Council to discuss rec center lease, proposal

Published 7:01 am Sunday, May 15, 2016

After what may be the last negotiation meeting for the proposed $35 million Austin Community Recreation Center, the Austin City Council is scheduled to discuss an updated draft of the proposed lease and purchase agreements.

The City Council will discuss the agreements that would pave the way to build a $35 million rec center at the former downtown Austin Municipal Plant at its regularly scheduled work session after the city council meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers.

The city will discuss a roughly $2 million deal to purchase the plant, and the city is also negotiating a $200,000 to $300,000 operating agreement for the YMCA to operate the public portions of the rec center, and city also asked if the county would be interested in providing $50,000 a year to make the public portions open to county residents too.

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But many unknowns remain about the rec center project.

Mayor Tom Stiehm told the county board the city and YMCA are at a bit of an impasse over the cost of day passes for the proposed YMCA portions of the facility, which were discussed at a Vision 2020 Austin Community Recreation Center committee meeting on Monday.

At a Vision 2020 Community Recreation Center committee meeting last Monday, YMCA and city leaders discussed offers over passes to access the facility, and the Y’s final offer was for an $8 all-access pass, which would only be available four times throughout the year before a person is expected to become a monthly YMCA member.

The YMCA expressed concern over a decrease in membership revenue while the city is concerned about maintaining the “Community Center” is accessible by all Austin residents.

The lease agreement was reviewed by Assistant City Attorney Craig Byram and drafted to “highlight areas where substantive changes have occurred since the last work session.”

There were two changes for clarity, seven changes requested by the YMCA and three additional items in dispute.

The YMCA has also asked for the size of the Youth Activity Center to be reduced from 6,305 square feet to 5,000 square feet. The city’s Community Needs Assessment recommended the size be at 6,305 and it is unclear how the difference in size, 1,305 square feet, would have an impact on operational costs.

In other business, the council is scheduled to adopt their 2016 goals and reaffirm their participation in a 38-unit Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Austin workforce housing project at Fox Point, which is dependent on the award of housing tax credits.