City adopts go-slow approach on new community center

The Coon Rapids City Council has decided to put the bulk of its plans for a $46.5 million community center on ice for now.

The council unanimously agreed Tuesday night to hold off on plans to build a 159,000-square-foot community center, but to proceed with plans to replace the aging Cook Ice Arena and to develop park land along Coon Rapids Boulevard. Both projects would allow for eventual expansion into a community center when the economy improves and the city has gained the assurance of more public and private partnerships.

The cost of the arena and park will depend upon the quality standards to which the council agrees. Depending on its scope and materials, City Manager Matt Fulton said the arena would cost, at most, $9.7 million. He added that the Anoka County Library system has indicated interest in participating in a phased-in community center. A 2007 survey indicated that a majority of residents supported the concept of a community center. Mayor Tim Howe and Fulton marketed the project as a tool to kick-start private development along Coon Rapids Boulevard.

One proposal before the City Council on Tuesday was to proceed with building a center that would include an arena, a fitness center, aquatics, an indoor playground, gymnasiums and community gathering spaces. The center itself would cost about $38 million, plus about $8.5 million for land acquisition and other expenses.

The city would have to increase property taxes to pay for the project. Owners of a typical $220,000 home would pay about $125 more per year to cover the cost.

At a public hearing in October, a majority of residents who spoke opposed the center, though others said it was badly needed to pull the city together and provide a draw for future residents.

There was no public hearing at Tuesday's meeting, but Howe asked council members to summarize their positions on two options: constructing the entire facility or committing to a phased development of a community center starting with the ice arena and park. A clause to rebuild 111th Avenue as an access road was removed for now.

At-Large Member Scott Schulte reiterated his opposition to the full center plan. "A community center is a great idea," he said. "It would bring our community together in a lot of different ways. But I don't think it's a need. I think it's a want."

Ward 2 Member Melissa Larson concurred. "There will not be a perfect time," she said. "But there will be eventually a better time than this, economically. I cannot justify or call it a need today."

Howe disagreed. "I don't know if there's ever going to be a good time," he said, noting his concerns about whether a phased project will ever be completed. "The timing is right now. Bids have never been lower. Bond rates will never be lower. We won't have a perfect scenario, but what we would have is the best of both worlds."

Ward 1 Member Denise Klint said she was disturbed by the tenor of many of the calls and e-mails she has received over the course of the community center debate. She said she still believes the center would be an asset to the city.

"What saddens me the most is the negativity and ugliness that has prevailed in the community because of this issue," she said. "I hope at this point citizens can accept that we on this council do our jobs as professionals. I've received e-mails, I've been called names and put down to the point where it seems like people don't think we know what we're doing."