Council tables decision on civic center
Sean HarkinsArticle Photos
A topic first discussed 15 months ago was unanimously tabled until August by the Alpena Municipal Council during a special meeting Monday night.
The council met to discuss whether to move the civic and convention center to the armory or repair the current building on Johnson Street.
Ken Lemiesz, a consultant with Saginaw-based Wigen, Tincknell, Meyer & Associates, Inc., made a presentation to the council that estimated the total cost of renovating the civic center to be $2,920,424. The cost to bring the armory up to date is $3,563,160.
"Either of these facilities would function well as a civic center. They have their differences but they function well," Lemiesz said.
A proposed addition to the civic center was one significant expense the armory did not have, while masonry work was a much costlier expense for the armory.
The armory would also need an elevator installed, a $230,000 expense.
"A lot of the cost between the civic center and armory are equal except the site condition and the exterior condition," Lemiesz said.
The square footage of the facilities was also considered to be comparable, as the bottom floor of the armory was not considered for use. The civic center was determined to have 29,715 square feet compared to 30,638 square feet in the armory.
Lemiesz said the firm's expertise is in building costs, so marketability of the buildings was not included, but councilman Shawn Sexton said it needs to be considered.
"To me that's probably one of the biggest single factors, the marketability," Sexton said.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, several people mentioned parking as a potential issue. The civic center has a total of 377 dedicated parking spaces, while the armory would have 413 public spaces, many of which are over 700 feet from the building. Those spaces do not include street parking.
Citizens spoke both in favor and opposition of moving the civic center.
Downtown Development Authority Director Lynn Kolasa said the DDA board supports the armory becoming the civic center. Alpena Chamber of Commerce President Olin Joynton said a resolution of support will be voted on by chamber members by July 4, and business owner Julie McDonald sent a letter of support that was read by the board.
Several citizens also spoke against the move, including members of the Safari Club, who said if the civic center was moved they would no longer hold their conference in Alpena.
Club representative Michael Wilmot said they need a facilities that can handle two concurrent activities, and the bi-level nature of the armory isn't conducive to auctions.
He also said there is no lodging near the armory, which would be a problem.
Craig Patterson of Memorial Hall LLC, the group that owns the armory, said the cost to renovate the building could be reduced by $1.6 million with tax credits.
"Through cooperative efforts we can reduce the cost," Patterson said.
The credits were one of the issues cited by the council that needed more research.
Mayor Carol Shafto said she needed to know what could be done in a public-private partnership, since the city doesn't own the building.
"I want to see the financing plan," Shafto said.
She said both sites have their merits, so a decision is difficult.
"I favor them both, I favor Memorial Hall for the excitement. I favor the civic center for the conservative approach... I think in these economic times I would favor the civic center for its economic value, not for its vision," she said.
Sean Harkins can be reached via e-mail at sharkins@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688.
