JACKSON TO STUDY MULTIPURPOSE BUILDING FEASIBILITY FOR ANOTHER YEAR

JACKSON -- More than three years after a committee was formed to study the feasibility of constructing a community center in the City of Jackson, officials say another year of planning is needed.

After meeting with city administrators, the committee's executive committee has decided to gather more information before bringing a proposal to the Jackson Board of Aldermen.

"Too many questions remain unanswered," Mayor Paul Sander said.

His main concern is that the committee has not yet determined what is needed in the facility. "The majority of people feel some type of facility is needed. But we never had come to a consensus about what would be offered, how big it would be and how expensive we wanted the building to be for Jackson," he said.

Part of the uncertainty has been over how much the Jackson R-2 School District would use the facility on a day-to-day basis. Asked late last year to provide some details about their plans, the schools responded that they would have more interest in using the facility if it was adjacent to or on the high school campus.

Since not enough land to build the 25-to-30-acre project is available on or near the campus, the schools' future use of the building would appear to be limited.

"They elected to go their own direction," said multipurpose building chairman Dale Rauh.

He said the schools' decision opens up new possibilities for the site committee, which now doesn't have to worry about proximity to the high school.

The first plan for the facility was a $20 million "blue sky" proposal that has been scaled back to $11 million. The current plan calls for a basketball arena with seating for 3,000 and two swimming pools, one for leisure and one for competitive swimming. It also would incorporate meeting rooms, weight rooms and a walking track. The performing arts center in the $20 million building was left out of the $11 million version but could be built at a later date, Rauh said.

The committee may reconsider the contents of the building in light of the school district's decision, he said. "Maybe we would not include an auditorium/gymnasium."

The city's seniors want additional space for activities, some people are interested in ice skating, the city could use a new library and there has been lots of interest in a performing arts center, Rauh said.

The mayor also is concerned with how the community center would fare financially. He wants to study how other multipurpose buildings in the region are doing. "A lot of facilities are not breaking even," he said. "... If they're not doing well, why, and what can we do to not fall down the same path."

Sander expects the Board of Aldermen to take a very conservative approach to any eventual proposal, which probably would be paid for with sales tax revenues.

"The charge of the committee was strictly to come up with whether or not the community building is feasible," Sander said.

"That question has not been answered."