SYRACUSE -ÊDespite Susan Neff's resignation June 8 as the Syracuse Park Department superintendent, the community center is still on track.

But it doesn't have all the town council support it had when the center was first proposed.

Tuesday, the Syracuse Town Council was asked by Prince Alexander architects and bond counselors from McHale, Cook & Welch Professional Corp. to approve a resolution stating the center is needed in the community. The resolution passed, but only by a vote of 3 to 2.

"When this first started, there was a definite need for this community center," said councilman Barbara Carwile. "Since then, we've got Oakwood and Brook Pointe. The need to rent a place for weddings, reunions is overruled by Oakwood and Brook Pointe." She said the need is no longer there for a community center.

Councilman Bill Hane also voted against the resolution because, he said, he believes the town council would be paying more for it than originally proposed by the park board when the project began.

Before the vote was taken, a presentation on the project was given by the architects and bond counsel.

Steve Alexander, president of Prince Alexander architectural firm, said the plans for the building, the financing and the discussion have been continuous for months. In the "final" revision, the plans incorporate input from the Lakeland Youth Center, concession areas that fit health code requirements, restroom and parking concerns. Storage rooms for special interest groups and locker rooms for the gymnasium are also a part of the "final" plans.

The local museum also will have space in the community center with a gift shop.

Alexander said the building will have 25,600 square feet. Total development cost is an estimated $2.3 million. He also reminded the town council the project so far is scheduled to receive $200,000 from the state legislature's Build Indiana Fund.

Keith Bice, attorney with McHale, Cook & Welch, serving as bond counsel on the project, said the project would be financed by a lease finance structure through a nonprofit building corporation. The bonds will take approximately 20 years to pay off.

Bice said that passing the resolution that the community center is needed will send a message to the other players involved in the center to get involved.

Town attorney Robert Reed said if the town council did not pass the resolution, the park board cannot go forward with the project. He said it doesn't commit the council to any leases or finances.

"If you don't recognize the need, you're going to choke them," Reed said.

Since the resolution was passed, Sue Beesley, attorney with the bond counsel, said at July's meeting, the council will be asked to enter into a preliminary determination for a lease. The lease, she said, will not be executed at that time.

Carwile asked, "If they set up a bond issue for this building, and we have to set up a bond issue for a well and filtration system, which comes first?" She said people in Syracuse would end up having to pay for both.

Councilman Paul Stoelting said, "My position is that we need to sign that resolution. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered before we get into a leasing. We got to this point, we must have recognized a need."

Council member Carol Koble said even though there are many unanswered questions left, she recognizes a need for the center.

Stoelting moved to approve the resolution and Koble seconded. Council president William Cutter was the third vote in favor of the resolution.

In other business, town manager Brian Redshaw said Syracuse will meet with a representative from the state tax board Aug. 4 at 8 a.m. The council will meet with department heads at 6 p.m. July 22 and July 27 to draft preliminary budgets.

Town employees will receive a 4 percent pay raise next year if the tax board approves.

Council president William Cutter said he would eventually like pay raises for town employees to be based on merit.

Carwile opposed merit raises. She said, "If a guy gets a half percent raise and another gets a 2 percent raise, what's going to make the guy who gets a half percent raise work any harder?"

Koble said she would like to see a draft of the proposal, even though she may not support it once she views it. The council told Redshaw to draw up a proposal for review.

Tim Yeager, Syracuse Rotary Club, said the Scout Cabin across from the town hall on Henry Street needs to be replaced. He asked the council for their approval. The building has been maintained for many years, but it has gotten to a point, he said, where it needs to be totally rebuilt.

The council told Yeager to ask Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission Director Dan Richard about the site first because of concerns about soil and parking.

The cabin was at that site for more than 43 years, he said. The Rotary Club is dedicated to providing the scouts with a place to meet. If the site is no longer feasible for the cabin, Yeager said, the Rotary Club could build only a shelter in the scout woods for the scouts to meet.

Rotary Club is not asking the council for any contributions for the project. [[In-content Ad]]