Jesse Cuomo outlines community center design and $18 million in dedicated funding

Jesse Cuomo, Woodburn’s Community Services Director, presented the city’s finalized design concepts for the new community center and accompanying park work, and said the project is being built without the use of general fund dollars. He told the council the project’s confirmed funding includes a $15,000,000 allocation from SDCs, a $2,000,000 legislative contribution from Lehi Munoz and a $1,000,000 award from the local government grant fund.

Cuomo walked the council through site and interior plans: a welcoming vestibule and lobby, an event space divisible into three rooms with about 180-person capacity, a commercial kitchen and dedicated operator offices. He emphasized design choices made to keep long-term maintenance costs down. "Both of these projects are being funded without general fund dollars," Cuomo said. He also reviewed site circulation changes including a proposal to terminate a portion of Oak Street to increase on-site parking and improve pedestrian connectivity to City Hall.

The presentation outlined significant facility changes to the natatorium and locker areas. Cuomo said the project will replace the current pool systems and introduce individual, floor-to-ceiling changing rooms to increase privacy: "There's 21 changing spaces in this space" and eight individual showers are planned. The natatorium scope includes new deck draining, a 12-person spa, on-deck showers and lifeguard observation windows. Cuomo noted solar tubes to add daylighting into the pool space to reduce lighting needs on sunny days.

On schedule, Cuomo said the design set is near 60% complete and the team will produce final construction documents and alternates (for floor and fixture options) before the full bid set is issued. He identified the project delivery method as a construction-manager/general-contractor approach that brought contractor input early to limit later change orders. Council members pressed for clarity on the construction timeline; Cuomo suggested bids in January with a potential March construction start and an optimistic completion in October, but a staff member on the record cautioned that the October date is likely optimistic and projected construction could extend roughly 16 months, pushing final completion into late spring 2027.