Town Council Work Session on the Aquatics
Facilities
Temporary Council Chambers
Web Site:
www.townofcary.org
The
work session was called to order at
Council
Members Present: Mayor Ernie McAlister, Mayor Pro Temp Jack Smith, Council
Members Marla Dorrel, Jennifer Robinson, Julie Robison, Nels Roseland, Michael
Joyce
Consultant: Scot
Hunsaker of Counsilman/Hunsaker & Associates in
Mary
Henderson, of the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department, stated
that the purpose of the work session is for staff and consultants Counsilman/Hunsaker
to provide the Cary Town Council with information about options available to
meet the various goals and needs in the Town of Cary for an aquatics facility.
She stated that staff is also seeking direction from Council for which option to
pursue in order to set the stage for consideration of the aquatics project
within the upcoming capital improvement budget process. Mrs. Henderson added
that the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Advisory Board will prioritize
the community aquatics needs and provide that information to Council for further
deliberation with the capital improvement budget.
Mr.
Hunsaker reviewed the process used to gather information for the aquatics
project over the last four years. He also provided a brief review of the history
of aquatics. (Counsilman/Hunsaker & Associates’ April 2004 Development
Options and Enterprise Plan for the Town of Cary Aquatic Facility is attached to
and incorporated in these minutes as Exhibit
A; Mr. Hunsaker’s power point presentation is attached to and
incorporated in these minutes as Exhibit
B.)
Mr.
Hunsaker stated that aquatic user groups have different needs and requirements,
with the primary difference between the groups being water temperature and water
depth. He said that competitive athletes prefer cooler water, whereas
recreational, lesson, fitness, and therapy groups prefer warmer water
temperatures. Furthermore, there are traditionally two fields of play in
competitive swimming: two short course concepts and a long course concept.
Ms.
Robison asked Mr. Hunsaker to clarify the recreational attendance applied to
Option 4 in his presentation.
Mr.
Hunsaker stated that there are two types of user groups: the first is a special
user group with a contractual relationship where attendance is for a planned
activity; the other is general admission where unstructured recreational
activities occur. He said that defining a competitive pool for recreational
programming is one of management structure and decision-making.
Ms.
Robison asked if first year attendance would increase by adding recreation to
Option 4.
Mr.
Hunsaker replied yes, stating that the possibility exists to include Option 3
with Option 4, which would then increase recreational value for that concept;
Option 3 can also be added to Option 1 and the community center concept.
Mr.
Joyce asked if the recreational option is the only type to historically make
money.
Mr.
Hunsaker responded that recreational users use the facility less frequently and
are willing to pay more, whereas special user groups will use it more frequently
but usually pay less. Therefore, a facility is more likely to operate in a
self-sustaining environment with recreational value. He explained that with an
outdoor facility the number one cost is labor, whereas for an indoor facility
the number one cost is utilities followed very closely by labor. The rule of
thumb is that outdoor aquatics have greater propensity to cover operations. Mr.
Hunsaker stated that the projections for operations for the first five years
assumes a two-and-a-half percent increase in operating costs per year, but not
an increase in fee schedule (those are management type issues).
Mr.
Hunsaker stated that in his career he has never seen a community with such a
well-organized amateur athletic group that is serious about the sport and excels
at the sport with such a lack of facilities. He said that the State Capital
Sports Center, which is a facility that includes aquatics, fitness and ice to
improve fiscal sustainability of the facility, is willing to assist in meeting
the Town’s needs; additionally, the Triangle Aquatic Center (TAC) is in the
process of developing their own facility and are currently in the design
process. However, that facility still will not meet all the needs of aquatic
programming in the Town. He stated that a long-term type approach to consider is
the community center concept, which provides two smaller facilities for a Town
similar to the size of
Ms.
Dorrel asked how partnership structures are used, and for a description of the
level of degree of difficulty in achieving a partnership.
Mr.
Hunsaker said there are primarily four constituencies for partnerships: a not
for profit corporation, private fitness and ice investors, potentially the Town
of
Mayor
McAlister asked Mrs. Henderson to describe the process the Town used to
determine citizens needs and wants for aquatics facility.
Mrs.
Henderson stated that Counsilman/Hunsaker was initially hired to do a
feasibility study and provide options for an aquatics facility. Additionally,
several different focus groups and general public meetings were held. She stated
that staff also met with competitive athletes, hospitals, therapy groups,
general recreation users, and the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
Advisory Board to receive input which resulted in the 50 meter aquatic facility
option due to capacity issues. After that, the venue concept was presented with
the
Mr.
