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Meridian council hears detailed design, timeline for Settlers Park community center
Summary
City staff presented updated floor plans, site layout and operating-cost estimates for the Settlers Park community center, saying construction documents remain on schedule for fall bidding and projecting a roughly $19.7 million project and about $150,000 in added annual operating costs.
Meridian city staff presented a design update June 17 for the Settlers Park community center, reporting the project remains on schedule for a fall bid and that architects have refined interior spaces, access control and site details while working to hold costs near the current budget.
The update, delivered by Steve Sidway, the city’s project sponsor, and Garrett (project manager), said the schematic design work completed last fall has moved into design development and that the team is resolving room sizes, IT needs, storage and details such as drainage sizing under parking to allow possible future gym expansion without tearing up the lot. “Things are on schedule, on track, to be ready to bid this fall,” Sidway said.
The council was shown elevations and a site plan that includes a gym, flexible court/flex space with a small stage and storage, recreation classrooms (including a cooking classroom and kiln room for pottery), two half-court outdoor basketball courts, a dog-park restroom node, and about 347 parking spaces. Garrett said the design preserves circulation and utility capacity for a future gym expansion: “They've already sized the drain fields under the parking lot to be able to handle the additional drainage that would come from that expansion if and when it happens.”
Why it matters: Council members said they wanted the design clarity before budget hearings the following week so discussions could focus on operating and staffing. Sidway and Garrett briefed the council on operating assumptions: staff plan to open the building with two internal promotions and existing personnel, and staff estimate roughly $150,000 in additional annual operating subsidy once the facility is open, with the initial incremental staffing cost of about $101,000 for the promotions. Garrett summarized the operating estimate: “The total O&M we're looking at about 44,000 and some change and so on as we go down though that list.”
Council members pressed for more detail on operating assumptions and timing. Councilman McConner asked whether the $150,000 projection had changed; Garrett confirmed the estimate and outlined cost components including electrical, gas and janitorial focused on comparisons with existing city recreation facilities. Councilwoman Strader and others asked about revenue offsets: rentals, sponsorships and beverage-concession contracts are being explored as potential revenue sources to reduce the subsidy.
Staff described access-control plans to allow contracted instructors to use parts of the facility during unsupervised hours using badge readers and cameras. Garrett also described the flex gym and stage dimensions requested by local arts groups and said the team had reduced some play-structure size and reshaped dog-park amenities to save cost.
Background and next steps: Sidway said construction documents are moving forward and will be ready to bid this fall under the current timeline. Council members asked for budget detail and inflation sensitivity ahead of next week's budget hearings; staff estimated a $19.7 million construction budget and warned a one-year delay could add roughly 5–10% in construction inflation, “anywhere from a million to $2,000,000 each year in inflated costs,” Garrett said.
The council did not take action at the work session; staff said the design update was intended to inform the budget discussion to follow.
