Council to vote on YMCA contract
October 10, 2008
By Ed Farrell
The Snoqualmie Finance and Administration Committee Wednesday agreed to forward to the full City Council a tentative agreement with the YMCA to provide operational and maintenance services for the proposed Community Center on Snoqualmie Ridge.
The document, a memorandum of understanding, has been scheduled as an action item for Monday’s City Council meeting, according to City Clerk Jodi Warren, meaning the council can formally adopt the agreement without further action.
City Attorney Pat Anderson told the committee Wednesday that the document is not the formal contract the city will enter into with the YMCA, which has been selected by the city as a “partner” in the proposed facility that is slated to be built on a 9-acre portion of Snoqualmie Community Park.
The formal detailed agreement will not be prepared, Anderson said, unless voters approve a $10 million bond question Nov. 4. It is the city’s third attempt to solicit public funding for the facility. Attempts in 2002 and 2006 were defeated largely, according to city officials, because of overwhelming opposition from residents who live in the historic, downtown area of the city. In both prior bond questions, Snoqualmie Ridge residents voted in support of measures to publicly fund the project.
The document projects the formal contract will be for a 20-year period.
In addition to the bond proceeds, the city has agreed to commit $1 million in Real Estate Excise Tax, or REET, proceeds to the project, along with $3 million being held by Quadrant Homes, which the developer collected as mitigation fees per its agreement with the city.
The $14 million facility will include a regulation-size gymnasium and an indoor swimming pool.
The agreement to be discussed by the Council Monday includes a provision that the city will pay the YMCA $100,000 a year for three years “to subsidize the YMCA’s cost of maintenance, operation and repair,” and promises that additional revenues could be made available under terms of an agreement between the city and the Snoqualmie Tribe, which is required under their gambling compact with the state of Washington to provide a percentage of gaming proceeds to local communities and non-profit groups.
The wording seemingly contradicts earlier statements by both city and YMCA officials that such payments would be used to provide scholarships and subsidized rates for lower-income city residents.
“After three years, this sum will be solely payable from human services mitigation payments to the city from the Snoqualmie Tribe’s impact mitigation fund,” the document states, but adds “the city will not be obligated if funds are not received from the Snoqualmie Tribe.”
As a non-profit organization, the YMCA will also be allowed to apply for additional city funding annually from a human services account the City Council established that is seeded by 1 percent of the city’s overall general fund revenues, Anderson said. That fund totaled $68,000 in 2007, but increased to $97,500 in 2008 following the new 1 percent dedication. Estimated fund totals for 2009 are not available.
The city agrees to “design, construct and finance” the center — and will retain ownership of the building. The agreement states the city will “consult with the YMCA as to design requirements to accommodate YMCA programming and operation.”
If approved by the voters, the $10 million, 20-year bond will add 30 cents per $1,000 valuation to the property tax bill of every homeowner within the official Snoqualmie city limits.
That amounts to $60 a year for a $200,000 home, $90 year for a $300,000 home and $120 a year for a $400,000 home.
Over the life of the bond, the owner of a $400,000 home would pay about $2,400.
The YMCA has pledged that city of Snoqualmie residents would not have to pay one-time membership or “joining” fees, which range from $25 for youth to as much as $125, but all users of the facility, including city residents, would still be subject to monthly YMCA dues of as much as $93 a month for a family.
With a bond obligation of $120 annually, a family living in a $400,000 home within the city limits would still be subject to $1,116 in monthly dues a year to use the facility, according to figures provided by the YMCA, placing the actual cost to use the YMCA on a regular basis for such a family at $1,236 a year, not including additional special program charges.
In return, YMCA officials promised city residents could receive discounts, called Y-Bucks, of as much as $25 to $50 a year that could be used to offset fees.
Non-city residents would have to pay full membership, full dues, and any additional fees for select programs. All current YMCA members, however, regardless of where their home facility is, would be allowed to use the Snoqualmie Ridge center without additional charges, officials said.
YMCA officials said non-members would be allowed to purchase day passes at $8 a day for use of the facilities, such as the swimming pool.
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