Fate of community center in Shorewood up in air

Over the objections of Shorewood Mayor Chris Lizee and the Excelsior City Council, three Shorewood City Council members are pursuing the sale of the South Shore Center.

The community center, at 5735 County Club Road near Shorewood City Hall, has been jointly owned by Shorewood, Excelsior, Tonka Bay, Greenwood and Deephaven, as a community gathering place for civic meetings, classes and services for seniors, private parties, Girl Scouts, church services and other activities since 1996.

Now three of five Shorewood council members are exercising an option that allows Shorewood -- as the majority owner and host city -- to buy out the other cities and take full ownership of the building because the Friends of the South Shore Center have stopped operating the center.

The nonprofit group, which rented and maintained the building and raised money to pay for programs, ended its lease in February and disbanded.

"A few of my council members took advantage of that dissolution of the Friends," as an opening to sell the building "against the recommendation of our city attorney," Lizee said. "It's a wonderful community asset that we have built and paid for by all five south lake cities."

Four of the five cities must agree to the sale, said Shorewood City Manager Brian Heck. So far Tonka Bay has said it will not contest it. Deephaven has agreed that Shorewood has the option to sell the building. Excelsior, which uses the center for public meetings, opposes the sale, objects to Shorewood's "unilateral" action and is considering a lawsuit to stop it. Greenwood is expected to take a position on Tuesday.

Jeff Bailey, Richard Woodruff and Laura Turgeon are the Shorewood council members who favor the sale. "The Friends dissolved themselves and said we are not going to support it financially [and] that left the cities holding the bag financially," Bailey said.

Bailey acknowledges that people use the building, but "I would argue that it's not a very intensive use," or someone would have been able to come up with a financial model for keeping it going, he said. "The fact that the Friends dissolved is indicative of a low level of interest in the building."

So far out of the four cities, only Excelsior has opposed the sale, Bailey said. "It's important not to make this out as a narrow group of people."

Shorewood is negotiating with the LMCC (Lake Minnetonka Cable Commission) for the purchase of the building, Heck said.

The LMCC, now located in Spring Park, is looking for larger headquarters. The price Shorewood is considering is $432,000 over 10 years.

Lizee said that the center, built at a cost of $622,000, has not been appraised and that she objects to selling it at a loss.

Resource or burden?

Former Friends president Jerry Brecke said people at the center are devastated about the possible loss of the building. "They are very, very concerned over losing something that they sincerely believe they have maintained and supported for the cities. Today there are 30 people in there eating. There will be 10 to 14 tables of cards starting at 1 o'clock," Brecke said. "Monday I ran into an exercise group and there must have been 12 women. Where do all of these things go?"

Brecke faulted the cities for failing to share the cost of keeping the building open "to take care of the seniors who come in here by the hundreds every month."