The Foster City Council is reassessing whether to move forward with the current plan for the recreation center rebuild project, or pursue other options, such as a voter-approved bond, in light of its long-term structural deficit.
Sam Hindi
Plans to rebuild the city’s recreation center, located in Leo J. Ryan Park, have been in the works since 2016, with the process punctuated by budgetary and pandemic-related delays. The most recent estimates put the total project cost around $65 million, up from the $56 million outlined last year, mostly a result of higher construction costs, according to staff reports. Preliminary plans to close the recreation center in August were also announced in February.
Recent budget discussions noting a $4 million shortfall by the end of this fiscal year, coupled with an ongoing structural deficit over at least five more years, however, are giving some councilmembers pause about the recreation center plans. Councilmember Sam Hindi floated the possibility of a bond measure earlier this month, which could come in the form of sales or other type of voter-approved tax.
During a meeting Monday, June 17, staff noted the consequences of further delaying the project.
“The cost of repair, renovation or replacement is still going to be a significant amount and will only keep increasing if the project gets delayed,” Assistant City Manager Marlene Subhashini said. “We’re looking at a roughly $3.8 [million] to $5 million [increase] if we were to delay the project by one year … delaying the project by one and a half years would make that increase to $5 [million] to $7 million.”
Submitting a bond measure on the upcoming November ballot — which would need two-thirds majority approval — would also need to be finalized in just a couple months, though the process usually requires more time for community outreach, polling and research.
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Vice Mayor Stacy Jimenez and Councilmember Jon Froomin both warned against the hold-up, stating the money has already been allocated and, if the measure is not approved by voters, the city is left in a difficult position over how to proceed.
“What does a failed bond measure tell us?” Froomin said. “Does it tell us that the public doesn’t want a recreation center, or does it tell us that they don’t want to fund it that way? What do we learn from that? … If a bond measure goes up and fails, and we build anyway, we run the risk the public comes in and says, ‘We told you not to build it.’”
But others, including Hindi and Mayor Patrick Sullivan, noted it would be fiscally imprudent not to at least explore other financing options.
“We haven’t really had an economic development discussion on how to fund this rec center,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think we’ve unturned all the stones that we need to look at.”
The council decided not to pause the bidding process but to also schedule a further discussion on the matter as soon as possible.
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