by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Over the past two weeks, the City Council has been wrestling with the initial design proposals given to them by ISG Architects. The main issue, is, as always, cost.
We've got champagne dreams for beer wages, the saying goes.
Garretson is growing, and the council, along with an appointed task force, is working hard to ensure the City's infrastructure can keep up. However, it can be difficult to justify funding an initiative with taxpayer dollars as they stand currently.
"We can offer $2.8 million in initial funding, without borrowing from other accounts" or tapping into the City's debt limit and reserves, said City Finance Officer Anna Uhl at a Zoom meeting the council had with ISG Architects' Josh Muckenhirn on Monday, February 22.
Muckenhirn's proposals each cost $4.1-$5.56 million.
He offered four options, from one facility that was 22,845 square feet, to two smaller facilities that were 8,000 and 7,815 sq ft each. All option costs were given with the caveat that these were the "10,000-foot view" costs, and that they would be more finalized as details were decided.
The difference in price versus what the City had readily available made the council sit back and take stock of what the true priorities are.
Some of the questions they wrestled with were, one building, or two? Stay on Main, or move everything to the JC Complex area off Dows and Center? Make a land purchase, or save the funds to put into the building(s)? What kinds of functions does the community really need, versus what's wanted? Do we want to prioritize enticing people to come to Garretson that normally don't, work hard on increasing quality of life for residents, or both? Will more staff be needed in order to run an events center and/or community center? Does the City want to make extra funds from the center, or just break even?
"We need it to serve as many functions as possible, and not paint ourselves into a corner," said City Councilor Bill Hoskins at the Monday, March 1 meeting. He and other councilors outlined several functions highly desired for the community, including a space for elections, funeral luncheons, after school programs/kids' indoor space, walking track for adults, and a performance space. Some of these functions can be held in the Legion, but that building does have space constraints.
"We have to figure out what our true intentions are for this space," said Mayor Greg Beaner. This includes determining, officially, what the definition would be of an events center versus a community center.
The council appeared to be in agreement that a high-end, wedding-barn events center was not something that best served the community, and felt that would be best handled by a private entity. But they didn't want to limit themselves to a space that is too small, either.
"The daycare is already full," said Mayor Beaner. Blue Dragon Academy finished their new facility less than two years ago, and are working on expansion possibilities. He noted that their waiting list is long enough to fill out the expansion as soon as it is complete.
"Cost effectiveness is key," said Council member Richelle Hofer. However, she said, there's benefits to two facilities instead of one, and requested a feasibility study be done between the two options.
Council member Hoskins agreed, adding that the motive for the center is important.
"Our goal at the museum is to bring people in that normally don't, then we work to cover costs," he said, referring to his day job as Director of Siouxland Heritage Museums. Having one priority over another will change whether the City wants a sustainability model or an income-driven model.
The council appeared to lean into a sustainability model, keeping costs for rental down and improving quality of life for residents over an income-driven model.
No decisions were made at either meeting, despite Muckenhirn's desire for one. Minnehaha County Economic Development Association Director Jesse Fonkert was at Monday's meeting, and he agreed that a feasibility study was a good idea, but wouldn't necessarily be undertaken until the council decided on one facility versus two.
What that meant was, the council will need to take community need into account, finalize priorities, and make a hard decision of how much to spend into the future.
UPDATE 3/4/21: Josh Muckenhirn's name has been changed to the correct spelling.
