Parks director proposes phased discussion of recreation center referendum; council weighs childcare and ice-arena options

Parks & Recreation Director Tracy Back reviewed the history and status of a proposed recreation-facility project and asked councilors to take the next two to three workshops to analyze pieces of the project before committing to a referendum question.

Back summarized prior steps — a November 2023 combined council/school committee meeting, a February 2024 presentation and work by a special committee — and said staff will distribute those materials to the council for background. She recommended breaking the project into discrete components (for example, childcare, Sawyer Arena rehabilitation or reconstruction, and other amenities) so the council can evaluate each piece on its merits.

Several councilors urged prioritizing childcare facilities as essential and argued that childcare investments will be unavoidable even in a strained fiscal environment. Others proposed separating the ice arena from the rest of the package and pursuing grants, hybrid bonds or community fundraising to shrink the bond ask; one councilor encouraged finding a community champion to lead nonmunicipal fundraising or operations for an ice facility.

Back said staff will provide focused materials for each upcoming workshop topic (noting childcare will be discussed soon) and will try to give adequate notice so councilors can prepare. Councilors agreed to continue the conversation in the near-term workshops and to consider phased referendum or mixed funding approaches.

Next steps: staff will circulate the 2024 presentation and the special-committee report as background and schedule the follow-up workshop segments so the council can review childcare, options for Sawyer Arena, and potential funding strategies.