The public comment periods at the beginning of the Cook County Board of Commissioners meetings have been lively lately. On June 12, county commissioners took issue with statements made by Molly Hoffman regarding a study on the feasibility of building a new community center in Grand Marais with revenue from the county’s 1 percent recreation and infrastructure sales tax.
Hoffman said that when current Community Center Director Diane Booth offered at a June 6 Community Center Steering Committee meeting to arrange for a feasibility study, Commissioner Bruce Martinson said a study had been conducted in 2009.
Hoffman stated, “This report was not released to most of the committee or Diane Booth. It is an incredible violation of public trust. The public paid thousands of dollars for a report that was kept out of the hands of people working in good faith as part of the steering committee. …Whose decision was it to bury this information?” she asked.
She said that if more people had known about the information contained in the study – such as an assertion “that predicted revenues for a pool located in the recreation park exceeded predicted revenues for a pool located by the school”— the plans being considered now might be different.
“Keeping this study a secret is an act of arrogance and dishonesty,” Hoffman said. “I believe we need a community center, but it should not come out of a discredited and compromised process.”
Commissioners’ responses
Several weeks ago, Garry Gamble spoke during the public comment period of a county board meeting, asking whether the commissioners had discussed his previous request that they commission a study on how much use a new community center would get. Commissioner Sobanja’s response was that the board’s policy was not to conduct a dialogue with community members during this part of the meeting, and he recommended to his fellow commissioners that they not answer Gamble’s question, which they did not.
At the June 12 meeting, however, the commissioners responded to Hoffman’s statements. “I’m deeply, deeply offended,” Bruce Martinson said. “People’s memories fade,” he said. “There was no coverage, no secrecy.”
“I’m grossly offended by your statement, which I find to be untrue,” Commissioner Sobanja said. “It’s slanderous, Molly.” Hoffman said she expected this response. “You’re a liar,” Sobanja continued. “You’re uninformed.”
News report outlining the study
The August 1, 2009 edition of the Cook County News-Herald included an article about a July 27 meeting of the county board and representatives of the Grand Marais City Council, the ISD 166 school board, and West End townships regarding which projects to include in the 1 percent sales tax referendum that would come to voters in November.
The article states, “Consultant Mike Fischer of LHB Corporation outlined the research that Ballard King, another consulting firm, had conducted regarding the feasibility of a [44,000-squre-foot] multiuse community center facility, including whether the local community would have the money to use it.
“Ballard King estimated that a community center on county property near the school would bring in $218,648 a year —$554,966 short of the $773,614 needed to operate it, which is a recovery rate of 28 percent.
“…Fischer argued that the county, the school, and the city are already subsidizing things like the curling rink, the county extension office, the senior center, the municipal pool, youth sports, and the school fitness center in an amount totaling $481,435. He contended that collaboration among governmental units and reallocation of current expenditures could help close the gap between expenses and revenue but would not bring it to zero. County Commissioner Bob Fenwick recommended caution in calculating which subsidies would still be separate from the facility and which could be transferred into facility costs.”
The study
The Ballard King study addressed national trends in recreational activity, stating, “There continues to be very strong growth in the number of people participating in recreation and leisure activities. It is estimated that one in five Americans over the age of six participates in some form of fitness-related activity at least once a week.
“…The multi-component concept of delivering recreation services continues to grow in acceptance with the idea of providing for a variety of activities and programs in a single location. …The keys to success revolve around the concept of intergenerational use in a quality facility that has multi-use capabilities and the versatility and flexibility to meet ever-changing leisure needs.
“…For most centers to have an opportunity to cover operating expenses with revenues, they must have a service population of at least 50,000 and an aggressive fee structure. …For centers in more rural areas the recovery rate is generally 50 percent to 75 percent. Facilities that can consistently cover all of their operating expenses with revenues are rare.”
The study said that annual rates for residents averaged $200-$300 for adults, $100-$200 for youth and seniors, and $350-$800 for families, the latter representing a “heavily discounted” rate.
“This information does not imply that a community center in Cook County is not practical or feasible,” the study went on to say. “In fact, many smaller communities have embraced the value a community center provides and have successful centers….
“Without question, the operating costs for the proposed facility could be reduced significantly through the efficiency and collaboration between Cook County, City of Grand Marais, and school district.” The study states that operating costs would vary depending on final design, operational philosophy, and programming.
The latest proposal calls for a complex approximately 32,000 square feet, of which 20,000 would be remodeled Cook County High School space and 12,000 would be new construction.
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