Roseland said that the Wake County Open Space Committee has a proposal involving
the TAC to partner with the Town to sell about 5 acres of land to
Ms.
Henderson said that staff is working with TAC through the design phase to create
access to a park and a potential greenway in that area, with the greenway being
a higher priority. She stated that staff would like to work with TAC in
designing the facility to gain access to that land and for aquatics. She said
that the proposal is for open space and, at this time, there are 30 acres
immediately adjacent to the TAC’s 20 acre site. Mrs. Henderson said staff will
have to evaluate the proposal based on the Town’s current priorities for open
space.
There
was discussion on whether the 2003 bond referendum would be used to build the
facility and what it would mean in terms of a tax increase to the citizens. The
outcome of the discussion was that the possibility of a tax increase was made
clear at the time of the referendum. However, the Council has no desire to
increase taxes. Mr. Roseland added that last year the Council agreed to commit
$5 million a year for three years towards the facility.
Mr.
Joyce asked if an analysis has ever been done on the use of recreational
subdivision pools. Mayor Pro Tem Smith asked if an audit was performed for
accuracy on usage estimates.
Mr.
Hunsaker responded that his company looked at 14 existing facilities and two in
the conceptual stages which is inclusive of neighborhood pools. He said that his
firm always performs audits, including economic assessments, and the facility
projections are fairly straight forward. He said the fee schedule is what
impacts financial sustainability.
Mr.
Roseland asked if Impact Athletics’ commitment to a $10 million sports
facility in the
Mrs.
Henderson said it is not.
Mrs.
Robison asked which model is reasonable and what mix provides the best
opportunity for recreational success. She also asked if recreation and
competitive goals can be achieved without heavily subsidizing.
Mr.
Hunsaker defined success as fiscal sustainability and maximum flexibility in
programming. He stated that the issue is capacity; even if TAC is built the Town
will not have enough water surface area to meet the needs of the community. He
said that a successful facility would meet the appropriate need for as many
residents as possible, as well as meeting financial goals. For a community the
size of
Mrs.
Robinson asked Mr. Hunsaker if he were recommending going against Option 4
without a partnership.
Mr.
Hunsaker responded that it is not a typical solution for aquatics programming
for a community the size of
Mrs.
Robison asked if
Mr.
Hunsaker responded that it would be consistent with the investment based upon
the size of the community, with the purpose of making that investment being an
economic draw to the area at large benefiting the entire region.
Mr.
Joyce asked if phasing was an option.
Mr.
Hunsaker said yes, phasing does have advantages of planning for the future and
has a lot to do with site selection. He said that master planning future options
is an important tool.
Ms.
Dorrel said that Council needs to determine goals for aquatics, prioritize them,
and weight them according to the various available options.
Mr.
Joyce said Council needs to first look at costs. He does not want to have a
long-term financial impact on the community. He said that public/private
partnerships can work.
Ms.
Robison said that there is a documented need for aquatics facilities in the
community stretching from recreational to competitive and that Council should
consider a long-term view, working with stakeholders in the community, regional
partners, and with the private sector to achieve a venue facility.
Mrs.
Robinson said the Town needs to pursue a pool system to be used by both
competitive groups and recreational users, and building an aquatics facility
would benefit the entire region. She said that Council needs to convey to the
Raleigh City Council and Wake County Commissions the importance of receiving the
funds from the hotel/motel meals tax. She would also prefer to go into some
private/public partnership to make the facility a reality. Mayor Pro Tem Smith
added that it is also important to hold a public hearing and get feedback from
the community.
Mr.
Roseland said that the best option is to get staff and Council to consider
adding a recreational component on the TAC site and revisit partnership
opportunities with them.
Ms.
Dorrel said that she is an advocate of the
Mayor
McAlister stated that pursing the funding from
Council
members agreed to send a resolution to the Wake County Commissioners and the
Raleigh City Council formally requesting their support for an aquatics facility
in
Mayor
McAlister will contact the mayors of Morrisville and Apex to ask for their
support in putting together a similar resolution to be sent to the Wake County
Board of Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council.
Finally,
it was suggested that Council members personally contact Wake County
Commissioners and Raleigh City Council members to convey the importance of the
facility to the community.
Mayor
McAlister instructed staff to prepare a resolution in time for the next Council
meeting to send to the Wake County Commissioners and the Raleigh City Council.
The
work session ended at