The Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission may consider a partnership for the planned multipurpose building.
At the commission meeting Monday, Randy Allen, president and CEO of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, asked for permission to continue discussions with representatives of Special Olympics Missouri to partner with the department on the project. The idea, he said, would be to combine the department's multipurpose building with the Training for Life Campus project. Allen said both the department and the Special Olympics Missouri have struggled to find the needed funding for their projects and merging the two might accomplish both goals, while locating the campus in Jefferson City.
The commission has been working toward construction of a multipurpose building, but has struggled with the project's budget. The department has identified roughly $5 million for the facility, but commission members have indicated a desire for a facility that likely would cost closer to $8 million. The commission has previously identified Riverside Park, on the city's east side, as the location for a multipurpose building.
Allen said Special Olympics Missouri purchased property south of Columbia for the campus several years ago, but is open to the idea of locating in Jefferson City.
"We began some conversations," Allen said. "The door kept swinging a little more open."
As for the site, Allen said he was meeting with the Board of Education of the Jefferson City Public Schools about the possibility of using the school-owned property on Missouri 179 and Mission Drive.
"We want to make sure we have the opportunity to look at that site," Allen said.
In a letter to Bill Lockwood, director of the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department, Allen said there would be no cost to the department by continuing the discussions.
The commission approved a motion to support staff efforts to work with the chamber on the partnership efforts, but they are also looking at other collaborative opportunities.
"It's actually a really intriguing possibility," said Marty Miller, commission vice president. "It's exciting to hear about some possible partnership opportunities."
Miller suggested having commission member Brad Bates take the lead to explore alternative sites for potential partnerships within the community for the multipurpose building, which was approved by the commission. Miller said the purpose would be to give any other sites or entities consideration for the project.
Bates said he is supportive of collaborative efforts but suggested the commission consider hiring a consultant at some point to ensure that any partnership would serve the city's programming needs.
"I think, at some point, we need to bring in some objective expertise to make sure any facility can serve the interests of all parties," Bates said. "This is too big a decision to assume this idea will function in the real world to satisfy community needs."