Sussex YMCA
Posted: May 20, 2014,Living Sussex Sun
Sussex A 75,000-square-foot YMCA facility and a new, 45,000-square-foot civic center may be built on the existing municipal government campus on Main Street at an estimated cost of $14 million to village taxpayers, according to a tentative development partnership between the Village of Sussex and the YMCA of Central Waukesha County.
A conceptual outline of the partnership agreement was approved by the YMCA Board of Directors April 15. Village trustees gave the village staff informal approval to continue to pursue the development agreement during a closed door meeting last week that appears to have violated the state’s open meetings law.
According to the tentative conceptual agreement, the village will donate to the YMCA approximately $7 million to help built a $14 million to $15 million facility on village property that will include two gymnasiums, a fitness center, and a swimming facility that will include a pool for swimming laps and a family fun aquatic center.
Raising funds
The partnership agreement and the construction of the Y facility is contingent upon the Y being able to raise the $7 to $8 million to pay for its share of the construction costs. Construction on the project would begin in 2017.
In exchange for the village’s donation, village residents will be allowed to join the YMCA at a discounted membership rate and the village will be allowed to use Y facilities for village recreational programs.
The village will use either bank notes or bonds to borrow the money for the $7 million contribution, according to Village Administrator Jeremy Smith.
Smith estimates the donation will cost a typical village owner of a home valued at $280,000 an additional $12 per year for 15 years.
Trustee excited
Village Trustee Pat Tetzlaff, who said she was “every excited” about the development proposal, suggested the cost to village residents will be made up by increased economic growth and an increased tax base resulting from downtown redevelopment, as well as improved recreational facilities, including a swimming pool.
“I cannot tell you how many years there have been discussions about a swimming pool for the village,” she said.
The L-shaped building is expected to front Main Street, stretching from the Pauline Haass Library east to near the Associated Bank, and then turn north towards the existing parking lot in the rear of the existing village hall. The existing village hall and the Mindemann home along Main Street would be demolished to make way for the new structure.
The existing boulevard entrance to the municipal campus would be replaced and a new entrance located about 150 feet to the east, between the existing village hall and the Associated Bank, across the street from the Piggly Wiggly parking lot right-turn-only exit.
Although YMCA officials have indicated the new facility would generate about a 1,000 cars a day in additional traffic along Main Street, village officials are unclear about some of the improvements that might be made to facilitate the traffic.
Smith said no decisions have been reached yet regarding how the triangular-shaped Main Street/Silver Spring Drive intersection might be reconfigured.
Village taxpayers will be asked to pay an additional $7 million to $8 million for the new civic center, which would be constructed on the existing parking lot and driveway between the Pauline Haass library and the existing village hall.
Smith said the civic center is expected to be three stories. One floor will be used as additional space for the library. A second floor will be for village government administrative offices, and recreational and senior citizens programs. Another floor will be devoted to not-for-profit community service groups including Sussex Outreach Services (SOS), the food pantry, and possibly the historical society.
Three connected buildings
The three buildings the Y, the civic center, and the existing Pauline Haass Library will be connected by a series of interior corridors, Smith said.
There will be parking for 300 vehicles, some of which will be located on portions of what is now Weyer Park.
Smith emphasized that there is adequate open space on the north side of Spring Creek to allow playground equipment and other park amenities to be moved from south of the creek to north of the creek to make way for a larger parking lot.
Chris Becker, chief executive officer of the YMCA of Central Waukesha County, said the village’s willingness to locate the Y facility downtown and help pay for its cost were particularly attractive to the board of directors.
Becker said the downtown location would make the Y more accessible to children and seniors.
The Waukesha-based Y organization has been considering a Sussex site for more than a decade. In the early and mid 2000s, they had anticipated building a new facility on farmland south of the Kohl’s retail center. In 2008, plans shifted to a site on about 20 acres of land on the southwestern corner of Highway 164 and Lisbon Road.
“One of the most frequently asked questions at Village Hall has been what is the latest on the Y,” Smith said
Sussex may have violated open meetings law
Posted: May 20, 2014, Living Sussex Sun
Sussex The village president and five trustees appear to be supporting perhaps even endorsing a major Main Street redevelopment project even before there has been a public discussion of the proposal that could cost taxpayers $14 million for construction of a 75,000-square-foot YMCA facility and a 45,000-square-foot civic center on village property.
Their actions were defended by the village attorney and one of the trustees, who both suggested there was nothing wrong with the elected officials expressing an opinion on the project, and that no final decisions have been made.
Village Attorney John Macy and Trustee Pat Tetzlaff said the statement of support from the trustees does not necessarily mean the proposed development project will be approved by the village board.
“They (the village staff) called us up and asked if we wanted to say something positive. It doesn’t mean a decision has been made,” Tetzlaff said.
Behind closed doors
The trustees met behind closed doors last week and apparently informally voiced their support for a proposed partnership with the YMCA of Central Waukesha County. The tentative plans call for the village to contribute $7 million for the construction of the Y facility. Taxpayers will be asked to pay another $7 million to $8 million for construction of a new civic center adjacent to the Y building.
The Waukesha-based YMCA is responsible for raising the estimated additional cost of $7 million to $8 for the Y facility that will include recreational swimming facilities as well as a fitness center and two gymnasiums.
“A YMCA in downtown Sussex will mean our children and grandchildren can walk and bike to the Y safely,” said Village President Greg Goetz in a news release issued Monday afternoon by the village.
“A YMCA in downtown Sussex will enhance the quality of life for Sussex residents, it will bring recreation opportunity, a pool, economic development and vibrancy. We cannot wait to continue to explore this partnership,” said Village Trustee Bob Zarzynski in the same news release.
No public discussion
So far, there has been no public discussion by the village board nor citizen input regarding the proposal, including the policy questions of whether it is a good idea to locate the Y facility downtown; whether taxpayers be expected to pay for half of the building; and what improvements will be required on Main Street to handle the estimated additional 1,000 vehicles a day that activities at the Y are expected to generate.
Those issues, suggest attorney Robert Drepps, should have been discussed in an open meeting.
Drepps is an attorney for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association who said that a Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled that municipal governments may go into closed session to negotiate the price of land acquisition or discuss strategy when they are engaged in collective or competitive bargaining. However, the court said a development proposal should be explained in a public meeting before the private sessions regarding land acquisition and bargaining strategy are held.
Selected groups informed
Also, while village residents may not have known about the plan until news reports on Monday morning, apparently some members of the clergy and local school officials were provided information in advance.
“This unique partnership will provide the community with access not only to a good (swimming pool) but also much needed gym space and community meeting rooms,” Hamilton School District Superintendent Kathleen Cook said in another news release issued by the village.
“Sussex Out Reach (SOS) is encouraged by conversations with the Village of Sussex regarding the potential for a shared campus that would offer shared locations for municipal government, library and benevolent non for profit organizations in our community,” added Pastor Tom Kent of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church.