Plans for the Cook County Family YMCA, as the new community center is currently being called, continue to move along. At the July 24 meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, consultant Wade Cole of ORB Management reported that last year’s expenditures totaled just under $500,000, leaving about $9 million for the rest of the project, which includes the building and amenities inside it as well as recreational amenities on county property adjacent to Cook County High School, such as a new ball field and hockey rink.
Commissioner Sue Hakes, on the Community Center Steering Committee, said they’ve been trying to cut expenses wherever possible. They scaled back on the roof system, so it won’t have a rounded roof to match the school gymnasium roof that will be incorporated into the new facility. Putting more money into the amenities inside the building was more important, she said.
The plan is now within the parameters of the budget, Cole said, so they can start the more detailed design process.
The project will require the removal of a silo and a concrete block building behind the school at a cost of $25,000-$30,000, Hakes said. Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said the agreement with the school to replace its west wing with the new community center should include a statement requiring the school to pay for the demolition if the community center project does not go forward.
An invitation for bids on the hockey rink is going out, and bids will be accepted until August 27. Cole said he anticipates seeing the completion of the community center by September 2013.
The board approved hiring Dawn Cole of Cole Appraisal and Consulting of Eveleth to appraise the west wing of the school so the county can negotiate an agreement for purchase of that portion of the school’s property. Whether the parking lot between the west wing and the county property on which the tennis courts stand would be included in the purchase has not been decided.
Current Community Center Director Diane Booth talked to the board about the need to mitigate for wetland disturbance where the new ball field will be located, but the exact location of that field has not been decided. She expects the mitigation to cost about $150,000. Three years ago, it would have cost about $80,000, she said.
Commissioner Bruce Martinson recommended that they wait on building the new ball field until after the community center goes up. That would give them more flexibility with how much they spend on the community center, he said. He said he also thought they could use the construction of the new ball field as a bargaining chip in dealing with the city on its financial involvement in the project, since the city intends to use the ball field in the Grand Marais Recreation Area for camping spots once the county builds a new field.
If they don’t build the new ball field now, Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said, it won’t get done with 1 percent tax funding that has been designated for this recreational amenity and they would end up paying for it from another fund. “You’re always better if you pay today,” he said. “It’s always more expensive tomorrow. You’re better off to do it now if you’ve got the money.” If the city did replace its ball field with campsites, he said, it could generate more income.
The new ball field is one of the outdoor amenities that has been planned for years along with the new hockey rink, Booth said. It was listed as a separate project in the legislation that approved the implementation of the countywide 1 percent tax but then was incorporated into the community center project and budget.
The next meetings of the Cook County Community Center Steering Committee will be Thursday, August 9 from 8:30 a.m. to noon and Thursday, August 23 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. The meetings will be held in the Jane Mianowski Conference Center.
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