City Council Minutes

Pursuant to due call and posted notice thereof, a town hall meeting was called to order at 6:06 p.m. by Mayor Hershberger Thun at the Field House at 8475 Kochia Lane.

Members Present: Mayor: Mary Hershberger Thun; Councilmembers: Tim Amundsen, Jim Paulsen, Kim Roden, and Rick Tieden.

Absent: None.

Staff Present: David Urbia, Interim City Administrator; Mike Norton, City Attorney; Jylan Johnson, Finance Director; and Jennifer Kretsch, City Clerk.

Others Present: Unsie Zuege, Chanhassen Villager; Sue Orsen, The Victoria Gazette; and others.
 

Mayor Hershberger Thun welcomed the public and outlined the purpose of the town hall meeting. She noted the Council will not answer questions but rather is present to listen to citizen comment.
 

Ms. Johnson discussed the costs to construct and operate the Field House. She explained the primary source of revenue for the Field House was intended to be the ice contracts; she detailed those revenues since its inception. She outlined the Field House operating statement and displayed a slide illustrating revenues and expenses from 2003 through budget-year 2007. She discussed operating transfers necessary to fund the Field House and explained the impact of those transfer costs on a per-household basis in Victoria.
 

Dawn Peterson, 2050 Trillium, explained the history of the formation of the Field House. She noted the public has heard a lot about mismanagement and misjudgment with regard to the Field House; she suggested, however, that the community needs should be considered and evaluated. She recalled the work done by various park and recreation committees over the years, leading up to the construction of the Field House. She stated the Acorn House and Field House offer more than 90 percent of the desires expressed by surveyed residents. She stated the facility provides space for a multitude of different needs and associations. She asked the Council to listen to residents’ needs and wants, and to work within the existing partnerships to improve the facility.

Heather Cole, 8783 Ridge Pond Lane, stated the Council has scared the citizens with its discussion of taxes. Nevertheless, she does not feel there is a tax-neutral option here. She touched on a number of the available partnership options and the associated costs to the City. She stated if the Field House is sold, there will likely again be a need for it a few years down the road as the community continues to grow. She suggested the City fully utilize its asset represented in the Field House.

Linda Mattias, 7955 Narcissus Court, stated she is a personal fitness trainer. She indicated there is significant potential represented in the Field House; it is a diamond in the rough, and insufficient funds have been allocated to advertising. She also suggested the name be changed to "community center" in order to reflect it is an exercise facility.

Bonie Amrhein, 2013 Woodstone Drive, expressed support for the Field House. She recalled that the Field House, parks, and ball fields were merely a dream several years ago. A significant investment has been made so far, and there is no reason to abandon this initiative. There are reasons why the Field House has not succeeded to its greatest potential, including inadequate management and operations, as well as lack of advertising. She believes the Field House presents a significant leadership challenge for the Council; she recommended running the facility with a professional, first-class staff. She also suggested that services and programs should be added.

Katie Demack, 8781 Ridge Ponds Lane, stated she would like to have another Christian school in Victoria, but believes it should not be located at the Field House. She described how her family came to start utilizing the facility and its various programs. She suggested advertising be increased and compared it with the advertising of Snap Fitness and Chaska Community Center. She also noted there is a shortage of gymnasiums in the area. She stated the Field House will never be Lifetime Fitness, but that is not what the residents want. She believes it is in the City’s best interests to keep the Field House operational and to hire a professional to run it.

Eric Kitt, 8545 Allegheny Circle, stated he and his family are new residents of Victoria, and the Field House was one of the reasons they moved here. He does not believe the City will continue growing at the same rate if there are sufficient amenities.

Dave Barsness, 8791 Ridge Pond Circle, expressed opposition to selling the Field House. He believes the exercise equipment is first-class; he believes a huge problem with the operation is the lack of advertising. He suggested adding something for indoor archery and somewhere to hit golf balls; he does not believe there has ever been a leader in charge of the Field House to get the ball rolling with such big ideas.

