After a lengthy debate between West University Place City Council members, the creation of a new resident-based facilities commission was approved unanimously close to midnight July 14.
The new entity aims to gather comprehensive data and report to City Council on how current city buildings are being used.
The Facilities Sufficiency Commission will review, according to agenda documents, the West U library, community center and senior center—three facilities that were seeking voter approval for renovation funding under a $15 million bond, or Proposition D, that did not pass during the May election.
More details
The agenda item was presented by Mayor Pro Tem John Barnes and council member Kalie Rainsberger.
“The purpose... is to have a group of organized residents that does this structured so as to be as transparent as possible to allow, essentially, people from both sides of the corner of the debate to participate as much as possible, and to develop from the standpoint of the community how we actually are using all of these buildings,” Barnes said.
Various amendments to the newly approved facilities oversight committee were discussed during the meeting, including renaming it from a "Renovation Task Force" to what they called a more neutral title. The change is to ensure the group's balanced representation from residents on both sides of the facilities master plan discussion.
The purpose of the commission will be to gather comprehensive data about how the three facilities are being used and create detailed reports that include topics such as current usage patterns, resident and non-resident usage and potential space constraints.
The group aims to create an objective, community-led approach to understand and potentially improve city facilities with input from a diverse group of residents, according to council.
On the other hand
Mayor Susan Sample also discussed the fire and police station needs during the meeting, which were not included in the facility list presented on the July 14 agenda document.
“There’s a foregoing conclusion that we’re going to rehab what we’ve got because we want to keep this building. I don’t think that’s fair to the residents,” Sample said. “What started this was the fire department and the police department, which are severely deficient. Those are deficient, and I believe that’s what we should be looking at first.”
What residents should know
The next steps for the facilities commission will be to select co-chairs for the group. The commission in its entirety will consist of eight residents and involve stakeholders from the community, such as members from the senior board. Council members will interview candidates interested in joining the commission and aim to ensure transparency in the selection process, they said.
