Riverside discusses proposed community center

By Molly Roberts
Posted 8/31/21

The Riverside City Council held a work session on Monday, Aug. 30 to discuss the ongoing plans and next steps toward the proposed building of a new community center in Riverside.

Mayor Allen …

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Riverside discusses proposed community center

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The Riverside City Council held a work session on Monday, Aug. 30 to discuss the ongoing plans and next steps toward the proposed building of a new community center in Riverside.

Mayor Allen Schneider said Carl A. Nelson & Company has shared plans for a community building with a budget of about $6.8 million, which would cost about $7 million by the time the city begins to build.

When it comes to funding the center, City Administrator Christine Yancey said the city has “plenty of bond capacity” to fund the entire project but does not believe it’s in the city’s best interest to pay for the whole project using bonds.

The city also already has $1.2 million in available funds to build the center. Mayor Schneider said he believes a good funding breakdown would be 25% of the project paid for by savings and community fundraising, 25% from grants, and 50% from a bond referendum. He said that breakdown could be a “rough idea of what might make sense.”

Yancey said there are “substantial grants out there for these types of facilities,” including from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation, which awarded the city of Kalona $3.5 million when Kalona built their community center in 2018.

It was also noted that Carl A. Nelson & Company completed a community needs assessment, which serves the purpose of giving various grant boards something to look at when determining funding for the center.

There was also discussion about who would be responsible for the daily operations of the community center, such as the YMCA of Washington County, who operates the Kalona and Wellman community centers. The YMCA of Washington County currently has 128 members with a Riverside address, who mostly use the Kalona facilities.

Councilperson Kevin Mills said that multiple citizens had mentioned to him that they would like to see the community center include a daycare facility, which would likely be operated by a private business.

During the work session, the council determined that the immediate next steps in the planning process for the proposed community center included making sure all of the council’s questions were answered, then starting discussions with the YMCA about their interest and capacity to operate the center. The council also said the next steps include conversations with the Highland School District, as the proposed site for the community center borders that of Highland Elementary School.

Mayor Schneider reminded the council that the proposed community center would be a long process that “is going to take a while.” He said he is up for reelection in November for a two-year term and, if he is reelected, hopes to have the project significantly underway during that term.