Eric Reed, 982 Victoria Greens Boulevard, stated the Field House was one of the reasons his family moved to Victoria a couple years ago. He does not support the sale of the Field House. He believes the City has an obligation to provide services to its residents, and other City services are not discontinued when they do not pay for themselves.

Michael Miles, 7340 Kochia Lane, stated he would like to see financial projections for the Field House several years into the future. He believes the debt service is the real issue; the question is whether residents are willing to pay through increased taxes to keep this facility going.

Judy Black, 1938 Woodstone Drive, thanked the previous speakers for their heartfelt support of the Field House. She does not know too many residents who are willing to give up a $7 million facility; she does believe the facility has been ignored and left to fend for itself. She believes there are ways to increase income. She noted not all members of the community are interested in sports, but there are also lots of ways to bring arts to the community that would generate income for the facility. She recommended the City hire a director to build the vision of the Field House. She offered her services to help find a director of the Field House and assist with advertising and marketing, whatever is needed to move it forward.

Peter Relick, 797 Ali Lane, stated he moved to Victoria one year ago and was excited about the Field House. He spoke with Mayor Thun during her campaign last fall and became interested in joining the park and recreation board. He has talked to two other people in the community center business and they indicated that advertising is a key issue. He expressed concerned about the debt service but also cautioned against selling the Field House without further discussion.

Doris Adams, 990 Victoria Greens Boulevard, expressed support for the Field House, and stated it provides a place for the elderly to exercise.

Kathy Rosamond, 1117 77^th Street, stated she is a proponent for the Southwest Christian High School proposal. If the Field House is sold, she would like the City to consider the school’s proposal because of its wonderful students and staff.

Ali Liestman, 1849 Woodstone Drive, expressed support for keeping the Field House. He indicated its sale would not solve any tax issues in Victoria. He suggested there is a lot of opportunity for this building.

Lori Cook, 8352 Allegheny Grove Boulevard, stated her family joined the Field House when it was first built. She has previously considered cancelling her membership because of the lack of swimming pool and child care. She decided against the cancellation once she found out the City is considering selling the Field House. She believes more services and child care should be provided to draw in more families.

Noel Miller, 8500 Allegheny Circle, stated the Field House was one of the reasons her family built their house in Victoria. She suggested a swimming pool be built in order to attract additional families. She suggested it would be shortsighted to let this facility go. She stated she would be willing to pay extra taxes in order to keep the facility going for a few years if needed.

Gina Holman, 8510 Allegheny Grove Boulevard, stated the Field House is beyond a fitness center and beyond a sheet of ice. She believes it is a jewel of the community. She noted when she built her house, the developer was very excited to discuss the Field House. She stated she would give up her Lifetime Fitness membership and join the Field House if there was a swimming pool. She explained she is the director of a multimillion dollar facility in a neighboring facility and is accountable to those taxpayers for the management of that facility. She believes Victoria can turn around the Field House with the hiring of a top-quality director. She asked the Council to invest in the Field House.

Craig Parsons, 7364 Kochia Lane, stated the Field House is a great community asset. He encouraged the City to hire a director who will focus on advertising.

James Haugen, 7800 Bavaria Road, stated this is a very difficult issue and he is glad to see so many concerned residents present. He noted the private sector in neighboring areas is supplying exactly what is being provided by the government in Victoria. He has been a resident of Victoria for 13 years, and he is not interested in having his personal taxes increasing to carry the burden for a facility that apparently does not have enough use. He trusts the Council will use its wisdom in considering this issue. He noted that Chaska owns the utilities used by the Chaska Community Center, which is a revenue generator for the City. Chanhassen built its community center in partnership with a school, which is how it is able to exist. He is not sure what impact a swimming pool would have. He suggested increasing user fees in an effort to have the facility pay for itself as opposed to increasing taxes on everyone. He reiterated that the private sector is supplying what the government is trying to supply with the Field House.

Mark Lynum, 1429 81^st Street, noted Chaska built its community center with excess revenues generated from power purchased in bulk from Xcel. He stated only one person has opposed raising taxes to pay for this. He believes this land is hard-won. He suggested having ISD 112 use its own 20 acres before coming after this land.

