After months of closed-door discussions, the operating agreement for the planned multipurpose facility has been approved by both the Lincoln University Board of Curators and the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission.
The LU Board of Curators approved the memorandum of understanding, or MOU, at its meeting Thursday morning. The vote was taken in open session and was approved unanimously with no discussion. The Parks and Recreation Commission unanimously approved the MOU Wednesday in open session, though it was preceded by a 20-minute closed-door discussion.
Last year, the Parks and Recreation Commission authorized Parks staff to pursue a collaboration with Lincoln on the multipurpose building where it would operate as both a multipurpose facility and a student wellness facility on Lafayette Street.
Between LU and the parks commission, $11.1 million is available for the collaborative project, which includes a $1.5 million line of credit approved by the Jefferson City Council in December, at the commission's request. According to the MOU, Parks is solely responsible for repaying that loan.
In July, commissioners approved shrinking the building's proposed footprint from 90,000 square feet to 79,000 square feet after cost estimates had risen above the available funds for the project. By trimming the overall square footage, the estimated cost of building the facility became between $11.4 million and $13.6 million, which still leaves a potential funding gap of up to $2 million.
The MOU lays out the project's funding and responsibilities for operations and management of the facility. According to the MOU, Lincoln University will be responsible for soliciting and receiving construction bids, and the facility title will be held jointly, though the title to the real property will be held by Lincoln.
The MOU also establishes Parks will be responsible for costs of improvements to the first floor, while Lincoln will be responsible for costs in the basement and upper floor.
The MOU sets initial hours of operation for the facility at 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Sunday's News Tribune will contain a more detailed look at the MOU.