By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Monday night’s City Council meeting took a surprising turn when City Manager Jim Bennett — during his first discussion of the 2014 budget — proposed the destruction of the William Haskell Rec Center on Main Street. In talking about the future of the Community Center, Bennett said he would “recommend tearing down the (old) facility next summer.”
“It’s a ticking time bomb; let’s plan for it,” he told councilors.
“I think it’s time we make a decision about this facility. We’d roll back programs to a level that can be obtained without the facility,” continued Bennett.
Bennett indicated it’s pointless to put money into an aging building.
“We’re not going to put $2.5 million into a building that’s undersized, when we could put $3.5 million into a building — in addition to matching contributions — that will work,” said Bennett.
In his PowerPoint presentation, Bennett noted the city would “scale back programming until the new facility is built,” and suggested “no serious funding be put in the budget to deal with existing and emerging issues.”
“We can continue to sort of use the ostrich approach — stick our heads in the sand and think everything’s going to be OK, or we can be pro-active. I encourage we have discussions and serious talks on the issue,” said Bennett.
After the meeting, Councilor Craig Green expressed concern over the timing of the recommendation, adding that he and the other councilors were surprised the topic came up this soon.
“Although it was discussed as a potential item to close the Rec Center early while we’re in the process of finalizing plans and building the (new) facility, it’s probably very premature at this point,” said Green, noting that at least one party (whom he did not name) has expressed interest in the property, but the matter has not gone beyond the talking stage.
“It will not save us a substantial amount of money and may impede some of the programs we have to have for the children,” continued Green.
Green said while demolishing the building now will eliminate expenses related to the old structure, those expenses will return to the budget once the new Community Center is built.
“Once we have our new facility up and running, we will continue to have ongoing maintenance costs that will have to be added to the budget. Even if we save today, we’ll have to add that money back to the budget for the future,” Green said.
Green said unless the closure was turned into part of the planned opening of a new facility, “I don’t think the Council and I would be supportive of the immediate closure” of the William Haskell building.
He said councilors could really use public input on the matter.
“We certainly have a great deal of financial challenges to deal with and appreciate public input as to what services citizens value. We need to look at each (service) and make sure it’s of great value and will receive continued support,” said Green.
Fund-raising efforts for the new facility are now under way. No date has been set for completion of the project, which will be located at the intersection of the Chapman Road and Riverside Drive. Plans are for the fund-raising committee to raise $3.5 million toward construction, with a city match of $3.5 million, for a total cost of about $7 million. In addition, the city is looking to possibly construct a pool at the same location, to replace the Main Street outdoor pool which councilors voted earlier this year to close, citing mounting repair costs and safety concerns. The cost to build a new pool and splash park is estimated at over $1 million.
For more information on the proposed Community Center visit www.picommunitycenter.com.
