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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) The Valley City School board unanimously approved of the concept to build a proposed million dollar Health & Wellness Center and to also approve supporting permanent flood protection.
Board member Rick Ross supported the concept but told members of the Sheyenne Valley Community Foundation that more information needs to be shared with Valley City State University students about how high their student fees will be under the proposal.
In September, VCSU students will vote up or down on whether or not they want their student fees to increase to support the project.
SVCF member George Gaukler says more information will be released during an upcoming public input meeting in October that will focus on the cost of financing, building and maintaining the proposed facility.
But Gaukler says if VCSU students vote against the plan to increasing their student fees the proposal will more than likely not move forward.
Board member Mike Callahan says this Wellness Center would be an asset to the school district and to the community. Superintendent Dean Koppelman and board members Val Mortiz and Joyce Braunagel agreed.
Board member Ryan Mathias supports the concept but urged the committee to locate the proposed center on higher ground. He says the new building would be vulnerable to flooding at a lower elevation in town. The location of the building is still up for discussion. But committee member Jennifer Feist says it will be locate somewhere on Valley City State property if approved.
And citywide advisory vote will be held November 4 in Valley City. One measure asks residents to extend the 1/2 percent city sales tax currently used for the (HAC) to fund 83 percent of it for permanent flood protection. Another measure will ask if residents want to use the remaining 17 percent of the city sales tax fund to support a $3 million dollar bond plus interest to finance the proposed Health & Wellness Center.
George Gaukler and Jennifer Feist reminded the school board that no new tax base would be involved in financing the construction of this proposed Wellness Center.
Gaukler says a state grant of $1 million dollars plus in-kind donations and a community fund drive would have to be organized to make the Wellness Center a reality.
Sheyenne Valley Community Foundation members Gaukler, Feist and Dick Gulmon say the proposed concept to finance the building is sound. The group says if the public votes to extend the exiting sales tax used to finance the (HAC) for permanent flood protection and a Wellness Center the (HAC) payment could be sunset earlier in 2017 with the existing sales tax collection.
Gaukler added that its important for the city’s economic future to have permanent flood protection. He says without it moving forward with the proposed Health & Wellness Center would be difficult if not impossible.