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Editorial: Swim center shortfall

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Comments (8)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

(Updated 3:00 am)

The publicly funded swim center planned for the Greensboro Coliseum Complex is struggling to tread financial water.

The project is $6 million short of the cheapest bid to build the facility, approved as part of a parks and recreation bond package in 2008.

This, even in a climate in which construction costs are supposed to be relative bargains in light of the tough economy. The lowest bid from a contractor totaled slightly less than $20 million.

How did this happen? Probably because the actual cost of the center lacked clarity from the very beginning. Even during discussions of the proposed project in 2008, the cost remained an unresolved question, with estimates varying wildly, depending on where and how the facility would be built.

"You could very easily be talking anywhere from $15-25 million," Scott Hester, of the pool design firm Counsilman-Hunsacker, said in 2008. Cary's privately built Triangle Aquatic Center opened in 2007 at a cost of $25 million.

Also, as bond projects go, this one was a relatively rushed affair, added to the parks and recreation package at the 11th hour by Councilman Mike Barber -- even though parks and recreation staff had not recommended it.

Be all that as it may, the city eventually settled on a $12 million price tag based more, it seems, on hopes than hard data. "That was our best estimate at the time," Barber said Friday.

City staff members are rightly looking for cost savings, but they appear to have shaved every expense they can find, short of scaling the project back into the world's biggest inflatable kiddie pool.

Barber suggests finding other areas in city government to cut spending. (Good luck with that, fiscally and politically.) Or seeking funding partners such as the Guilford County Schools. Still another option is to close the gap with revenues from the city's hotel taxes.

What no one should dare suggest is taking money to close the gap from other parks and recreation bond projects approved by voters. That would seriously breach the public's trust.

Barber said Friday that he still believes the swim center is too important a priority to compromise. "I'm not for doing value engineering to reduce the amenities," he said. "We ought to have the best facility in the nation." Not for $12 million we won't.

Taxpayers have said they wanted the center. But it's understandable if some of them might feel misled or, at the very least, misinformed.

Part of "doing it right and doing it well" lies not only in the construction but in the conception of a project. From day one.

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jbcarper

November 14, 2009 - 7:30 am EST

What about the alternative that says: Oops, I guess we can't really afford this after all. Guilford County may want a swim center, but can we really afford it? When the bonds were passed, the economy wasn't wallowing in the mud. Time to rethink necessities vs wants.

swerdna

November 14, 2009 - 7:43 am EST

But prior votes showed Guilford County DIDN'T want the swim center. We were duped into voting for it when it was tacked on to the Parks and Rec bonds. This thing smelled long before we've gotten to this point!

swerdna

November 14, 2009 - 7:41 am EST

"...this one was a relatively rushed affair, added to the parks and recreation package at the 11th hour by Councilman Mike Barber -- even though parks and recreation staff had not recommended it."

If I remember correctly, this project was up for vote at least 1 or 2 times, and rejected, before it was finally crammed down our throats after being tacked on to the parks and rec package. Voters clearly had indicated they didn't want this facilitly! I realize the "money it will bring in" might be substantial, but the voters who will ultimately be paying for this really see no direct benefit. In this economy, we need to see MONEY IN OUR POCKETS much more than money being brought into the city by this center! Additionally, I've yet to see any projection as to the amount of money this center will generate . Do officials already have pending promises of events to be moved here? If so, how many? What are they? How often will the center be used for these events? What will the center be used for on a daily basis when these big-time events aren't being held?

Ok, so we'll have another public pool? Did we NEED another public pool? Regardless of use, this center will need to be maintained on a daily basis, so we're looking at additional expenses to keep it running. This money will come from where?

The voters were screwed on this project, and we'll all be paying for a facility that will be a state-of-the-art playground for a special interest group of the people in this city. In this economy, we can't afford it!

Panacea

November 14, 2009 - 7:44 am EST

This project has been a dud from the beginning.

Lots of taxpayers felt misled when the bond passed. I'm one of them.

Get over it, Mr. Barber. We can't afford this pie in the sky project anymore. The county should scrap it.

Andrew Brod

November 15, 2009 - 2:36 pm EST

A more reasonable solution is for the city to tell pool boosters that it's up to them to raise the difference. It's not unlike what UNCG did to preserve the old chancellor's residence. Preservation groups said it should be moved but the university said it couldn't afford that. So the preservation folks raised the money necessary to move the house a few blocks down Spring Garden to where it sits now.

Like or it not, pool haters, the voters have said they want to incur $12 million in bond debt to build a swim center. Like it or not, pool boosters, $12 million isn't enough and if you want it done, you'll have to start raising the additional funds.

Jeremiah

November 14, 2009 - 8:37 am EST

Swim center bond supporters and boosters simply need to be held accountable and build within their means. They asked for a certain amount of money and were blessed to get it. They made their own bed. All bond projects should be held to the same standard. If the citizens want a swim center that bad, raise the rest of the money privately. The bond gave them a 2/3 jump start. Feel blessed, get to work or build within your means.

xeno10

November 14, 2009 - 9:49 am EST

City Councilman Barber has been very good at misinforming citizens about a number of important city matters during the past two years! E.g., the White Street Landfill, former City Manager Mitch Johnson, and the "Swim Center!" Seriously.

stafford5465

November 17, 2009 - 6:02 pm EST

If you don't have enough money, then don't build it. Don't sell the bonds. Every family knows what to do when their dreams exceed their resources. Don't shed tears. Is there anyone that can tell the citizens that we cannot afford it.