A day after a public hearing drew a standing room only crowd to discuss the proposed indoor recreation complex in Bridgeport, a committee of city officials held interviews with consultants relating to the design and potential cost of a complex. The session was held at the Bridgeport Municipal Complex Tuesday morning.

 

Four presentations were made by consultants that teamed up with one another to put together the proposal. The groups included a presentation from WTW of Pittsburgh who teamed up with E.L. Robinson Engineering which has offices in Bridgeport; CS&L (Convention, Sports & Leisure) of Minneapolis teaming with Bridgeport-based Thrasher Group; SFA (Sports Facilities Advisory) of Clearwater, Fla., teaming with both the Larson Design Group of Morgantown and Counsilman Hunsaker headquartered in St. Louis; and Terradon of West Virginia teaming with Fairmont-based Omni, Counsilman Hunsaker and Moody Nolan of Columbus.

 

“As it turned out, all of the presentations were extremely strong and extremely well done,” said City Clerk Andrea Kerr.

 

Kerr was one of the committee members that sat in on the presentations that began Tuesday at 8 a.m. Kerr said each presentation, as well as questions and answers, took between 50 minutes and one hour. Along with Kerr, City Manager Kim Haws, Assistant City Manager Jimmy Smith, Council members Dustin Vincent and Diana Marra, Community Development Director Randy Spellman, and Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Joe Shuttleworth all took part.

 

“Our group will be meeting (today) to go over the presentation and discuss strong points of each and what they all brought to the table,” said Kerr. “To make a selection won’t be easy due to how strong each group was, which we certainly believe is a good thing.”

 

When will a decision be made? Kerr said there isn’t one necessarily anticipated today, but that it’s likely the group will at a minimum make a decision on when to come up with a final decision. Whether that would mean another sessions to discuss the proposals is unknown, she said.

 

“Some of these groups, like Counsilman Hunsaker, are known worldwide for their aquatics,” said Kerr. “They were certainly impressive, but when you looked at everyone, especially the local groups, and they were just as impressive.”

 

The interviews that took place Tuesday morning were discussed at Monday’s special Bridgeport City Council meeting. Residents and business officials that spoke publicly or presented emails for the record, seemed generally in favor of an indoor recreation complex that would be built on 28 acres adjacent to the existing outdoor Bridgeport Recreation Complex just off of Route 131. However, many were opposed to the proposed sales tax increase of up to 1 percent that would fund the construction and ongoing maintenance and operation of the facility.

 

Although no plans are in place as to what will be included, several spoke of the need for a regulation competition size swimming facility, indoor basketball courts that could be converted into tennis and volleyball courts, an indoor running track, racquet ball rooms and the possibility of using the acreage to include indoor soccer facilities. If the process moves forward, Council members have already said the consultant will receive public input as to the items the community would like to see included.

 

Prior to the public hearing Monday, City Manager Kim Haws talked about what could be included. He mentioned many of the items listed above. The consultant would be able to determine a better cost estimate, which could easily be in the tens of millions of dollars. A full 1 percent sales tax increase earmarked for the complex would provide a revenue stream roughly estimated to provide $3.1 million in revenue.

 

In order for the process to move forward, the city would have to amend its Home Rule plan with an application to the Home Rule Board, which meets later this month. Council approved the first reading of the ordinance to submit the application Monday with the second reading of the ordinance set for this coming Monday at Council’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting.

 

If approved Monday and if approved by the Home Rule Board, City Council would then have to formally pass an ordinance for the sales tax increase. If the existing timeline that was presented holds true, the ordinance would be up for vote Nov. 23 and a second reading on Dec. 14.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows some of the proposals received from consultants who were interviewed Tuesday morning, while City Manager Kim Haws is shown below. Haws sat in on the interviews with the consultants along with other city officials.