City has no funds for three high-profile recreational projects; can Linn County get out its wallet? city asks

The hopes of some City Council members for the city's next budget were bigger last week than last night.

Council members who last week talked about taking on $35 million in new debt for capital improvement projects scaled that figure back to $28 million last night when they realized that the council could be flirting with a property-tax rise of more than 9 percent for homeowners with the extra spending.

Among what did not make the capital-improvement cut were three parks and recreational projects that the council had expressed strong support for in the last couple weeks. Those are an outdoor riverfront amphitheater, an outdoor ice rink/fountain on May's Island and the start of funding for a $60- to $80-million community and recreational center called the Multigenerational Community Life Center.

City Manager Jim Prosser said the city would still apply to secure a state River Enhancement Community and Tourism grant for the amphitheater and ice rink, and he said the city could sell bonds later to fund the city's local match for those projects if the state grant comes through.

There has been no stronger advocate for the Multigenerational center than council member Justin Shields, and Shields said not funding any part of the project now would be the death of it. Such a grim prediction did not change the mind of anyone else on the council to spend money on the project.

Instead, council member Chuck Swore suggested that the Life Center was “the perfect” project for the Linn County Board of Supervisors to take over and help fund.

“Pride and ownership is something I'm willing to give up,” Swore said.

Julie Sina, the city's parks and recreation director, said she has kept the Linn supervisors apprised of the progress of the Life Center project - the community committee that has pushed the project for several years is called PLAY in Linn County. But Sina said the supervisors “have indicated they don't have any money.”

Mayor Ron Corbett last night also turned to the Linn County supervisors for help. He wondered why the supervisors and the county's public health operation couldn't take over animal care and control for the city.

At the very least, Corbett said it's time to talk with the county about joining forces now that the city is talking about building a new animal shelter at Kirkwood Community College to replace the shelter the June 2008 flood destroyed.

A week ago, council member Tom Podzimek was telling Corbett that the mayor was focusing too much on cutting the city's budget.

Last night, Podzimek said it was “gut check” time when he learned that residential property taxes could be jumping 9 percent in the next budget year even if the city kept city services just as they are and limited investment in streets and other capital improvement projects to $30 million.

At the level of a 9-percent tax increase it was time, he said, to think about what the community can afford.

In each of the last two budget years, the council has committed about $29 million to capital projects, according to city budget figures.

The council will look for savings in its general-operating budget at a meeting this evening.

Again last night, City Manager Prosser told the council it needed to invest a minimum of $40 million in projects to try to get ahead of a crumbling infrastructure. Last week, Prosser had presented the council with requests for $86 million in projects.