The city of Prairie Village is moving forward on a years-long idea to replace the aging Paul Henson YMCA with a city-owned community center.
The council committee of the whole on Monday directed city staff to draft separate memorandums of understanding with the YMCA and the Johnson County Library, which for years has wanted to move its Corinth branch to the site of a new community center near 79th Street and Mission Road.
The move comes after a recent city-commissioned survey showed most Prairie Village residents still say they would use a new community center, though that percentage has dropped from a similar survey conducted in 2019.
YMCA and JoCo Library will be involved
- The council’s vote Monday clears the way for two memorandums of understanding to outline potential partnerships with both the YMCA and Johnson County Library.
- JoCo Library’s current master plan identifies the Corinth branch on Mission Road as one in need of replacement, and the 2019 Prairie Village community survey found overwhelming support for the idea of co-locating a new branch next to a new community center.
- Monday night’s council vote also lets staff send out a request for qualifications for an outside consultant to help the city through the process of building a new facility.
Most councilmembers support moving forward
- Some like Councilmember Ian Graves said he was buoyed by the recent survey results and what appears to be general community support for a new center.
- Councilmember Bonnie Limbird said the results seem to confirm what she hears from Ward 3 residents, who want to know what’s next for a new potential community center.
- Two councilmembers did vote against Monday’s motion, including Courtney McFadden, who said she was concerned that the proportion of people not interested in using a new community center rose slightly from 45% in 2019 to 46% in 2023.
- Councilmember Terrence Gallagher also voted against the motion, saying the community center project should be part of a bigger picture discussion that includes the future of the nearby police headquarters and city hall.
Tax increases are on the table
- In the recent survey, 63% of Prairie Village residents polled said they would support a tax increase of some kind in order to pay for a new community center, whether that be through increased property taxes or sales taxes.
- McFadden argued that a sales tax increase alone would not pay for a community center, and that a property tax increase of at least five mills would likely be necessary.
- Councilmember Cole Robinson responded, saying a good community center could be possible with a three mill property tax increase and a three-quarter cent sales tax increase over 30 years.
- The YMCA also plans to work on a market feasibility study to determine how much private fundraising the nonprofit could do to help pay for a new facility, said Mark Hulet, the interim president and chief executive officer of the Y of Greater Kansas City.
Cost estimates remain uncertain
- Estimates on how much a new community center might cost have not yet been clearly laid out in public meetings.
- When asked by the Post, City Administrator Wes Jordan pointed to the roughly $36 million Merriam Community Center, which opened in 2020, as a reference to a would-be Prairie Village project.
- Jordan told the city council Monday that the council could choose to put a community center proposal up for a public vote at some point in the future.
What happens next:
- The two separate memorandums of understanding and the request for qualifications need to come back for city council approval.
- If those are approved, then the site design process would begin.
- The design process itself could cost $150,000-200,000, Jordan said.
Go deeper: Watch the council committee of the whole’s full discussion, below, starting at 1:09:40.
