Jasper Redevelopment Commission discusses financing for Regional Wellness Center; Outdoor pool progress

As the city continues to develop plans for the Regional Wellness Center, officials expect to have financial projections for the project completed in the coming weeks.

Anticipating these plans, Jasper Mayor Dean Vonderheide and City Attorney Renee Kabrick discussed the Redevelopment Commission’s role and estimated funding from Jasper’s Central Tax Increment Finance district.

The Redevelopment Commission oversees how the funds collected by Jasper’s tax increment finance districts are used. The Central TIF, the city’s largest, is expected to collect about $830,000 in property tax increment in 2025 and have an ending balance of $1,623,592, with the obligations being paid from it.

Regarding the Regional Wellness Center, more than $13 million in private donations have been pledged, and the city received a $5 million grant through the READI 2.0 program.

“We’re right at $18 million in funds that are going to be available for the project through private funding and donor grant funding,” Kabrick said to the commission Tuesday morning.

Kabrick told the commission the city is committed to keeping the project cost below $45 million, with officials working on finalizing the first pass at the project cost estimate by the end of next week.

Financing for the center will involve a combination of the Food and Beverage Tax the city enacted in 2024, Economic Development Income Tax to the tune of about $2.5 million, and funds from the Central TIF in addition to the funds raised by the capital campaign and READi 2.0 grant.

The Redevelopment Commission’s contribution from Central TIF funds is projected to be around $12 million over the life of the TIF.

“We’ve allocated $200,000 per year while the swimming pool bonds are continuing to be paid. Once the swimming pool bonds have been paid off, then that amount jumps up to about 1.2 million,” Vonderheide explained.

Some commission members expressed concern about tying up TIF funds for an extended period. However, Vonderheide assured that even after allocating funds to the Wellness Center, approximately $5 million would remain available for other projects through 2036.

“There’s about $400,000 a year more TIF funds being projected,” he clarified.

The financing plan includes a bond anticipation note to bridge the gap between the project’s start, and the receipt of all pledged donor funds, which may take three to five years to materialize fully.

Jasper Clerk-Treasurer Kiersten Knies emphasized that they are taking a conservative approach to financial projections. The Food and Beverage Tax, for instance, is currently outperforming initial estimates.

“We have $530,000, and we still have December’s that we haven’t received yet. So that would be a full year of collection. And Baker Tilly, in their estimates, is using 495 (thousand),” she said, adding they anticipated the total income from the tax to be between $565,000 and $580,000 in its first year.

The city also plans to build reserve accounts for maintenance and operations to provide a financial cushion for unforeseen needs or potential shortfalls in YMCA operations.

Plans call for the city to proceed with the project bond later this summer.

You can view the project’s capital campaign site and current leadership donors here.

In addition to the Wellness Center discussion, the council received an update on the ongoing pool project. Construction is progressing, with metal roofs installed on buildings and footings poured for three slides as seen in the images included in a recent Facebook post.

Though the cold weather did slow down some of the work, the crews have made good time on the construction of the new outdoor pool, reported Park Director Tom Moorman.

The outdoor pool project is expected to be completed by late April or early May, in time for reopening this summer.

Other actions taken by the board included:

• Approval of a claim from Baker Tilley for $16,100.75.
• Approval of a $375 bond renewal fee for board members.
• Approval of two contract addendums: one for $9,750 for additional surveying work and another for $9,150 for geotechnical services related to the outdoor swimming pool project to

The next Jasper Redevelopment Commission meeting is scheduled for March 4, 2025, where further discussions on the Regional Wellness Center financing are expected.