A new senior center is coming but the details of where it will be located, how it will be funded and how large it will be have yet to be worked out.
Most City Council members say they’d prefer not to deplete the city’s cash reserves or go into debt in order to finance a new facility.
On May 5, City Manager Tim Burns briefed them on staff recommendations for a final plan to move the city toward a taxing authority that would collect money from residents living within the city’s Municipal Urban Growth Area.
A Metropolitan Park District is the most likely option for that taxing authority, but city staff are expected to brief the council May 12, or late May at the latest, on the benefits and disadvantages of paying for a new senior center with municipal bond sales, a park district or a recreation service area.
So far, the county owned McCollum Park and Mill Creek Community Association property are the only two locations considered as likely spots for a new senior center.
The Mill Creek Senior Community Foundation last September asked the city for $2 million toward a new, $4 million senior center. The Senior Center Advisory Group, which included Mayor Terry Ryan and council members Mark Harmsworth and Mike Todd, met 11 times October through December.
Some council members said they’d prefer that the county play a large role in creation of a park district and any remodeling or reconstruction needed to incorporate a senior center at McCollum Park. Councilwoman Mary Kay Voss said she has some concerns about the complexity of bringing a new senior center to the park because various organizations use the same building.
“I think it muddies the water a little bit when we have a building that is multi-functional,” she said. She said it would be easier to compare two locations that would only house a senior center. She also said she’d like more information on the pros and cons of council-initiated municipal bond sales versus creating a park district. She said council members who served on the advisory group were privy to information other council members were not.
“I would like to have a presentation by our finance director before I vote on a park district,” she said.
Former Mayor Pam Pruitt said she’d like to see the city work with the county to create a park district.
“I think it’s democracy at its best,” she said. “We have to ask voters for their support for a project of this size.”
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