Rec Center asks city for money for improvements

WILLIAMSBURG — The Williamsburg City Council will seek engineering for upgrades and an addition to the Williamsburg Community Recreation Center at the request of officials operating the center.

Williamsburg Mayor Adam Grier brought the request to the council during an earlier meeting, but the council requested more details before moving forward with the project.

Nichole Winegarden, director of the rec center, Mitchell Stahl, its strength coach, and Austin and Kiley Blythe from Legacy, which operates the center, presented their vision and answered questions during the April 22 city council meeting.

“We just want to keep continuing to grow what we’re doing,” said Winegarden.

When Legacy took over the lease in 2021, its goal was to keep pricing low to make programs accessible to everyone, said Kiley Blythe.

From 2002, when the center was built, through 2024, family membership has increase only from $400 a year to $500 a year, said Winegarden.

The highest league fees are still only $50.

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Legacy has brought back all the activities the rec center had lost and has brought back the partnership with the school, said Kiley. “We intend to keep this lease agreement for the foreseeable future,” she said.

Rec Center officials would like to repurpose the racquetball court, knocking out a wall to expand the weight room, said Austin Blythe. Taking out the wall, putting in flooring and installing windows would cost about $83,000, according to a contractor contacted by Blythe, he said.

The racquetball court isn’t used much, said Kiley. And Legacy and the Rec Center are willing to do some of the work — such as painting — to save money.

“We’re trying to be as cost effective as possible,” said Stahl.

As it is now, the weight room is too small, the group said. People step outside the weight room for some of their exercises because there isn’t enough room inside, said Winegarden.

An expansion into the racquetball court would allow the Rec Center to add medicine balls and sleds, which the weight room doesn’t currently have space for, said Stahl.

The group would also like to replace some equipment. All the equipment now in use is from the original 2002 Rec Center, said Winegarden. “They’re very functional,” she said, but they are worn.

The Rec Center would try to sell the old equipment to recoup some of the cost of the new equipment, Winegarden said.

The second part of the upgrades would be construction of a pole barn style shell added to the southeast corner of the building. That would provide more space for programs.

Right now programs share space, and that creates scheduling conflicts, said Kiley.

Evening classes have been pretty much cut since 2019, said Winegarden. The 212 Sports Academy, which offers youth programs, has a contract to use the basketball court from 5:30 p.m. to close, said Winegarden.

The fitness room upstairs was a fitness class in 2002, said Winegarden, but classes quickly outgrew that room and moved to the basketball court. That’s inconvenient and interferes with use of the court.

It’s not a fitness room, it’s a basketball court,” Winegarden said. In essence, the rec center doesn’t have a fitness room, she said. But it needs one.

The fitness classes aren’t included in memberships, said Winegarden, and will bring in additional revenue.

Williamsburg has grown in population by 1,000 people since 2002, said Austin. “So the community’s only going to get bigger.” The Rec Center needs to be able to offer classes in the evenings for working people.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Williamsburg’s population in 2000 was 2,622. That number increased by 17% to 3,068 in 2010. The town grew another 9.1% from 2010 to 2020, reporting a population of 3,346 in the last census.

“The Rec Center hasn’t changed with the changes in the community,” said Kiley.

Legacy received three estimates from well-respected contractors for an addition, said Austin. The low estimate was around $317,000.

Equipment would cost about $80,000, bringing the entire project to less than $400,000, Austin said.

The equipment costs would come out of the equipment fund, and the addition would be paid for from the facility fund, the group said.

Tax increment financing funds for the Rec Center shows a principal of $1 million and $270,982 in interest. The $317,000 would deplete the interest and would use part of the principal, Austin said.

Councilman Tyler Marshall’s biggest concern is spending down the principal, he said. The city needs to have enough money to take care of problems that arise.

Iowa Code requires that any project over $100,000 have engineering and a bid process, said City Attorney Eric Tindal. Engineering costs will add 10-15% to the price of the project, or about $50,000.

When the complex was built, the city created a TIF debt for maintenance and repair, said Tindal. Over the years the money has been used for operation.

The 20-year TIF debt expired in 2022. It won’t be replenished.

The only thing feeding the fund now is the interest, said Marshall. The way the budget’s going, it’s going to be awhile before the city can put it back, he said. “That’s my main concern.”

“It’s been great for the school. It’s been great for 212. We have the preschool there,” said Winegarden. The Rec Center has a wow-factor for people who move to Williamsburg.

It won’t be a struggle for the city, said Austin.

“If we were barely hanging on, we would find other ways to make it work,” said Winegarden. “We’re thriving right now.” That’s why it needs to expand — to provide additional programs for the people who want them.