Jasper discusses options for Regional Wellness Center
The Jasper Redevelopment Commission received a brief update on the status of the Regional Wellness Center at its meeting this week.
The update was provided by City Attorney Renee Kabrick after the commission was asked to approve a $28,751.25 payment to the city’s financial advisor, Baker Tilly.
The payment covers services provided through April 30, 2025 (before Senate Bill 1 affected the city’s funding) for help with the financing plan for the proposed wellness center. City officials approved the claim during a recent meeting, bringing total project spending to approximately $85,000.
The regional wellness center project has been on hold as city officials consider the ramifications of the new funding formula passed during this year’s legislative session. However, the city recently submitted a $13 million grant application on July 3 through the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, which could help make up the difference between current funding and what may be lost. Kabrick said they expected to know by mid-August whether they were deemed eligible for the grant, with a final decision on funding in September.
The city has also been exploring what a modified version of the wellness center might look like. Officials recently met with the design working group for the first time in several months to review the project’s current status and discuss potential changes.
“We had scheduled a design team meeting because we felt like it was time to start looking forward to what this project might need to look like, what kind of changes we might need to make based on what funding we still have available for the project,” Kabrick explained.
The design team meeting focused on creating a phased approach to the project, with participants discussing which components from the original plan would be requirements for phase one and what could be moved to a second phase.
“Though the project has been on pause, we are not entirely on pause,” Kabrick said, adding they continue to meet to discuss the project and funding changes.
When asked about progress on understanding future funding from state and city sources, Kabrick indicated that while their consultants have been working diligently to analyze future possibilities, certainty remains elusive.
“They have been working very diligently to try to analyze what the future looks like and have been providing us with that information,” she said. “But we don’t feel like we are at a level where there’s certainty.”
The Regional Wellness Center is a sub-$45 million project combining recreational facilities, community spaces, and health programming into a 90,000 square foot building through a partnership with the Tri-County YMCA.
The facility, to be constructed on a 10-acre site adjacent to Jasper High School and The Parklands, will feature four gymnasiums, an aquatics center, wellness areas, and community spaces designed to serve residents from toddlers to seniors.
