In light of the recent article in the Wenatchee World about the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex owing back rent to Chelan County and some of your comments to my last post, I would like further clarify the relationship between the City, Waste Management, and the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex when it comes to building an indoor-outdoor sports complex on Grant Road.
The relationship between the City and Waste Management.
Some of you have expressed concerns that the money the City will receive from Waste Management could put to other uses. This is not the case. Although state law allows the City to enter into a hosting fee agreement with Waste Management, the City cannot impose a hosting fee agreement on Waste Management. The decision to enter into a hosting fee agreement with the City is voluntary on Waste Management's part. In this case, Waste Management is willing to enter into a voluntary agreement based on the condition that the City use the money to build and operate sports fields. If the City does not agree to this condition, there will be no hosting fee agreement with Waste Management. Thus, there will be no money to spend on other needs.
The relationship between the City and the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex.
The Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex is in the process of obtaining the rights to buy the site for the indoor-outdoor sports complex. If everything comes together, the plan is for the City purchase, build and operate the outdoor sports fields. The money to accomplish these tasks will come solely from host fees. The City will not be backing the project with any money that it receives through tax revenue.
When it comes to maintenance, the City is exploring several possibilities. One possibility is to lease the fields to a management team in exchange for a percentage of the tournament revenue. I would like to involve the Eastmont Metropolitan Parks District in these discussions on the best avenue to pursue. But once again, the costs of maintenance will not come from tax revenue.
In short, if the anticipated revenue from the hosting fees are not enough to meet the purchase costs, construction costs, and maintenance costs, the project will not happen. The preliminary calculations are that the project can be accomplished. But as I have said before and will probably say many times again, a lot of due diligence still needs to be done.
The indoor sportsplex will be completely owned and operated by the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex. Thus, the City of East Wenatchee will never have to face the problem of having to collect back rent. The success of the indoor sportsplex will rest entirely on its own merits. Like the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex, I have high hopes for the indoor sports facility. If it proves successful, the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex will profit. If it proves unsuccessful, however, the City will not be at any sort of financial risk.
I hope this answers some of your questions. The Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex is planning to put on a presentation to the City Council on May 13, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. I invite everyone to attend as it will be a great opportunity to have all the players under one roof and to have questions asked and answered.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
East Wenatchee Sportsplex
Recently, I have been in discussions with representatives of Waste Management and with representatives of the Wenatchee Valley Sportsplex. According to Waste Management, the landfill will receive its permit to expand on May 15, 2008.
The initial drawings envision a 25-acre park that will have five multi-use, artificial turf fields. Next to these fields, the Sportsplex would build an indoor facility that would provide athletic programs and after-school programs for youth.
Contingent upon the fact that the City use the money to build athletic fields and an after school place for kids, Waste Management has expressed a willingness to enter into a voluntary host fee agreement that will provide the City with approximately $500,000 per year for the next 25 years. This host agreement will not increase the amount anyone has to pay for garbage collection. Waste Management collection fees are set by its current contract with the City.
Waste Management is willing to do this as a way to give back to the community as a result of the community allowing it to expand its landfill. Likewise, Waste Management is very committed to improving the lives of youths and feels that providing a means to accomplish this end is a worthwhile endeavor.
The preliminary estimates for the cost of the project is about $10 Million. The City should be able to obtain a bond for this amount secured by the revenue stream provided by Waste Management. This means that the project can be completed without any taxpayer money. I have made it very clear to everyone involved that the City is not willing to commit any funds to the project except for the revenue received from the voluntary host fee agreement with Waste Management.
To make sure the City does not put any taxpayer money at risk, I anticipate that the City will enter into an Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with King County Directors’ Association. This Association has installed many artificial turf fields throughout the state. By collaborating with the Association, the City simply agrees to pay an amount that is set in advance and then pay the purchase price when the project is completed. If there are any cost overruns, it would not be the City’s responsibility to bear.
Of course, things are still in the preliminary stages and all parties involved have to do their due diligence. Likewise, on the City’s end, the project is subject to approval by the City Council. But if things continue down the path we are on, the citizens of East Wenatchee and the surrounding community could expect to see the complex built in 2009 and be ready for play in 2010.
I am interested in hearing your comments about this project.
The initial drawings envision a 25-acre park that will have five multi-use, artificial turf fields. Next to these fields, the Sportsplex would build an indoor facility that would provide athletic programs and after-school programs for youth.
Contingent upon the fact that the City use the money to build athletic fields and an after school place for kids, Waste Management has expressed a willingness to enter into a voluntary host fee agreement that will provide the City with approximately $500,000 per year for the next 25 years. This host agreement will not increase the amount anyone has to pay for garbage collection. Waste Management collection fees are set by its current contract with the City.
Waste Management is willing to do this as a way to give back to the community as a result of the community allowing it to expand its landfill. Likewise, Waste Management is very committed to improving the lives of youths and feels that providing a means to accomplish this end is a worthwhile endeavor.
The preliminary estimates for the cost of the project is about $10 Million. The City should be able to obtain a bond for this amount secured by the revenue stream provided by Waste Management. This means that the project can be completed without any taxpayer money. I have made it very clear to everyone involved that the City is not willing to commit any funds to the project except for the revenue received from the voluntary host fee agreement with Waste Management.
