Residents call for more details on Snoqualmie’s community center plan
March 11, 2010
By Dan Catchpole
UPDATED — 11:55 a.m. March 11, 2010
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A group of Snoqualmie residents are asking City Council to take a closer look at a proposed agreement with the YMCA of Greater Seattle for operation of a future community center.
The group presented a range of concerns to the council at its March 8 meeting, including the cost of the project, safety issues and potential impacts on traffic and parking.
Based on these concerns, the council should more closely examine the agreement and its potential ramifications, several residents said.
“If any of these concerns existed by themselves, they would not be enough to delay or derail this action. But when I see this much uncertainty and lack of details…it starts to smell to me,” said Marcus Morisette before the meeting.
The agreement would put the YMCA in charge of running and maintaining a community center on Snoqualmie Ridge.
The center would be 9,500-13,000 square feet after its first phase, which is expected to cost around $4 million and include a meeting room, half-sized gymnasium, fitness facility and youth room. A future phase estimated to cost $10 million would include a pool.
The city’s plan is to have the YMCA build the facility, which Snoqualmie would then buy from the group and lease back to it. The YMCA would then operate the community center.
Residents want more details
Several residents asked for more details on several issues, including the plan’s costs, the size of the proposed site, parking and traffic.
Some called for greater financial transparency, questioning if the city would have enough money to pay for the facility’s first phase. They pointed to cost overruns of nearly $2 million on recently finished City Hall.
Mayor Matt Larson said that the builder would be liable for any construction cost overruns on the community center, and the YMCA would pay any operations cost overruns.
However, resolving City Hall’s construction cost overruns has not proven so simple, with the builder, designer and city each denying responsibility.
The city is greatly underestimating the facility’s construction costs, said Mark McDonald, owner and president of Northwest Capital Corp., which developed and manages Snoqualmie Ridge’s retail space.
The city’s plan says the center will be built to meet Ridge guidelines, which are expensive, McDonald said. “The city is making commitments they don’t know they can come through on.”
The city can’t even really know what the final costs for Phase I and Phase II will be until it has specified the construction site, said George Isaacs, a Realtor and resident on Snoqualmie Ridge.
“Until you know the site, it’s hard to determine what the actual costs are,” he said.
The city has indicated the center would go on park land next to Cascade View Elementary School, but it hasn’t specified how much of the park would be used for the facility.
The agreement will be considered at the council’s Parks and Planning Committee March 15 meeting. The meeting has been moved to Snoqualmie Fire Station to allow for extended public comment.
After that it will go back to the City Council, which can vote on it at its March 22 meeting.
Dan Catchpole: 392-6434, ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment at www.snovalleystar.com.
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