HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 10/18/2000MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
AMES, IOWA OCTOBER 18, 2000
The Ames City Council met in special session with the Parks and Recreation Commission at 5:15
p.m. on the 18th day of October, 2000, in the Parks and Recreation Activity Room, 1500 Gateway
Hills Park Drive, pursuant to law with Mayor Pro Tem Hoffman presiding. Members present from
the City Council were: Campbell, R. Cross, Goodhue, Quirmbach, and Wirth; Mayor Tedesco was
absent. Representatives present from the Parks and Recreation Commission were B. C ross, G lotfelty,
Emmerson, Espeland, Johnson, Hamilton, and Peterson.
RECREATION CENTER WITH AN INDOOR POOL/OUTDOOR
FAMILY AQUATICS CENTER
PRESENTATION OF CONCEPTUAL PLAN AND COST ESTIMATES: Nancy Carroll,
Director of Parks and Recreation, introduced Al Oberlander from the consulting firm of RDG
Bussard Dikis, Inc. Mr. Oberlander introduced the other members of the consulting team: Paul
Klein, Dave Nicholas, Ken Ballard, and Richard Scott.
Mr. Oberlander reviewed the process followed by the consultants to determine what type of
facility the community wanted and where the best site would be for its location. They started
with a list of 14 suggested sites. With the help of the Commission, citizens, and users, they
identified criteria for establishing the best site. After applying the criteria, they narrowed the list
down to five possible sites. One of those five sites was owned by Iowa State University; ISU
indicated that they were not willing to sell the land. After conducting a survey and talking with
Ames’ residents and users, a “wish list” was established. To include the items on the “wish list”,
the facility would need to contain approximately 141,000 gross square feet (GSF)of space at a
cost of approximately $30 million.
Following discussions with staff, the proposed facility was reduced to approximately 77,000 GSF
that would be comprised of gymnasium space/indoor and outdoor aquatics facilities, and support
space. Major components would be:
Gymnasium with three full-size basketball courts, six youth basketball courts, three
volleyball courts
Elevated walking/jogging track
Women’s, men’s, and family lockerrooms
Climbing wall
Leisure/lap pool
Fitness/cardio room
Child-care room
General use rooms
General storage
Lobby/cafe/seating area
General meeting room
Parks and Recreation office
Administration office
Outdoor aquatics
After receiving further community input at the Commission’s workshop held on October 17,
2000, the components that changed were: gymnasium space increased from 19,700 GSF to
2
23,328 GSF (to accommodate six volleyball courts), the jogging track increased from 6,000 to
6,400 GSF, the locker room size increased from 3,500 to 4,000 GSF, leisure/lap pool increased
by 1,300 GSF (four-lane instead of two-lane), and the outdoor aquatics facility increased in size
from 8,021 to 15,321 GSF. Also added to the concept was an indoor soccer/multi-use space
(16,000 GSF); this would actually be a second gymnasium that could accommodate basketball,
volleyball, roller hockey, or be practice space for indoor soccer.
Commission Member Johnson pointed out that the coordinators and users in volleyball and
soccer programs indicated that there is no facility in Ames to accommodate tournaments. With
the size of those programs, it has been estimated that approximately 300 families travel weekly
to participate in tournaments out of Ames. Coordinators of volleyball leagues have told the
Commission that hundreds of youth are cut from programs because they cannot accommodate
enough leagues due to no practice or playing facilities.
Commission Member Hamilton stated that Jim Hallihan, Executive Director of the Iowa Games,
told them at the workshop held on October 17 that Ames has the worst indoor facilities to
accommodate recreation that he has seen in the state of Iowa. It was also pointed out that the
City of Perry recently decided to construct a $10 million recreation facility; based on the size of
the cities, it did not seem unreasonable to the Commission that a facility constructed in Ames
would cost $24 million.
Dave Nicholas advised that the four sites being considered are: North 24th Street (25-acre parcel
of land owned by the School District of which 15 acres would be utilized for the facility), land
around the possible new school site at Mortensen and State, the Gateway site (location of the
present Parks & Recreation Administration facility), and City Hall site. The City Hall site would
require the City to acquire property from the present City Hall site to Grand Avenue, and the
outdoor aquatics facility would be located off-site (at the Gateway Hills site). Criteria for
determining the best site that user groups came up with at the last workshop were: land costs,
vehicular access, pedestrian access, neighborhood impact, infrastructure costs, expandability,
visibility, joint use/partnering opportunities, site development costs, user friendliness, and
operations.
Mr. Oberlander explained different facility floor plans for each of the sites. He reviewed total
project costs for each of the possible sites based on the “wish list” (Option 1), the “tested”
(Option 2), and the “considered” (Option 3) types of facilities. Pros and cons of each site were
pointed out by Mr. Oberlander and Mr. Nicholas.
City Manager Steve Schainker reminded the City Council that at least three large projects will
need to be decided on in the next few months: Hallett’s, new South Side fire station, and this
project. If it is decided to pursue this project, he stated that the City Council will need to
determine a site and what program elements are to be included in the facility.
Commission Member Glotfelty said that he believes the community would be willing to fund a
$24 million project if it contained the program elements that would benefit the majority of Ames’
residents.
The consultants estimated that a facility as proposed to be constructed on the Gateway site could
cost approximately $1,400,000/annually to operate; however, approximately 70% could be offset
with revenue to be received. The operating costs will be calculated and provided at a later
3
meeting.
Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Beth Cross gave the recommendation of the
Commission to support Option 3 to be built on the Gateway site. That option has a cost of
approximately $24 million and includes expanded gymnasium space, larger elevated jog/walk
track, larger locker rooms and leisure/lap pool, more storage, and an indoor soccer/multi-use
space.
Council Member Quirmbach suggested that outside funding opportunities be explored. He also
would like to have pursued the possibility of sharing facilities with the Ames School District.
Chairperson Cross explained that they have looked at alternate funding sources. They have
discovered that VisionIowa requires communities to construct a facility that would be a regional
facility. She also advised that the Commission has made concerted efforts to partner with the
School District for the past two years, but have met with negative results.
Chairperson Cross explained that the Commission has been working on this effort for over two
years, have received substantial input from the community, and they feel now is the time for the
residents to decide if they want this project to come to fruition.
Mr. Schainker advised that City staff needs to have it determined what program elements are to
be included at what site. He said costs can then be determined and the project prioritized with
the other major projects being contemplated. Concerning the process to be followed, Council
Member Campbell felt that a formal recommendation on a site and program elements should be
rendered by the Parks and Recreation Commission and the item placed on a future City Council
agenda.
Council Member Quirmbach said that he would like staff to provide operational costs and
operating revenue for Options 2 and 3. Commission Member Johnson stated that, for the record,
he would like to point out that Option 3 is the option that is being recommended by the Parks and
Recreation Commission; they had no intentions of Options 1 or 2 being considered.
Moved by Campbell, seconded by Cross, to schedule a special City Council meeting for October
31, 2000, at 7:00 p.m. to approve a site and program elements.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT: 7:50 p.m.
_________________________________________________________________________
Diane Voss, City Clerk Ted Tedesco, Mayor