Community Center Faces Funding Hurdles $3.5 Million Coeur D’Alene Project Depends On Donations, Memberships

Two big ifs stand in the way of Coeur d’Alene’s community center.

If supporters can raise $1.5 million in donations and if they can get 2,000 people to pledge to buy annual memberships, then the center can be built.

“That’s the kicker,” said John Austin, city treasurer.

A citizens committee has been working on plans for a center for a year and is nearly ready to deliver a report and recommendation to the City Council.

The center would include a swimming pool, two gymnasiums, a climbing wall, an indoor track, a computer/multimedia center and meeting rooms. The city recently hired Miller Stauffer Architects to design a 35,000-square-foot building.

Fund-raising efforts for the $3.5 million project could start this summer.

The biggest source of funds would be a $2 million loan from the Panhandle Area Council if all goes as planned. The council - a consortium of public agencies and businesses - would secure the loan and lease the building back to the city until the loan is paid off, Austin said.

“We cannot spend any taxpayers’ money,” he said. “The (city) council made that a stipulation.”

The Kootenai County Fairgrounds are the tentative site for the center, contingent on the Fair Board’s approval.

The citizens committee expects the center would draw people from around the county.

While the center would need year-round memberships to survive, “no one would be turned away,” said Steve Anthony, the city’s recreation director.

That’s because one of the center’s major priorities will be to give teenagers and preteens a place to go after school.

Some students might not be able to afford year-round memberships. Those students could be assisted with scholarships, a reduced entry fee or perhaps an after-school time when kids could visit free of charge, Anthony said.

However, the city is counting on enough people to purchase annual memberships - at about $300 per year - to cover the cost of operating the center and paying off the debt.

The city’s parks and recreation offices also would be moved to the center to reduce the number of additional employees needed to run it.

Anthony said volunteers could help with operations, too. For example, in the multimedia center, he envisions computer-literate students providing expertise to help others.

In response to criticism that a community center would be unfair competition for health clubs, the citizens committee has focused on facilities that are in short supply. For instance, city basketball programs compete for time at school gymnasiums, and lack of available gym space means there’s nowhere for drop-in games.

The center will not have weight machines and other exercise machines common at health clubs.

And the community center’s proposed bylaws include a rule that one member of the board of directors represent the fitness industry.

“We’re trying not to step on toes,” Anthony said.

Coeur d’Alene hasn’t always been without a community center. The city used a former high school building until it was closed in 1983 because of building code deficiencies.

Since then, the recreation department has had numerous requests for a new center, and several committees have studied the issue.

“The center has had more lives than a cat,” Anthony said. “We felt this time we had to come back with a good plan.”

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