Feasibility Study

Composed 7 May 2011

Case Studies and the Feasibility Report

Aquatic Center Votes
Monday's Cost
Operating Cost
Case Studies
Site Development
Project Costs
Opportunity Cost
Disclaimer
My Conclusion

References
Master Plan
Monday's Agenda
Agenda Page
Web Broadcast
TIF Summary
TIF Map

If this were a feasibility study I would expect it to contain more information about the comparable projects. For instance; how much did the comparables cost to build, how much do they cost to operate, how much revenue do they produce, how large are the facilities?

Developer analysis
City council was presented a document that is sometimes being referred to as a feasibility study. You can download the document from the council's website. Section III - Aquatic Needs Analysis - shows case studies that tell us our city could use a center capable of handling 1300 people during the peak demand hours. This isn't the only information that would be useful in determining if the council will be constructing a viable facility.

During an administrative meeting May 4th the yearly operational costs and revenues for some of the chosen case studies was presented. This information did not make it into the Master Plan. This information along with the details behind the numbers should have been incorporated within the formal document. This information would help council get a better picture of expected returns once the complex opens. It will also help the council when they go to construct the operations agreement for running the complex.

The case studies did not include the size of the facilities or the cost of construction for these facilities. The council should compare the size of our proposed center with that of the case studies to understand the revenue and resident satisfaction potential of our complex. They should use the cost of the previous projects as a basis to judge the reasonableness of the cost of our project. In fact, the council has not made public any indication that they have done an analysis to determine what a complex like this normally costs.

Members of the council have stated one of the reasons they want to proceed at this rapid pace was to ensure the city reaps the benefits of these slow economic times. The implication of that statement is an expectation that companies will be willing to work cheaper today because they aren't getting much business. However, in this case council has not presented any indication they know what a complex like this normally costs or what it might cost in better economic times. Therefore, it is possible the companies involved in this project are charging a premium compared to normal times in order to maintain the same revenues they get during good economic times.

Without a cost basis comparison the reasoning stating we need to vote soon in order to take advantage of the bad economy cannot be verified and should not be sited or given credence.

Let me state again I am not currently a member of council. I am not privilege enough to know what has been discussed in executive session. There is also the possibility the information is available publicly. I welcome you or present council members to point to the public record if there is one available and I will incorporate that knowledge in my assessment and decision making process.