SOLON — An informal committee dedicated to a senior and community center in Solon held their third meeting Friday, Sept. 2 at the library.
Recreation Director Dylan Sloan met with the group for a conversation about community centers and his wants and needs for a new facility. Sloan reiterated the school district leases the current community center to the City on an annual basis and has first claim on the facilities. This limits Sloan’s ability to schedule youth programs as the district needs the gym for Spartan athletics, which would lead to 5:30-6:00 p.m. start times and 7-8:00 p.m. endings. Sloan noted such times were not ideal for kids, especially on school nights.
“One gym is not enough,” he said noting participation in all of the youth programs, including volleyball, flag football, and soccer is up significantly this year, and resulting in a need for additional space.
He suggested a phased approach to any new facility, which likely would house a dedicated senior center as well as serve as a community center and home for the recreation department’s activities. For example, he said, two gyms, office space, and a multi-purpose community room might be a good start. As financing allows, a second phase could be added including additional amenities as determined by the community’s wants and needs.
A common “want,” he said, is a pool. However, he cautioned, “The city is not ready for it at this point.” Pools by their nature are expensive to maintain and staff. In order to be viable, the city and school district would need to partner, he added. North Liberty’s Community Center has both an indoor and outdoor pool, however the indoor pool is not the right size for competition use by Liberty High School, which shares a swim team with Iowa City West High at the Coralville Rec Center. The City of Tiffin has had discussions with the Clear Creek Amana (CCA) Community School District over a pool for a new Rec Center in Tiffin, with the size dependent upon the district’s use and financial contribution. CCA has a pool at Amana Elementary with an active middle school program. High school swimmers join Williamsburg’s team in order to compete though. In Solon, high school swimmers compete on City High’s team. The City of Tiffin also has 28E agreements with CCA for using the district’s gyms and facilities for recreational programs.
Such an agreement between the city and Solon Community Schools would conceivably be possible in a new facility. As Solon’s district continues to grow in enrollment and participation, “They need gym space,” he said. Sloan also floated the idea of a potential fitness center and partnering with local providers. Other ideas for a future center included housing a history center and the Solon Community Food Pantry.
It was realized brainstorming will not be enough to formulate a concrete proposal and design. A community-wide survey will be needed to determine exactly what facilities, services, and amenities residents would like to see, and to gauge their willingness to pay or not. Such a survey was cited by Tiffin Mayor Steve Berner as “proof” of the desire of the public for a pool, for example. Solon Senior Support also put out a survey earlier this year seeking input on what seniors want to see in Solon.
The group will be focusing on crafting survey questions and exploring ways to facilitate a survey in their upcoming meetings. There is also the question of how to pay for any facility, whether through donations, a city bond issue (likely necessitating a vote by the citizens), public-private partnership, grants, etc.
The committee, still informal at this time, will meet again Friday, Sept. 9 at 9:00 a.m. at the library. Meetings are currently scheduled for about every two weeks.