $669,588 instead of $94,241, since the pool cannot be financed for 40 years. Actual principal and interest at 20 years would be $237,576 instead of $152,704 and we would have a loss on the new pool as well.
Parham says ultimately the flaws in the figures make it impossible to proceed at this time with the Committee recommendations, although he says he definitely wants a new pool and new community meeting facilities.
The city has now spent more than $100,000 in outside consultant studies on the civic center and swimming pool issues, plus the 10 months work by the Blue Ribbon Committee.
Labels: City Meetings
posted by Editor | 2:00 AM
1 Comments:
It is so refreshing to note that Larry has spent so much time getting the figures together to defeat the proposed Blue Ribbon Committee projections.
I think Larry needs to apologize to the Blue Ribbon Committee members that worked so hard on this project, and then have all their work considered worthless and labeled as unreasonable by the High Priest of Grove, America.
Post a Comment
<< Home