Gambling money to pay for Hoosier Desk study

In the end, using the Riverboat Gambling Fund to pay about $17,500 for the conceptual design portion of the Hoosier Desk study allowed five of Jasper’s six councilmen to approve paying CityVisions and Gamble and Associates.

At the beginning of the 90-minute discourse on the proper way to proceed on determining if the 100 plus year old building — the oldest structure was built around 1900 but additions were made in the 20s, 40s, and 60s — would work as a library, arts and community center, it seemed the council wouldn’t approve the extra funding for CityVisions’ and Gamble’s architectural concept.

They wanted to complete the engineering, environmental and structural studies first. And argued the prudence of that approach for most of the special meeting. A meeting needed since last July during the budgetary process, the council had removed a line item of about $400,000 earmarked for the Downtown & Riverfront Master Plan from the mayor’s budget. Those funds would have been paid from the city’s Economic Development Income Tax funds.

Essentially, any spending on the downtown process now has to go through the council for approval. Mayor Seitz and the Board of Public Works had approved the $20,000 expenditure for the study in February but with no money allocated, the council had to step in.

Seitz opened the meeting explaining the ordinance being proposed. It would allow the allocation of $40,000 to pay for the city’s portion of the study being conducted by Ferdinand based Universal Designs and the Boston based architectural firm, Gamble and Associates. The total cost of the study is estimated to not exceed $55,000 and the Jasper Library and Jasper Arts Department each have allocated up to $15,000 to it.

Those two entities have each agreed since they only want about 25 percent of the building for usage, they would only pay 25 percent of the cost for the studies.

Universal designs will complete the engineering and structural studies including any remediation preparation for about $24,000. For about $28,000, Gamble will complete the architectural design and usage of the 130,000 square foot building owned by brothers, Ken and Paul Sternberg. About $3,000 was included for any contingencies that might arise.

The $40,000 would cover the cost of the studies and then the Jasper Arts Commission would pay up to $15,000 back to the city and Ken and Paul Sternberg would pay about $7,500; leaving the city with $17,500. The remaining funds left from the allocated $40,000 would be available to be used for other city expenses through the board of public works.

Discussion between several of the councilmen — Kevin Manley, Randy Buchta, Earl Schmitt, and Tom Schmidt — was heated as the five took turns chastising the spending that had occurred on the downtown plans. The total spent so far on the Downtown Master Plan is $149,750.

“I’m not in favor of giving any public money to a private building,” Councilman Earl Schmitt said after the mayor ended his explanation. “I have spoke with some people that have been renters and they say the building is in pretty bad shape. If we do anything, we should have the environmental study done before any more money is put into this, to see if there are any environmental problems with the building.”

Buchta said he agreed with Schmitt, pointing out that thousands had already been spent on making plans for using the building, but “we aren’t even sure we can do it. I am not opposed to allocating some money for a structural study if the building passes environmental and flood plain studies.”

In response, City Attorney Renee Kabrick told them that old buildings have problems and that was part of the cost of renovating and revitalizing them for new uses. “We have established through great involvement by the community that it is important to revitalize our downtown area,” she said. “These buildings are key components of that revitalization.”

Seitz, in a previous interview, has pointed out whether the cost of the engineering and architectural studies is included in the overall cost of the project or as separate portions of the project, the money will still be paid. “This is a transparent process,” he said about the current course of action.

Manley asked the mayor why CityVisions and Gamble and Associates haven’t already included these designs in the master plan that has been completed since it was identified as a part of the revitalization efforts.

According to the mayor the consultants had done what the city had asked for in regards to the Downtown Master Plan.

“We are trying to implement the master plan,” Seitz said. “We want to investigate how to make those buildings viable. This step is to compile that information.”

Manley said he agreed with the potential collaboration between the Jasper Library and the Arts Department but he felt the feasibility studies needed to be completed before any design process began.

But the mayor pointed out the conceptual plans allow the city to market the plans to developers and new businesses. Adding the library and arts center to the mix in the large building makes the project more enticing for a housing developer and other businesses.

Councilman Tom Schmidt maintained his adamant refusal to approve the extra funds. “I don’t think spending this money on a building we don’t own is prudent for the taxpayers. I think whoever owns the building should have this done at their expense and then we should look at it,” he said.

Schmidt stated he felt the city should stop working with CityVisions and Gamble and Associates because “there are people in the county that can do this work.”

Seitz explained that during the request for proposal process completed over two years ago, seven designers/consultants responded and none were from the county. “We narrowed it down to four. There was no one local that applied,” he said.

Councilman Dave Prechtel, who voted for the money as a member of the board of public works, stated with the amount of money and time invested in the master plan thus far, the city needed to continue the process.

Councilman Greg Schnarr stated he understood the need for feasibility studies to be completed and the prudence in having them completed first. “This opportunity, if viable, is a great opportunity,” he said. “Where the building is located is great. This is an opportunity to re-purpose an old building, which is great.”

Prechtel then brought the riverboat funds into the conversation stating that the city had about $800,000 in the fund just sitting there. “We get $80,000 a year, why don’t we use it,” he asked.

This line of thinking changed the momentum of the meeting and after a brief discussion on how the council would move forward with the ordinance to meet the library’s needs — the Jasper Library is in motion to meet a 2016 referendum deadline, the council voted 5 to 1 in favor. Tom Schmidt voted against it and Councilman Ray Howard was not in attendance.

A resolution to allocate funds from the Riverboat Gambling Fund could be under consideration at the next regular Jasper Common Council meeting.