Sports complex add-ons a 'no go'
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on September 29, 2015 1:46 PM
Additions to the P-4 Multi-Sports Complex on Oak Forest Road requested by some residents at a recent council meeting are not likely to be added to the project's lease agreement before it is signed, city officials say.
But, City Manager Scott Stevens said, it is an option the city would be willing to pursue in the future, after the lease is signed.
Charles Wright, speaking on behalf of Wayne County Citizens for Better Schools, requested that plans to construct two buildings for indoor sports and meeting space be added to the lease agreement between the city and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
The span of the lease agreement between the city and the U.S. Air Force, which is now expected to be signed by the end of the year, is for 20 years.
Stevens said the average life span of a building is 50 to 80 years.
"Changing the lease is something we asked about, and they said we could amend the lease later, so I think we could always amend the lease," Stevens said. "I don't see any value in delaying the lease processing today for something that I know that might delay it six months or five months, because you've got two big things: First, we'd be asking for 50 to 80 years instead of 20, which is a huge no-no for the federal government, who would say, 'We're not going to give you our property for that long,' so I don't think I'd ever be able to overcome that. And the other side is just a significant change to our proposal to them would make them all re-evaluate everything they've done."
Challenges that would need to be resolved for the buildings to be added to the lease agreement are funding for the buildings and the electric and water bills that would accompany their completion, the location of the buildings, staffing the facilities and the life of the lease versus the life of the buildings.
"The funding for it is an issue. The Air Force is providing the land, but they're not providing any cost to run it or any cost to build it," Stevens said. "That's all on us locally, and right now our commitment has been that the hotel/motel (occupancy) tax funding would go toward that."
Stevens said for funding to be available for the construction of two buildings, additional debt service would have to be taken on by the city.
All loans come with a debt service, and the total cost of the Multi-Sports Complex, as it stands, is between $6 million and $8 million without adding any buildings.
Stevens and Wright both estimated that constructing a building with three gymnasiums and a building for meeting space, as Wright requested, would cost approximately $10 million, although that is a low estimate of the cost.
"I have just enough debt service to pay $3 million today from the tourism tax," Stevens said. "So anything else would have to come from the General Fund side for the foreseeable future. I do think the tourism tax is going to continue to increase in Wayne County as we build the convention center and more hotels come and we have more events and the tourism comes, I think that number will go up. But even if it doubles in five years, I still don't have enough money to build a $10 million debt service (for two buildings)."
The proposed location for the two buildings is also not ideal, Stevens said. Residents will not be able to openly access the Multi-Sports Complex and use it whenever they please -- as there will be restrictions on when the Air Force uses it, when the city uses it, and when both parties can use it -- so the city is considering constructing two new gyms at the Herman Park Center in the future that would be readily available for public use without restrictions.
"The Multi-Sports Complex that we're building is not meant to be a walk-in place," Stevens said. "It's going to be semi-controlled in terms of access ... It's not going to be just kids from the neighborhood just come out and play on it."
The idea behind the complex is that it will be used for organized league play, he said, which does not benefit children looking for somewhere to play recreationally.