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School Board commits $1 million to Cedar River Complex by David Namanny, Press-News Editor Posted June 21, 2006
Members of the Osage School Board at a special meeting last Wednesday night approved a commitment for up to $1 million in funding for the Cedar River Recreation and Fine Arts Complex.
Add this to the $2 million in TIF funding already committed by the City of Osage last month, and the proposed multi-million project already has a significant amount of seed money for its upcoming capital campaign. Osage Municipal Utilities is the next project stakeholder expected to commit major financial support to the cause.
Fundraising consultants and local steering committee members hope to raise an initial $5 to $6 million before the countywide capital campaign reaches full-steam.
"With the $2 million from the city and the $1 million approved by the Osage School Board, we are already over halfway to our initial goal," said Ron Fiscus of Planscape Partners, one of the consultant companies for the project.
The actual motion of the Osage School Board last Wednesday specified that "up to $1 million be used for the construction of the weight room and bus barn at the new facility." It will be distributed upon the completion of the project.
According to Osage Superintendent Steve Williams, the $1 million in funding committed by the school district will come from Local Option Sales Tax monies over a period of time.
"We're really excited about this project," said Williams. "We're excited about all the work that is being done and the efforts of all the entities involved."
A joint-powers (28E) ownership agreement is currently being established with all the entities involved. Board membership would be comprised of representatives of the City of Osage, the Osage Community School District, the Mitchell County Agricultural Society, Osage Municipal Utilities, the Osage Education Foundation and the Mitchell County Historical Society.
Two at-large members would be named, selected from the Mitchell County area outside Osage. One at-large member would be named from the Osage community itself.
The $12 to $14 million Cedar River Complex proposal includes a combined show and community center building that would be located on the Mitchell County Fairgrounds, as well as a combined auditorium, recreation center and Mitchell County Historical Museum that would be located between the swimming pool and the high school in Osage.
The auditorium and recreation facility would include a 600-seat auditorium, a community gymnasium and elevated running track, multi-purpose courts, a weight room and fitness center, a recreational swimming pool and therapy pool.
Projections of operating revenues and expenses for the complex show an annual budget of nearly $400,000. Income will be derived from annual memberships, daily user fees, concessions and facility rental fees.
Revenues are anticipated to equal operating costs, so it is not expected that tax levies will be required to support the operation of the facility.
The work of the steering committee for the project is proceeding with further development of the details of the building layouts and organization, finalizing project budgets and setting strategies for fundraising for the complex.
Story created Jun 20, 2006 - 11:36:41 CDT.
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