The Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission officially authorized department staff to pursue a potential collaboration with Lincoln University on a proposed multipurpose building.
At their meeting Tuesday, commissioners unanimously voted to authorize department staff, along with three commission members, to work with the university on the potential collaboration. Commissioners also expressed a desire to explore the possibility of including Special Olympics Missouri with the Lincoln University collaboration.
Last week, the Jefferson City Council heard a presentation on a potential collaboration between the university and the commission for a facility on the university campus, where Lincoln is already planning a recreational facility.
Randy Allen, president and CEO of the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce, also made a presentation to the City Council last week on a potential $26.1 million facility that would be a collaboration between the city, the commission and Special Olympics Missouri.
Parks department staff has been working with the chamber on a proposal to combine the multipurpose building with the Training for Life Campus project, which is a Special Olympics Missouri project, for the last couple of months. The chamber also has been discussing the proposal with the Jefferson City Public Schools to have the facility on 15 acres of the school district's land on Missouri 179 and Mission Drive.
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.
Three community members also spoke on the multipurpose facility, urging the commission to commit to exploring the Lincoln University partnership.
Stephanie Bell said she has been amazed with the university's willingness and enthusiasm to collaborate on citywide events. Bell, who serves as president of the Downtown Association, specified she was speaking simply as a private citizen, but spoke about her experiences collaborating with the university on events held downtown, such as bringing the Lincoln University Farmers Market to several downtown events this past summer.
Bell urged the commission to fully explore and commit to a partnership with the university, adding "you will not regret it."
Donna Deetz, with the Eastside Business Association, also urged the commission to explore the university partnership.
"It will do so much for Jefferson City," Deetz said. "It would make a really big difference to this city."
Deetz also submitted a resolution passed by the association that she had submitted to the full council last week showing support for the Riverside Park location for the multipurpose building. She specified the resolution had been discussed before the other potential collaborations became public knowledge.
Colleen Taylor, with Midwest Travel, presented the commission with a document examining the room nights area hotels could anticipate receiving with the addition of a conference center versus the potential collaboration with the city and Special Olympics Missouri. The document states the PKF report, a 2008 market study on the potential of conference center, specified an increased demand of 22,500 room nights with a conference center. The document then states the total project increase in room nights for the Special Olympics Missouri collaboration would be 1,800.
"When compared with the conference center project, the city would be investing nearly twice the funds and receiving less than one-tenth the projected room nights," the document states.
Department Director Bill Lockwood said staff is waiting to receive a list of "non-negotiables" from Special Olympics Missouri, which he expects next week. Until staff receive that list, he said the department is unsure whether they will be able to, or be interested in, meeting those requirements.
The next step for staff is to continue working with the various entities interested in the project, while also examining the department's existing contract with Hastings & Chivetta, an architectural firm out of St. Louis that the commission selected last year to work on the project.
As department staff move forward with discussions on both potential collaborations, the commission may need to re-examine the existing contract as the firm may not be needed moving forward.
Lockwood specified that while both possibilities are time sensitive (as Lincoln is planning a groundbreaking in October on its recreational facility and the Special Olympics Missouri board plans to begin construction in fall 2016), the commission still needs to do the due-diligence required.
"We need to do our homework on this," Lockwood said. "We can't rush to judgment."