Mary Meuwissen, Victoria, stated she was the mayor when the Field House was built, and she is proud of what was built here. She stated a study was done at the time it was constructed, and it concluded the average Victoria household would have to pay about $187 annually to pay for the Field House. Secondly, there was an opportunity for the developers to pay fees, in lieu of land, to pay for this facility and other park and rec facilities. She stated when the facility opened, there were 383 membership; the following year there were 424. It has since declined to 202. The City did a study that concluded there is a potential for about 700 memberships. She noted the equipment debt will be paid in full this year. She stated this facility can have an additional ice arena and a pool; the Field House needs a leader who can lead the staff and the facility.

John Thomas, 1725 Carriage Drive, stated he recently moved to the community and visited the Field House for the first time today. He offered to run some camps at the Field House with members of the Timberwolves. He noted if it were not for community centers in South Minneapolis, he would not have been able to develop the skills necessary to play basketball today.

Maryse Thomas, 1725 Carriage Drive, stated this is a beautiful facility and efforts should be made to keep it. She stated she and her husband can contact their friends with the Twins and Vikings to run camps here as well.

The meeting recessed at 7:37 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 7:45 p.m.

Tim Vadnais, 8110 81^st Street, stated he has lived in Victoria for 19 years. He thanked the mayor and Council for holding this forum. He suggested the issue is how to grow Victoria wisely to be the largest community in Carver County. He and his family use this facility, and he does not believe an increase in marketing will increase membership. There is great competition for health facilities in this southwest metro area. The Council should consider the issue of freeing up capital to be used for other needs in the community over the next 20 years. The capital that could be generated from a sale and leaseback option could be a good strategy for the community to free up that capital. He believes there is a great opportunity for shared use of the premises with a private school.

Mayor Hershberger Thun closed the public portion of the meeting at 7:50 p.m.
 

Councilmember Paulsen thanked the citizens for coming to speak tonight. He stated there has been intensity during these meetings discussing the Field House that has served the process well. This facility has irreplaceable characteristics. He noted he was not in favor of building the Field House, but he has strong feelings about how to best preserve this asset in years ahead. He noted there was never a referendum on the Field House, nor a town hall meeting. He noted the future of Victoria will have a great deal of development, and the Comp Plan will help make that possible.

Councilmember Tieden thanked the citizens for attending and for their presentations. He recalled the Field House opened in January 2003 with a number of amenities and many ideas for future uses. He suggested a director is needed to pull the facility together, and that Lifetime Fitness cannot compete with this facility. He stated the land may now be worth $125,000 an acre and the facility worth $10 million. He asked the residents to look at this issue with a sense of community.

Councilmember Amundsen thanked the public and stated the Council is listening to its residents and does want to hear from everyone. He noted Lifetime lacks soccer fields and ball fields, and only occasionally will they allow kids in for free. He stated this is not about competing with the private sector; it is an economic issue. The debt is not something he takes lightly. He asked where the school district is getting its money that they are offering for this property.

Councilmember Roden thanked the public and her colleagues, past and present. She stated all taxpayer dollars should be put to their greatest use; she believes a Field House partnership would be a win-win situation that would ultimately better utilize and pay for the facility. She stated this Council only funded one project in the CIP this year because the City is in a precarious financial situation with the Field House, the new water treatment plant, and other needs of a growing community. Priority has to be placed on resources. She noted next year the City will begin paying on the principal. The bottom line is to how best use this asset, fund it, and make sure it does not negatively affect the City’s overall financial picture. At this current pace, 15 percent of the general fund money will go just to the operating transfers. She noted current and future parks need maintenance and construction. She believes the Field House should have been decided on through a referendum, but it was not. The bottom line now is that the situation has to be fixed through a win-win situation. She stated the City is operating with higher debt and taxes than peer communities. She noted an industry expert has indicated Victoria will not grow fast enough to provide needed memberships to sustain the Field House.

Mayor Hershberger Thun thanked the public for attending.
 

The town hall meeting adjourned at 8:13 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Allison Burr
TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.