MUKILTEO – Taylor Clark stood in front of the Mukilteo City Council and did a backflip, landing on his feet.
It was his way of saying he supported saving the Rosehill Community Center and its stage, where the 2003 graduate of Kamiak High School did his backflip as part of the Rosehill Revue, a community variety show.
“There’s been a certain lack of creativity around Mukilteo, and I think we should keep it around,” Clark said of the Rosehill building.
If the comments of 16 people who spoke at Monday’s meeting are any indication, residents here want the 77-year-old former school preserved. One other speaker was neutral on the issue.
“This building has a heart, much like the building that I work in,” said Mukilteo resident Brian McIntosh, parks director for Edmonds. The remodeled 76-year-old Frances Anderson Center is Edmonds’ parks and recreation headquarters.
Mukilteo officials have many issues to sort out in coming months as to whether to refurbish Rosehill or tear it down and build a new community center.
The decision process has been spurred by a report on the condition of the building, placing long-term remodeling costs at $9.5 million to $11.4 million. Short-term improvements to keep the building operating another three to five years are pegged at $1.9 million.
The report recommends immediate safety improvements, including a new fire escape; repairing leaks, stucco and the roof; and eliminating mold inside the building.
City officials have estimated the cost of a new community center that would be slightly smaller than Rosehill at about $6.6 million. Unlike Rosehill, the preliminary design for the new building does not include a gym. It does include a stage, though some supporters say it’s not equal to the one at Rosehill.
Preservation advocates are skeptical of the latest report, done by consultants Egis Real Estate Services of Seattle and Reid Middleton of Everett.
The group Friends of the Community Center has asked the consultants who surveyed the building in 1993, Robert Fossetti and Keith Schreiber, to review the latest report, Friends secretary Kathy Wisbeck said. The group will pay $10,000 for the reviews, she added.
The 1993 study determined that the building could be rehabilitated for $2.3 million, not allowing for inflation. With increased costs, stricter building codes, taxes, fees and other issues left out of the 1993 study factored in, the costs for that rehab option jump to $5.2 million, city administrator Rich Leahy said. However, that plan would not provide the same level of rehabilitation as proposed in the current study, he added.
The ultimate cost will depend partly on the seismic standard used to either remodel the building or construct a new one – the minimum required by law or better, officials said.
“How safe is safe?” is one of the questions Leahy suggested the council answer.
“We need to set the level of service we’re looking for in the building,” said Cathy Reese, council president.
City staff recommended to the council and Mayor Don Doran that a decision be made by August. The next meeting on the issue is tentatively scheduled for May 23.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com
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