Take a new poll on community center

To the Editor:

I agree totally with the previous letters to the editor regarding needing another vote before proceeding with the community center. I believe that there should be a new poll taken from the property taxpayers of the City of Fairmont to see if there is still support for the proposed 30 plus million dollar community center.

I was told that the actual cost of the proposed community center has now most likely more than doubled from what was originally estimated. I would like to see updated cost estimates along with the estimated property tax increases for residential and business properties in the City of Fairmont.

A new poll needs to be taken before the City commits the taxpayers of Fairmont to millions of dollars in shortfalls over the foreseeable future.

When the community center discussions were first taking place, I was led to believe that the 0.5 percent sales tax increase along with private and business contributions toward the proposed community center would cover the majority of the costs. Consequently, I voted in favor of the sales tax increase which would go mostly toward the community center.

Now it is becoming clear that the majority expenses of the proposed community center will not be covered by the 0.5 percent sales tax but rather be paid for through increased property taxes on the residents and businesses of the City of Fairmont.

I would also like to know how much membership fees for the YMCA will be. For example the membership fees of the Albert Lea YMCA is $582 a year for single membership and $888 a year for family membership.

A lot has changed over the last 14 months in terms of costs. Inflation has gone through the roof, presently over a 40-year high and is going higher still. Energy costs have skyrocketed. Construction materials and labor costs have increased significantly. Property taxes have also been making large increases. This is not the time to add a large increase in the property taxes.

While most cities with similar populations the size of Fairmont have increased significantly over the last 40 years, the population of Fairmont has declined over the past 40 years.

In 1980 the population was 11,500. The 2020 population has decreased to 10,487.

I would also like to throw out another idea regarding a community center. The Five Lakes Center (Fairmont’s mall) has been losing businesses on a regular basis. The parking lot is in need of major repairs and part of the roof needs some major repairs. If things don’t change, at some point it could possibly close. I was told that the owners of the Five Lakes Center may consider selling if they had a reasonable offer.

If the city was to purchase the Five Lakes Center, they could utilize the 35,000 square foot previous JC Penny’s store area as a community center. The city could make the necessary repairs to the parking lot and roof.

I believe that if the city utilized the former JC Penny’s store as a community center that it would be a big boost for the businesses within the Mall and that businesses would again be willing to rent the stores that are now vacant.

I believe that the rent income from the businesses would also cover the operating cost of the community center and Mall. I was told that the total cost of that concept would be considerably less than 10 million and possibly be profitable in future years.

Marvel Snyder, along with many other residents

of Fairmont.