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Administration proposes redirecting $5M Maher Center bond allocation to infrastructure projects
Summary
Administration said a study showed Maher Center renovation or rebuild would cost about $13.2M, far exceeding a $5M allocation; staff proposed reassigning the $5M to priority infrastructure projects that fit the bond definition, including city hall, Fire Station 5, dynamic parking signs, the library roof and Brick Market HVAC.
Staff told the council that a study of the Maher Center found renovation or replacement costs of roughly $13.2 million, well above the $5 million the bond had set aside for that site. Given the gap, the administration proposed redirecting the $5 million allocation to other infrastructure projects that meet the bond's general infrastructure definition, including city hall improvements ($1.25M), Fire Station 5 building work, dynamic parking signs, a library roof repair (staff indicated the final cost may be lower than originally estimated) and a Brick Market HVAC/geothermal project.
Administration emphasized these are reallocations of an unspent allocation rather than expenditures committed without council approval and said any actual project would still require council authorization. Councilors asked whether voters had been told the $5M would be used specifically for the Maher Center; staff replied the bond language to voters had been broader and the proposed projects fit within its scope. As one staff member summarized the study results, "both came in approximately the same cost of about $13,200,000," explaining the Maher Center figure that motivated the reallocation recommendation.
