The St. Michael City Council reviewed the proposed St. Michael-Albertville School bond referendum and was in consensus to support the school district’s task force’s recommendations for ice arena expansion and potentially an all-sports, domed facility at the high school.
City administrator Steve Bot updated the council about the school board’s anticipated decision to move forward with a referendum to fund various school needs, including an expansion to the ice arena. Bot noted that the ice arena topic has been discussed by the city council for many years.
Bot also said various sports groups have approached the city for years to discuss the need for additional facilities, and that the council has always encouraged the groups to collaborate on a single project that could be multi-functional and meet many needs.
Indeed the school district’s Facilities Task Force ended up recommending the school board consider an $11.3 million for a facility with a turf field and dome that would serve multiple users such as soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball — locating these sports to the high school campus versus the former high school campus at the present Middle School West.
“Hockey, baseball, football, lacrosse, soccer …. all these groups have facilities needs,” Bot said. “We’ll evaluate the options and see what would be the best fit for the city.”
He noted that this city council preferred the school district offer a voter-approved referendum so that the state would fund up to half the costs using equity dollars.
Responding to an earlier audience question about why the district would host the election in February, Bot said people who show up in high voter turnout elections, such as the presidential election this year, often do not vote on local positions/questions. He explained that, for example, by not voting on a referendum question, a blank vote equals a no vote, and the board did not feel that is a fair way to let residents have a choice.
STMA Supt. Jim Behle — who is retiring and is assisting new Supt. Ann-Marie Foucault in the interim — was present and said the community has requested to have a vote regarding facilities, and the school board felt the easiest way was to have a special election with only one question on the ballot.
Behle said the board has not determined an exact amount for the referendum and is collecting public input, including at an Aug. 22 community meeting. He said the board would collect information and review the recommendations.
“The board has made no decisions,” Behle said. “They are looking at urgent facility needs and energy efficient projects.”
Referencing preliminary tax impact figures, Bot noted that the impact to a $200,000 home would be between $25 per year on the low end and $43 per year, the latter for a proposed $35 million referendum.
Behle also noted that there are “very historically low rates,” for borrowing.
Bot also wished to counter “misinformation” and speculation on social media, saying the school board will have more information on its website detailing the facts.
The council’s consensus was to support the recommendations of the task force and arena committee related to the referendum.
It was also agreed that St. Michael would help out with staffing and equipment for the February referendum election.
Contact Aaron Brom at aaron.brom@ecm-inc.com