Chapman re-route part of Community Center plans
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
COMMUNITY CENTER UPDATE — Architect Mark Carter, of North Peak Architecture in Presque Isle, explained the layout of the proposed Community Center during City Council’s Sept. 5 meeting. Plans include re-routing a section of Chapman Road to allow construction of the building on the same side of the street as the existing soccer field and maintenance building, just off Riverside Drive.
PRESQUE ISLE — City councilors were able to see what the proposed Community Center will look like, during a presentation by Parks and Recreation Director Chris Beaulieu and architect Mark Carter, of North Peak Architecture.
City Manager Jim Bennett provided an overview of the project, prior to the presentation.
“The project goes back to 2006, when it was determined there was a need to put a new roof on the Rec Center on Main Street. When bids were opened, Council determined it made no sense to put a new roof on and began the process to make a new community center. The initial estimate was $10 million. That figure was recently reviewed and reduced to $8 million,” said Bennett.
“The committee was tasked with what it would look like and include. We’ve brought it down in terms of size. The project’s down to $7 million — down from $10 million of eight or nine years ago,” said Bennett.
Beaulieu said the committee was ready to present the recommendation of what the facility and site should look like.
AN ARCHITECTURAL IMAGE from North Peak Architecture in Presque Isle shows what the proposed Community Center will look like from the front. The site will include ample parking and a designated pick-up and drop-off area for children to safely enter and exit the building. 
“Mark will do most of this, has some great renderings — layout of building, floorplan, overall site,” said Beaulieu. Bennett said the drawings were also available on the city’s website, www.presqueisle.govoffice2.com, under the “council agenda” tab.
Carter explained the layout of the site and where the center would be built.
“The property wraps around the existing rec soccer field. The maintenance building will be preserved. Across Kennedy Brook is a ball field. The plan was to reorient the baseball field, take out trees and the footpath over the brook and open up” the area, explained Carter, adding the area between the fields and the complex is being reserved for a future outdoor pool.
“The plan also includes a short re-route of Chapman Road, to make it all one site for the Community Center,” Carter said.
Currently, Chapman Road separates city-owned property, with the soccer field and maintenance building to the west, and to the east is the site the city purchased a few years ago to place the new center. The re-route would move Chapman Road to parallel the railroad tracks, almost across from the courthouse driveway, making an “L” around existing buildings to the east, rather than to the west as it exists now. Officials did not specify where funding would come from for the re-routing of the road.
The facility would be a single-story structure, with the entrance to the left, facing downtown. Carter said the layout is designed for easy pick-up and drop-off of children, with the ability to park bikes in a sheltered area.
“Immediately as you enter at left is a counter for administration, for easier monitoring of people coming and going from the facility,” said Carter, who described what the various rooms would be used for, including a kitchen area, adult and youth area, the gym, a senior citizens’ section, a walking track circling two rec-size basketball/volleyball courts, locker rooms and activity rooms for the possible incorporation of something like Wintergreen Arts Center, once their lease is up at their current location.
“If the divider is retracted, you have a full court the size of a high school court, with spectator seating on both sides. The walking track can be used when games are going on,” said Carter.
Councilor Dick Engels questioned how the floor area compared to UMPI’s Gentile Hall. Mike Chasse, a member of the Rec Center Committee, said the new facility would be 1,500 feet smaller.
“The multifunction rooms are 1,300 square feet and smaller, with locker rooms and restrooms grouped together with access from the hall or gym. We also have a good-sized storage area off the gym,” Carter said.
The proposed Community Center would be approximately 30,475 square feet, compared to Gentile Hall, which is about 45,000 square feet.
Engels asked if Wintergreen officials were on board with the idea. Beaulieu said, “We haven’t received a complete ‘yeah, definitely,’ but we’d certainly have space that works for them. When the time comes, it’s possible. That’s why we have multipurpose space.”
Bennett said the upper left of the architectural rendering depicts space for multipurpose rooms. “If it does become dedicated art space, it’s there. But this is only designed as a schematic. It could otherwise be used as a multipurpose room,” he said.
Carter said the rendering “looks for as much potential change as possible, including an area for a pool.”
“There’s also potentially space for expansion of up to 10,000 square feet. We’ve arranged it to keep traffic flowing, with a pick-up and drop-off lane, similar to a school,” said Carter.
“The task force said it made sense to do at this location, to improve Chapman and be close to downtown,” said Bennett. “If you stand on Main Street and look down Chapman, you’d see the building from Main Street. That was one of the concepts the committee suggested when Mark designed the layout.”
Councilor Bruce Sargent, questioned what changes had been made to reduce the cost from $10 to $7 million.
“We went from 36,000 square feet and two stories — space taken up by elevators, etc., was redundant. We’ve compacted more, with a more efficient layout. We’re down to just over 30,000 square feet,” Carter said.
Bennett noted going to a single story and bringing the walking path down reduced the project by about three-quarters of a million dollars.
“We’ve also been using $200 a square foot for construction as an estimate. Mark feels comfortable using $175 as a number,” said Bennett.
The city manager said this was a “huge decision” and one councilors would need to discuss at greater length as to where to go next and what can be done.
“The best idea would be to workshop on Sept. 24, begin to lay out what’s next, what’s involved and what happens if we don’t do this project. Chris has a roof with a band-aid that’s been there for eight years. We’ll look at how this could impact the budget — perhaps put an advisory issue on the November ballot to see what citizens think about the project,” said Bennett. “It would probably be helpful for the Council to get a feeling what the public’s thinking about.”
Bennett noted that it would be strictly an advisory piece on the ballot.
“You as a Council cannot give away your authority at any time. You have an exclusive right to make decisions. You can ask citizens’ opinions, but at the end of the day, councilors make the final decisions,” said Bennett. “I think it’s a good point to come up with a couple different ways to write the question, so voters won’t get nervous about” the project.
Bennett said it was “an opportunity to be pro-active in seeking public input as councilors enter budget discussions.”
Councilor Peter Hallowell asked if additional operating costs had been nailed down yet. Bennett said he’d try to update those, noting there’d likely be additional part-time staff and added utilities, but the primary increase would be in heating costs.
“From the start of this, we agreed we couldn’t fund the whole thing. Referendum feedback will speak loudly of the project and whether people are willing to give,” said Council Chair Emily Smith.
City officials are hoping to fund at least half the project through fund-raising efforts, with the remainder falling to taxpayers.
City Council will continue to discuss the project during a workshop on Monday, Sept. 24, at City Hall.
For more information, call 760-2785.
