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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 03/05/2002 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 042, 2002, APPROPRI AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY ITEM NUMBER: 25 DATE: March 5, 2002 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL FROM: Marty Heffernan SUBJECT: First Reading of Ordinance No. 042, 2002, Appropriating Prior Year Reserves in the Building Community Choices Northside Aztlan Community Center Replacement Capital Project and Authorizing the Project to Proceed. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This Ordinance appropriates $100,000 from the Building Community Choices, Community Enhancement Projects Fund. This Fund contains accumulated sales tax to replace the current Northside Aztlan Community Center (NACC). City Council has expressed interest in keeping the facility on the current site and on not disrupting operation of the current facility until 40 construction of the new facility is completed. This funding would allow staff to hire the services of the City's contracted architectural firm to work with all interested parties to determine the feasibility and site costs of building the new recreation center on the grounds of the current NACC and to cover other preliminary planning and research costs for the project. BACKGROUND: In 1997, the voters approved Ordinance No. 31, 1997, which provided for replacement of the Northside Aztlan Community Center as part of the Building Community Choices (BCC) capital improvements program. The first decision to be made by the Council about this project is to determine a location for the new facility. The ballot language stated that the facility would "...be located in the downtown or north Fort Collins area...". Staff conducted a search of possible sites in 1998, including the current location. After a review process, the Parks and Recreation Board recommended to City Council that, unless an affordable and acceptable alternative could be found, the facility should be built on the existing site. The Council has expressed interest in building the new recreation center without disrupting the operation of the current facility. The current facility sits on an old City landfill. Since the facility opened in 1978, City staff has dealt with building settling due to shifting of the landfill materials. Walsh Environmental Scientists and Engineers. LLC. was contracted by the City in 2000/2001 to investigate the soil and ground water to determine if there is benzene contamination from the former Poudre Valley Gas Plant, located immediately south of the facility site. Some high benzene levels were recorded in the area, but the preliminary analysis has determined that none of these issues creates DATE: arc ITEM NUMBER: 25 a significant reason to preclude replacement of the facility on the site. However, more site analysis is needed to better understand the costs and impacts of these issues. City staff is working on the River Redevelopment Project, which geographically includes the current NACC site and surrounding park. The process to determine the site of the new recreation center will be coordinated with the river redevelopment project. Site development costs also need to be identified so that Council can make an informed decision on the location of the new recreation center. . ORDINANCE NO. 042, 2002 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING PRIOR YEAR RESERVES IN THE BUILDING COMMUNITY CHOICES NORTHSIDE AZTLAN COMMUNITY CENTER REPLACEMENT CAPITAL PROJECT AND AUTHORIZING THE PROJECT TO PROCEED WHEREAS, on April 8, 1997, the voters of the City approved Ordinance No. 31, 1997, authorizing the imposition of a quarter cent sales and use tax for the purpose of generating revenues to construct certain capital projects described in the"Building Community Choices"("BCC")capital improvement program; and WHEREAS, one such project approved for funding by the voters was the construction of a new, larger, full-service recreation facility to replace the existing Northside Aztlan Community Center (the "Project"); and WHEREAS, the description for the Project, as included as an attachment to Ordinance No. 31, 1997, stated that the new center would be located in the downtown or north Fort Collins area; and WHEREAS, staff has conducted research, beginning in 1998, on possible sites, including the current location, and is proceeding under the direction that unless an affordable and acceptable alternative site can be found, the Project will be built on the existing site; and WHEREAS, it is Council's desire that if the Project is constructed on the same site as the present facility, the construction of the new facility should not disrupt the operation of the present facility; and WHEREAS, $100,000 is needed to allow staff to contract with an architectural firm to determine the feasibility and cost of relocating the Project on the present site; and WHEREAS, the estimated cost of the Project, as part of the original Building Community Choices Plan, is $10,004,721, with $3,081,039 scheduled for appropriation in 2004 and the remaining $6,923,682 to be appropriated in 2005; and WHEREAS, $100,000 has been identified and is available from prior year reserves in the Building Community Choices - Community Enhancements Capital Project Fund; and WHEREAS, staff proposes appropriating the aforementioned $100,000 from prior year reserves in the Building Community Choices-Community Enhancements Capital Projects Fund to be used for an architectural study to determine the feasibility of the Project on the present site, and reducing the proposed Project appropriation by $100,000, scheduled for 2004; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9, of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins (the"Charter") permits the City Council to appropriate by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year such funds for expenditure as may be available from reserves accumulated in prior years,notwithstanding that such reserves were not previously appropriated; and WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Council to appropriate the sum of$100,000 from prior year reserves in the Building Community Choices - Community Enhancements Capital Projects Fund to be used for an architectural study to determine the feasibility of constructing the replacement Northside Aztlan Community Center on the present site. NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that there is hereby appropriated from prior year reserves in the Building Community Choices - Community Enhancements Capital Projects Fund, the sum of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS($100,000),in the Northside Aztlan Community Center project,to be used for an architectural study to determine the feasibility of constructing the replacement Northside Aztlan Community Center on the present site. Introduced and considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 5th day of March, A.D. 2002, and to be presented for final passage on the 19th day of March, A.D. 2002. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 19th day of March, A.D. 2002. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk