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Community center may get bumped
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: May 28, 2015

The city may not get a new multi-function community center in 2016, but it will have roads and sidewalks to get you there.

The cost overruns for the ongoing reconstruction of Meridian, the Clay Street project in 2014, the recent sidewalk installation on McLaughlin and the planned sidewalks on Goff and Emporia may push the long-discussed community center back at least another year or possibly even two or three.

The Valley Center City Council will consider capital improvement projects over the next couple of months. The $2 million community center, which would house a library as well as large rooms for community and private gatherings, had been slotted on the city's funding schedule for 2016, although the city council has not given the facility its formal blessing.

The city must finance an additional $1.5 million to make up the deficits on current projects, a move that would push the community center further into the future.

Warren Utecht, community development director, told the city's planning commission on May 26 that the city council has been asked to prioritize future projects. It's unclear where the community center will fall on the list that includes road reconstruction projects on 93rd North (from Seneca to Broadway), South Meridian (from Ford to 69th) and Fifth (from the Little Ditch bridge to Broadway).

The city's portion of the community center's pricetag is an estimated $1 million, with the other half coming from the Friends of the Valley Center Public Library and from private donations.

A community center committee, which has been studying the project for the past several months, is expected to make final changes on May 28 to a recommendation that will go before the city council on June 2. It's unclear whether the proposal will be scheduled for a vote.

Planning commission members were impressed by the proposal.

The one-story community center, which would be built in the southeast corner of Lions Park and replace the existing facility, would include a 5,000-square-foot library, two large rooms that could be converted into one large space for up to 150 people, a meeting room, two small study rooms, a kitchen and restrooms. The lobby would include a display case and a coffee corner. A storm shelter would be constructed in the middle of the building.

"We're trying to make this as multi-functional as possible … something that can be used almost all the time, every day and every weekend," Utecht said.

The exterior would include a mix of brick and stucco siding.

"That's a very nice looking building," said Danny Park, chairman of the planning commission.

If approved, the community center would take up to 16 months to build and equip.

Utecht said he is trying to generate community interest in the project in an effort to spur private donations through the Valley Center Community Foundation.

"I think this is going to be a very successful kind of thing," Utecht said.





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