Commissioners voted on and approved a municipal order to continue a suspension of their agreement with Lose & Associates for the design and construction of the Indoor Recreation and Aquatic Center. They also directed the City Manager to continue due diligence on the project.
The order puts the project on hold until January of 2021.
At their previous meeting, Commissioners approved adding amendments to the order, which directed the City Manager to continue research related to the project, including the following:
• The creation of a conceptual build-out for prospective tenants;
• The creation of several community focus groups for the project, with an emphasis on inclusion and programming;
• Research on financial assistance and faculty naming rights;
• Research facility costs with an emphasis on understanding the impact of COVID-19 on the project.
• The creation of several community focus groups for the project, with an emphasis on inclusion and programming;
• Research on financial assistance and faculty naming rights;
• Research facility costs with an emphasis on understanding the impact of COVID-19 on the project.
Commissioners approved this order with a 3-2 vote with Richard Abraham and Gerald Watkins voting no.
According to Watkins and Abraham, they are in favor of pausing the design but not in favor of the amendments that continue the due diligence on the project that may have fees.
Abraham made a motion to rescind the amendments to the order, focusing instead on just the pausing of the design until January. By a 2-3 vote (Abraham and Watkins voting to rescind), Commissioners did not approve the motion.
The City had previously entered into the agreement with Lose for the design of the recreation and aquatic center in August of 2019. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the City paused the design of the facility on May 1. That pause would have ended this month.
You can see the full meeting below.
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Indoor Recreation & Aquatic Center Information
