City council members serving as the CRA discussed Aug. 25 how and where to site the proposed Alice Hall community center and directed staff to return with options and advisory-board input.

Why it matters: Alice Hall is a planned community facility intended to provide indoor meeting space and event capacity the city lacks. Its location will shape park design, parking and investment distribution across town.

Staff told the CRA that Alice Hall had not been included in earlier construction-phase plans and that adding the building will require amending design documents and could delay completion. City Manager William (Billy) Poe and public-works director Shane LeBlanc briefed the CRA on options discussed by staff and the parks master plan: building at Zephyr Park (various locations were discussed, including a northwest corner and an area in front of the tennis courts), building to the west of the current structure, or using a CRA-owned Halfer property identified for commercial development.

Speakers raised trade-offs: some CRA members favored placing Alice Hall at Zephyr Park to stimulate investment at the south end of town; others said Shepherd Park and other higher, drier sites could reduce flood-related parking loss. Historic Preservation Planner Will McCaw cautioned that siting a new building further west could obstruct the “view shed” into Zephyr Lake and the community park, which staff regard as a key entrance to the city.

Clarifications and design parameters: staff said a building that can hold 200 people would meet community needs and that a two-story structure could reduce footprint while increasing usable space. Staff also reported a current financing/estimate based on a 6,000-square-foot building used for cost projections but said that square footage was not yet fixed. The CRA directed staff to ask the design team to sketch alternative placements, to engage the parks advisory board for input, and to prepare a revised master-plan segment showing the favored option(s).

Next steps: Staff will schedule meetings with the parks advisory board, ask the design team for conceptual sketches for two or three locations within Zephyr Park and for the Halfer/CRA parcel, and include concept options, tree/parking impact and flooding considerations in the next design update. The CRA emphasized the need for community engagement and clearer design guidance before committing funds or altering construction schedules.

Provenance: Substantive discussion recorded during CRA meeting Aug. 25, 2025.