Debate heats up over Fitness Center's future

Discussion continues regarding the fate of the Event Center and the Fitness Center as the Kimball City Council struggles to balance a budget with a 40 percent decrease in sales tax.

Efforts to balance the budget include council’s consideration for the sale or relinquishment of city-owned properties at the most recent council meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 16.

Council member James Schnell had brought the matter to council’s attention first in July, as the city entered into budget workshops and with a looming budget shortfall.

“We need to really tighten up our belt and we need to discuss what we are going to do with buildings, if we are going to hang on to all these buildings, if we can maintain them and what our legal ability is to relinquish anything,” Schnell said. “We don’t want to let them set and abandon them. We’ve got to take care of them. If we don’t have the funding then we don’t have the right in my mind to be the owner.”

City Attorney Kent Hadenfeldt advised that the City can sell by sealed bid or at public auction, but cannot give anything away, with three exceptions.

Those exceptions include if the building is required for a federal or state grants; if it goes to another public agency or if the property is an alley or street.

Though this includes all city-owned properties, the Event Center was instantly the focus of those in the audience as well as the council since previous budget discussions have focused on closing the longtime loss leader.

“What is the current plan with the Event Center? What are you budgeting for?” community member Larissa Binod asked. “Are you literally budgeting and headed to the direction of getting rid of the building and the service from your budget and from your responsibilities?”

“In the budget papers, we don’t have any tax dollars to subsidize it,” Schnell said.

“Is it a conclusion that you guys are going to try to go through with the sale of the building? And if so, the Event Center is specifically what I am talking about,” citizen Dave Stahla said. “There are a lot of people that don’t want to see the gym go.”

Stahla added that although he has not seen the total numbers, $250,000 seems like a lot of money to put in a fire suppression system and update the bathrooms. Stahla suggested paying Event Center management on a commission in place of a salary.

“The City was given the Event Center years ago, I don’t understand why...,” Stahla added. “What does it lose? $50,000 a year?”

The Event Center cost the City $50,000 and actually loses about $20,000 annually. According to Schnell, the necessary updates for fire suppression and ADA compliant facilities costs upwards of $500,000.

“Basically, the grant we got from the state only got us to the sprinklers,” Schnell explained.

Past projects at the Event Center include a new roof at a cost of approximately $100,000 last year and a new HVAC system in 2010.

“We are to the point now, just to keep the doors open, we need $52,000 in sales tax,” Schnell added. “If you go to just downtown Scottsbluff, there are four fitness centers. There is money to be made. That is private enterprise; that should not be city government doing all those things.”

Though the Event Center has been losing money, the fitness center, which is a separate entity housed on the same location, has routinely made money.

“The gym made $13,000 last year,” Kimball citizen Blaine Schilreff said. “How much does it cost to run the fitness center alone?”

“There aren’t many businesses that make $13,000 total yearly revenue that make money,” council member John Morrison said. “That’s not even minimum wage for somebody working.”

Stahla also asked if local contractors were involved in the bidding process and how much of the original remodeling plan was reconsidered.

“We didn’t have anybody local give a bid,” Warner answered. “When we did try to talk about what we could cut out to get it into a budget we can afford, because the sprinkler system is $300,000 and we have to do that, but in order to do that we have to redo the plumbing. Between just the sprinkler system and the bathrooms we were still at half a million.”

“One thing I think you guys are missing, the reason why we are also not moving forward with the renovation project is because the money that was going to be used was going to be from our Keno trust fund for the City’s matching share of the improvements,” Ortiz added.

That money, according to Ortiz, is now earmarked for the matching funds for the underpass project.

“If the concern is making money, why are we turning people away? Because we don’t want children in there; because we won’t give a discount to a veteran; because we won’t offer things like that,” Kimball business owner Heather Entingh asked. “I don’t understand why you are turning money away. I know that me and my husband won’t go in there because we were told our children are not allowed in there, and I have infants. I would rather have $50 than $0.”

Ortiz explained again that the $50,000 generally used to subsidize the Event Center has be reallocated to fund the street department, library, cemetery, swimming pool, golf course and other City departments.

“In order to put that money back in (the Event Center budget), it is going to be taken away from those other departments,” Ortiz added.

“The whole problem here is that we have a 40 percent decrease in sales tax that we have never had,” council member John Morrison said.

Schilreff asked how much the Event Center had lost over the course of five years, and stated that he bet the council would be shocked to see that it had lost money every year.

“Why haven’t you guys done anything?” he asked. “Poor management.”

Morrison argued that it was not poor management, it was because people wanted to keep the Event Center open and there was previously money in the budget to do so.

“We do we not get rid of the pool? The library has cost us money,” Morrison said. “It is because it is what the people want. We could close the pool; we could close the library and we could balance the budget. But if we did do you think people would be happy with that? No, because we wouldn’t have quality of life. We don’t have a choice. Okay, we’re going to take $23,000 and give it to the Event Center. Where do you want us to take the money from? Do you want us to take it from the pool? The library? Do you want us to take it from the Police Department?”

“We can’t make a decision yet. We are trying to get everyone’s opinion on what we can do,” Warner added. “What options are available? We need to hear what people are willing to do.”

Other options for the fitness center mentioned include increasing fitness center membership dues, letting the manager position out for bid in a manner similar to that of the golf pro at Four Wind Golf Course, partnering with Kimball Health Services for community health or housing the facility agt the trap club located in Kimball’s recreation area.

Though there are particulars to be worked out with any option, the council expressed interest in hearing solutions from the public and looking into each solution.

“We are not trying to shut it down, we are looking for other options,” Mayor Keith Prunty concluded.

The next budget meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 25 at City Hall.