To make sure the City does not put any taxpayer money at risk, I anticipate that the City will enter into an Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with King County Directors’ Association. This Association has installed many artificial turf fields throughout the state. By collaborating with the Association, the City simply agrees to pay an amount that is set in advance and then pay the purchase price when the project is completed. If there are any cost overruns, it would not be the City’s responsibility to bear.
Of course, things are still in the preliminary stages and all parties involved have to do their due diligence. Likewise, on the City’s end, the project is subject to approval by the City Council. But if things continue down the path we are on, the citizens of East Wenatchee and the surrounding community could expect to see the complex built in 2009 and be ready for play in 2010.
I am interested in hearing your comments about this project.
Friday, January 4, 2008
January Post
Dear Citizens:
It has been interesting to participate in this concept of communication with those of you who have seen fit to comment or simply respond to the informal poll I sent out in late November. The difficulty for those of us at the City who are attempting to establish this new avenue for communication is getting e-mail addresses for those of you who are not already part of some government related e-mail list. The majority of responses I have received are from those who have some kind of vested interest in the subject of utility consolidation due to their affiliation with one of the service districts or their employees. That was not unexpected, in light of the nature of the list with which we began. We are working on creating a link very soon to the City's web site and obtaining e-mail addresses from the business organizations in the valley, as well as getting the word out at the grass roots level. All that should improve the reach of this tool for ascertaining the views of a broader spectrum of the East Wenatchee community.
I will continue to discuss the issue of utility consolidation from time to time on this blog. But first I hope to commission a valid cost/benefit analysis of the issue so that the citizens of East Wenatchee can know whether it is true that such a move would really result in cost savings to the ratepayers and true economies of scale, as I suggested in November. If you are interested in knowing the answers to those questions, I suggest you communicate with members of the City Council, as I will be, about pursuing such an analysis.
Meanwhile, we have a new 2008 budget which provides a glimpse of more prosperous times in East Wenatchee in the next few years due to projections of increased revenue from an expanding central business district and retirement of our debt to Douglas County from the successful cooperative effort we employed over the last five years to accomplish seamless growth of the boundaries of the city. I am in frequent personal communication with the Douglas County Commissioners over issues like annexation and land use planning, which are of mutual importance to our jurisdictions. Currently those discussions are centering around attempts to cooperate in solving waste management issues and rising court and jail expenses in both jurisdictions.
A related issue, which continues to be the subject of discussions by me with officials of Waste Management Corporation and a group of sports-minded potential investors is the establishment of what has come to be called the "Sportsplex." As many of you know, that has been a vision I have shared with other community leaders for some time, the idea that we can create a venue for the attraction of large youth sports tournaments to our valley every year. The potential economic benefits for all who benefit from tourism in the Wenatchee Valley, which we all do, are enormous. The trick is to get such a project done without hitting any of us in our private pocket books. I am seeing a way to do that, which I hope to be able to share in detail with East Wenatchee residents later this year.
If you have ideas, or simply wish to be heard on any matter, I continue to encourage you to communicate with me via this blog.
Sincerely,
Mayor Steven Lacy
It has been interesting to participate in this concept of communication with those of you who have seen fit to comment or simply respond to the informal poll I sent out in late November. The difficulty for those of us at the City who are attempting to establish this new avenue for communication is getting e-mail addresses for those of you who are not already part of some government related e-mail list. The majority of responses I have received are from those who have some kind of vested interest in the subject of utility consolidation due to their affiliation with one of the service districts or their employees. That was not unexpected, in light of the nature of the list with which we began. We are working on creating a link very soon to the City's web site and obtaining e-mail addresses from the business organizations in the valley, as well as getting the word out at the grass roots level. All that should improve the reach of this tool for ascertaining the views of a broader spectrum of the East Wenatchee community.
I will continue to discuss the issue of utility consolidation from time to time on this blog. But first I hope to commission a valid cost/benefit analysis of the issue so that the citizens of East Wenatchee can know whether it is true that such a move would really result in cost savings to the ratepayers and true economies of scale, as I suggested in November. If you are interested in knowing the answers to those questions, I suggest you communicate with members of the City Council, as I will be, about pursuing such an analysis.
Meanwhile, we have a new 2008 budget which provides a glimpse of more prosperous times in East Wenatchee in the next few years due to projections of increased revenue from an expanding central business district and retirement of our debt to Douglas County from the successful cooperative effort we employed over the last five years to accomplish seamless growth of the boundaries of the city. I am in frequent personal communication with the Douglas County Commissioners over issues like annexation and land use planning, which are of mutual importance to our jurisdictions. Currently those discussions are centering around attempts to cooperate in solving waste management issues and rising court and jail expenses in both jurisdictions.
A related issue, which continues to be the subject of discussions by me with officials of Waste Management Corporation and a group of sports-minded potential investors is the establishment of what has come to be called the "Sportsplex." As many of you know, that has been a vision I have shared with other community leaders for some time, the idea that we can create a venue for the attraction of large youth sports tournaments to our valley every year. The potential economic benefits for all who benefit from tourism in the Wenatchee Valley, which we all do, are enormous. The trick is to get such a project done without hitting any of us in our private pocket books. I am seeing a way to do that, which I hope to be able to share in detail with East Wenatchee residents later this year.
If you have ideas, or simply wish to be heard on any matter, I continue to encourage you to communicate with me via this blog.
Sincerely,
Mayor Steven Lacy
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