Manhattan city officials say upgrades to CiCo Park have hit a snag due to financial issues.
City staff met with the Manhattan City Commission Friday at the Sunset Zoo Nature and Exploration Center to present goals and an outlook at the year ahead. Included in that were deep dives into the city’s strategic plan and a look back at where the city is at in terms of its parks master plan.
Concepts and renovations for CiCo Park were approved by voters in 2017, however since then there has been a 50-80% increase in inflation which has caused the park’s projected cost to increase. The city originally had $8.5 million budgeted for the project, but the projected cost has risen to $15 million. City officials are still committed to the project and looked into ways to raise extra funds and lower costs at their Friday retreat.
Manhattan High School will use the new baseball, softball fields, and tennis courts for official use and the city is considering charging the school a fee to use them. The original plan was to add 12 new tennis courts, but due to the high costs this will now be around 6-10. Assistant city manager Wyatt Thompson spoke on the importance of keeping enough courts in order to participate in events sponsored by the united states tennis association.
City officials will continue to consider all options at future city commission meetings.
Parks Director presents survey results showing residents support indoor pool
A recent survey conducted by the Manhattan parks and recreation department found that local residents are are itching for a new indoor pool.
63% responded that they wanted an indoor pool only, and 22% wanted a rec center in addition to the pool, whereas just 15% responded that they wanted neither.
The survey was comprised of over 400 Manhattan area citizens and is statistically valid.
The biggest roadblock seems to be on the issue of taxes, since just over 50% of those surveyed were willing to increase taxes for such a project.
City officials plan to hold future discussions as the year progresses and it has been hinted that the issue could be posed to voters on the November ballot.
